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Ways to benchmark your business

For many business owners, determining the success of a business comes down to how much profit the company makes. Of course, finances are an important measure of an company’s overall success. Profit, however, isn’t the only important benchmark by which to measure your business.

There are other important factors business owners can and should evaluate to determine how well their company is doing now and to predict its future success.

Measure customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction tells you a lot about how much repeat business you can expect. If customers are satisfied with the products and services they receive from you, they are likely to come back and refer you to their friends. If they aren’t satisfied, they might never come back.

Take the time to measure customer satisfaction. You can ask in person, or send out surveys or reviews. Take pleasure in positive feedback.

When customers suggest areas for improvement, listen to them. Even if they weren’t fully satisfied with their experience, customers value the opportunity to be heard. If you can use any criticism to make constructive changes, you may bring some customers back.

Measure the number of new customers

Repeat customers are great for your bottom line, but you can’t rely on them forever. Their priorities or financial situation might change. They might move away or no longer need your services.

That means that if you’ve had the same 20 customers for the past few years, you need to start looking for new business.

The best way to track customers and determine how many new clients you draw in, is to develop a client list with email addresses that you can check. Investing in a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform – for example, Hubspot – is a great way to do this. Chat to our marketing team at The CloudSitters for assistance setting up your CRM.

A loyalty program can also help you determine which clients are repeat and which are new, and it can even help you develop your email list.

You can also offer a referral program in which existing customers bring in new business and receive a gift for doing so.

Measure employee satisfaction

Profits and happy customers are vital to business success, but so are satisfied employees. Your workers’ happiness is an important benchmark because it tells you how motivated your staff are, which in turn can affect customer satisfaction. It also helps you to predict staff turnover rates.

Conduct regular performance reviews to determine your employees’ strengths and areas of improvement. Use the reviews to determine how satisfied your employees are and how they could be more fulfilled in their roles.

They may want more responsibility, which can make your job easier and your business more efficient. Or they may need more training, which can improve your customer service as well.

Offer professional development and opportunities for growth. Just as it is expensive to bring in new customers, it’s also costly and time-consuming to find, hire and train new staff.

Business Bookkeeping & Finance

Naturally, your finances tell you a lot about how successful your business is. Keep track of your financial health and know your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

If your business isn’t profitable you may need to make some changes to keep it going. Accountants and bookkeepers are a point of contact if you are unsure where to start. Investing in a bookkeeper (or virtual bookkeeping services) to assemble and report these numbers for you, is a great way to make sure you know where there is room for improvement and are aware of any potential business opportunities.

Contact your local bookkeeper

The information and insight your bookkeeper or accountant provides goes a long way to helping you make smart business decisions, including benchmarking. Our team of friendly bookkeepers are passionate about supporting small businesses with their financial and accounting needs.

Whether you’re just after some financial advice around benchmarking and cash flow monitoring, bookkeeping tips, basic bookkeeping services or assistance selecting an accounting software package such as MYOB, Xero, Quickbooks Online or Receipt Bank, we can work through it together.

See below for our bookkeeper locations; if you’d like to ask a question, please feel free to use the form below and we’ll be in touch with you soon.

Our Bookkeepers

Justine Day: Southern Highlands / Bowral Bookkeeper
Amanda Graham: Southern Highlands / Bowral Bookkeeper
Petra Austing: Southern Highlands / Bowral Bookkeeper
Karin Evans: Gold Coast Bookkeeper
Pru Hall: Wollongong Bookkeeper
Jackie Short: Canberra Bookkeeper