HOW TO REVIVE ANY DYING BUSINESS
This article was originally titled “7 Turnaround Strategies to Revive
a Dying Business” by Tito Philips Jnr.
Read along, benefit and contribute via the comment section.
Read along, benefit and contribute via the comment section.
Sad as it may sound, the health of a business is not guaranteed
forever. Virtually all entrepreneurs will face the daunting task of
managing the recovery of a failing business. Every business during the course
of its existence will experience a near death experience.
This is a period characterized by harsh business conditions; low sales,
low morale, low cash, low market share, and low innovation. Some recover from
this and bounce back stronger than before, and some don’t.
There are many factors responsible for this near death experience; those
that are self-inflicted like; a major project failure, incompetent management
or poor financial control is generally termed internal forces
while those that are not self-inflicted like; government intervention, economic
recessions, the presence of low-cost competitors, or natural disasters are
termed external forces.
The continuous survival and success of a business greatly depends on
managing these forces internally and externally. Neglecting them can spell doom
for any business regardless of size!
Let us now go through the strategies on how to revive a dying business.
Strategy
1: Re-Evaluate: situation
To treat an ailment, we need to diagnose the
patient. The first place to start if your business is dying or failing is to
look within the company. This is known as self-evaluation or self-assessment.
You have to know what the situation is and what the problem is. When you
already know the circumstances, you can now take appropriate actions. When
looking within, focus on the following key areas;
§ Strategy
Does the business have a direction? Does the
business know why it exists? What problems it solves and for whom? Is the
business focused on the right things?
§ People
Are the right people running the company? Are the
right people in the right places? Are employees committed to organizational
success? Are employees properly motivated to share in the ongoing success of
the firm? Are commission plans driving sales persons to focus on gross revenues
or gross profits? Are difficult policies, internal strife or the behaviours of
specific individuals driving down the collective spirit of the organization?
Are there bad eggs in your company that are contaminating the whole
organization?
§ Customers
Are customers satisfied? Do they know, like and
trust your brand? Is the business focused on profitable customers versus
unprofitable and difficult clients? Are you targeting the right customers?
§ Product
Are you offering innovative products/services? Can
the business better utilize technology to create better products, reduce costs
and improve competitive advantages?
§ Process
Are systems in place to get work done efficiently?
Are things being done in the right way? Are policies facilitating work or
hindering them? Is the business structured for high performance?
§ Finance
Are you competitive and profitable? Are cash flows
sufficient to sustain ongoing commitments and operations? Is this business
largely indebted?
Re-evaluation is the most critical turnaround strategy; without it all
other things are just frantic moves that will yield little results. Before you
begin to act, know why, what and how affected your business is. Only through
re-evaluation can discover all these.
The suggested articles below will help you get started.
Strategy 2: Re-Define:
strategy
After re-evaluation comes re-definition.
Re-evaluation reveals what’s wrong with your business and re-definition is
putting the business back on track. This is where you go back to the drawing
board to set the overall direction for the company. This is where you create
the turnaround game-plan. Failing in business is often as a result of not
having a clear direction or having derailed from the set path. So you need to
revisit the foundation of your business by touching the following key areas;
§ Purpose:
“Why do we exist as a business?”
“What need or needs are being met by this business?”
§ Vision:
“What do we want to achieve using this
business as a tool?”
“How far do we want to go in pursuit of our purpose
as a business?”
§ Mission:
“How do we intend to succeed in this
business?”
“How and what must we primarily focus on as a
business to be the No.1 choice of our target customers?”
§ Values:
“What principles, standards and tenets must we
hold to be true and never compromise as a business?”
“How must we collectively think and behave as
a business in order to fulfill our purpose, achieve our vision and execute our
mission?”
§ Brand:
“Who are we as a business to the general public?”
“What is our promise to those we intend to serve?”
“How do we want to be perceived by our target
customers?”
“What do we want to be remembered, recognized or
respected for in the marketplace?”
Strategy 3: Re-Employ: people
Hardly can you turnaround a dying business without talking about the
people behind it. A business cannot function by itself, people make it
function. People make or break your business. This is why you need to
re-employ. To resurrect a dying business, get the right people on board and get
the wrong people off, period!
Read Strategies 4, 5, 6 and 7 here.
Over to you
What new thing or things did you learn from reading this unusual article?
Have your business ever experienced a near death situation and how did you recover from it? Was it in the same fashion as these strategies? Please, share with all let us learn from you. Leave your extra strategies in the comment section. Thanks.
Also read: Sex and Business, Friends and Business, Challenges of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Solutions and Thinking Outside the Box
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