6 Revenue Killing Mistakes for Businesses

Starting a business is no walk in the park. Putting together a start-up requires careful planning to avoid committing many business mistakes given that an entrepreneur has a variety of things to consider and plenty of decisions to make.

There isn’t a fool-proof outline to achieve instant success for new businesses. But there are also common business mistakes that many small business owners should avoid. Below are six of them.

Planning Phase Skipping

Many entrepreneurs get caught in their excitement of starting a new business that they forget that planning is one of the keys to success.

It’s not enough to have an entrepreneurial idea as one also has to have a solid business plan that details the idea research and marketing and financial plans. Businessmen should refrain from launching any endeavor without careful planning first.

Products or Services Undervaluing

Fear of failing and lack of confidence are some of the reasons why many business startup owners put a low price on their service and product offerings.

Undervaluing what you have to offer can be detrimental as it underestimates the unique value you provide to your customers. It’s rather difficult to recover after undervaluing your services or products for some time. This is why it makes business sense to conduct thorough market research when you start the business so you can determine the best price for what you’re offering to the market.

New Technology Avoiding

Successful business owners always take advantage of technological advancements to grow their business. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs are technology-averse. However, one’s inability to adapt to new technologies, in many cases, means missed opportunities.

Yes, learning about technological advancements can be daunting, but new technologies can help you streamline your processes or save you money. In the long-run, investing time, effort and money in technologies can make your business stable and successful.

Marketing Research Skipping

Skipping proper and adequate market research is one of the most common business mistakes of new business owners. What many entrepreneurs fail to understand is that researching your market is a key factor in ensuring the success of any business as it helps owners and managers make a sound judgment.

Regardless of whether you’re creating a new product or service, entering a new market or expanding an existing business, you will need to understand the market.

There are two core means of making market research, namely, the primary and second research.

Primary Market Research Method

The primary market research method is when you get your information straight from the source like your possible clients. The main purpose of conducting primary market research is to know relevant knowledge about your target market that is not found in the present data that you have.

There are different ways to conduct primary research such as phone surveys, focus group discussions, direct-mail questionnaires, and face-to-face interviews, to name a few.

Secondary Market Research Method

Secondary market research means making use of data that are already available. This means going through existing industry reports or studies conducted by consumer groups, research firms, trade associations, government agencies or chambers of commerce.

What’s great about using secondary market research is that data are either available for free or at an affordable price. Obtaining information is also quick and easy.

However, the disadvantage of using secondary data is that the information is not customized according to your business needs. If you’re seeking to enter new territories, then secondary research isn’t as useful as the primary one.

Not Finding Out Your Target Group

A successful marketing plan starts by identifying the target market. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of allotting and spending a lot on marketing without knowing their ideal target group. Trying a variety of marketing tools without identifying your target market is like a boxer who punches without landing punches.

As such, it is important to conduct the market research first to determine who you should be reaching out to. You should only create your marketing plan after you determined to whom you will sell your product or service.

Overspending

Spending so much money is one of the common business mistakes committed by startup owners. Yes, some businesses require heavy investments but others don’t. Regardless of whether you’re buying equipment or software, constructing structure or spending on marketing efforts, you should do proper research first before shelling out so much money.

Staffing agencies will save your money and time

Choosing a staffing agency for your personnel needs is also one way of saving money for your business. This is because staffing agencies help companies handle staffing requirements efficiently and effectively.

They can handle your Human Resources or HR needs, which in turn saves you from hiring your HR personnel. This also means reducing space in your office as well as other benefits you would be paying if you had your HR team.

Staffing agencies also reduce the time you need in training your new hires as well as provide flexible staffing to adapt to your business cycle. For example, if your business cycle requires hiring more employees during certain periods, then the staffing agency can provide temporary employees.

Conclusion

Putting together a business is a daunting and challenging task. Fortunately, careful planning, proper valuation of your offerings, and market research along with the right mindset will help startup owners avoid the most common revenue killing business mistakes.