Many factors, such as increasing competition, and economic downturns, can contribute to company or career failure. Businesses and professionals that thrive despite such situations have learned principles that create long-term success. Three such principles are discussed below.
1. Vision
Vision, in this context, means:
• Looking back at when you started your business or career and the startup lessons you learned.
• Taking an honest and detailed look at where things are now and where your business or career is heading. Have you incorporated into how you do business what you learned earlier? Is your company or career plan on schedule? Do you need to tweak your plan? Have you evaluated what is working well and what isn’t?
• What do you need to do for the near future? Do you need to add new products or services for your customers? Do you need to advertise differently, or more? Do you know about the things that can impact your business or career such as economic trends, consumer buying trends, and advances in technology? Do you keep abreast of this information by reading about it? Do you study your competition to learn from them?
• Be open to new ideas and new approaches. Also, stay focused. Focus will sustain you through the beginning stages, and guide you to the long lasting results you desire.
2. Quality
Always provide your customers with the best products and services possible. Whether you sell goods or services, customer satisfaction will keep them coming back to you. Quality also extends to how easy you are to access and how the customer is treated during their interactions with you and your company, whether that interaction is on the phone or in person. These interactions include transactions as well as complaints. It is crucial to your public relations to resolve complaints politely, and as quickly as possible, to the customer’s satisfaction.
3. Timeliness
Honoring your customer’s time is vital to the success of your business. Your customer is anyone to whom you are providing a service or product. If your supervisor needs a report by a certain date, have it done by that date. If you have a delivery for a customer, give them a reasonable time-frame for your arrival. Be there within that time-frame, and preferably at the earlier end. If you will be delayed, call the customer and let them know that you will be delayed before they already know that you’re late.
If you own a storefront company, always open on time and avoid closing early. If you are an employee, habitually be at work on time and avoid leaving early.
Long-term success requires that you consistently grow and evolve, yet the keys listed above must remain constant.
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