Business Focus Area #2 - Systems

We recently posted "If You Want Business Success in 2021, Focus on These 4 Areas of Your Business" where we suggested that SMBs focus on People, Processes, Systems, and Structure to both organize and prioritize their respective workloads.

Most recently, we addressed the issue identifying and defining Processes as a focus area for your business success, and we addressed that HERE. The reason we focused on Processes first is that (a) they can provide a "standardized" way of repeatedly supporting business Goals accomplishment, and (b) they are easily made more efficient and effective via automation.

So, now we're addressing the "Systems" focus area. The entire reason for looking at "Systems" is to make your business easier, not harder, to reach Goals. 

But, we need to set expectations, right up front. If you're a "Pen & Paper" kind of person, let us know that at the beginning. Why? Because that tells us that your "Systems" need to be as low-tech and straight-forward as possible. That's not judgmental - it's simply recognizing your work preferences. Rather than recommending the latest "whiz-bang", cool geek-like technology, if you let us know HOW you like to work, we'll be much more able to recommend & implement "Systems" solutions that actually work for you!

O.K. - let's get started . . . . .

There are actually two broad areas that need to be addressed.

The first is your background technology framework - Email, Documents, Spreadsheets, File Storage, etc, etc, etc. What do you use for these? There are a number of options available - and, for the most part, the best are "integrated suites" of programs that allow you to use a single account to accomplish ALL of these functions in a single "system". While we acknowledge the capabilities of many of these offerings, we're particularly partial to what we refer to as the "Googlesphere". This is a "suite" of Google services that are flat-out, just perfect for SMB adoption. In fact, their offering is so diverse and complete, that we plan on doing an entire series of educational initiatives to help our current and prospective clients to both understand and gain the most use of Google's available resources. Many are free. Even if you want to take advantage of certain "enhanced" capabilities, the cost of "upgrading' to a Google Workspace account is modest by any standard. To be fair, the offerings from Microsoft (Microsoft 365 and Office 365) are certainly viable alternatives, but, in our opinion, the broad diversity in capabilities vs cost makes us continue to recommend Google as the best "framework" for your SMB. If you choose the Microsoft option, we can handle that too! 

We've addressed the basic framework. Now, let's dive into the second area - implementing systems specific to your business, and the supporting the Processes that make it run. This only works if you've already completed - or have committed to - defining the important Processes that are the underpinning of your business. Want to review our post on that? It's HERE.

If we can finalize these Processes, then coupled with an understanding of "how you work best", then we can suggest and one or more "Systems". 

For example:

• If you want to both attract and engage new customers while also nurturing existing clients, you probably need a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.  It can range from very simple to very robust - our view is it's all about what fits you best!
• If you sell goods and services online, you probably need an eCommerce system.  Again, this can range from very simple to very robust - see the pattern here?
• If you use social media to promote your business, you likely would benefit from a social media management system. 

Take stock of all of your Processes, and ask if there's a System that might make it better. If you don't know ask us. We'll provide free advice.

Finally, 

• If you've taken our advice on embracing the Googlesphere, then we can show you a CRM and Process Management System that we can set up for you that allows you to function entirely within your email account. For getting started, the system is FREE! Once you grow bigger, yes, it will entail a monthly cost - but not huge by any means.
• If you're already embedded in a different technology framework (Microsoft, Zoho, Yahoo, or others), we can suggest different CRM and Process Management Systems.  Again, ones that are easy to use (we'll also train you on them), and are either free or certainly won't break the bank!
• If your processes function outside of any email system, we've got an answer for that too! It's simple, visual, and effective!

Our mantra is "Simple Solutions - Significant Results". 

This means we don't "bury" you in technology you don't need, don't want, or don't understand. Instead, we invest our time up-front to make sure, we have the best understanding possible of both your situation and your desires. Then, we can demonstrate and talk about the various options to best benefit your business.

We want you to be successful!