How Can You Measure Business Success?
Business success in 2020 certainly looked a lot different, and it’s important for everyone from the top down to adjust. Whether you’re a large corporation or a small business, the measurements you previously used to determine performance success have been impacted by the pandemic. So, as planning for future years takes place this Fall, look in the rearview mirror on 2020 with a different set of eyes than you originally planned to in a pre-COVID world to ensure success moving forward.
Stop Measuring Short-Term KPIs
The current environment will drastically change how long-term KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are measured, which can significantly affect your short-term KPIs. With so many unknowns still ahead as far as the business market is considered, don’t put yourself in a position where you are leaning on short-term KPIs. They most likely won’t be usable in the future and don’t give a clear picture of your business success. One additional thought, throw the YOY (Year-Over-Year) numbers out the window for now.
Keep Measuring Critical Campaigns
You need to measure your prominent campaigns because those numbers will provide you insight as you look to corresponding analytics and create a strategy moving forward. Keeping these campaigns going doesn’t mean you necessarily need to stick to the exact measurements you came up with at the beginning. Evaluate what is best to keep as far as the KPIs are concerned, and if there are any you should be adding based on the current business environment.
Stop Creating Unrealistic Timelines
Depending on your industry, this step can vary. If you’re part of a company or in a position where face-to-face communication is key, your timelines are going to be radically altered. Figure out what company and specific employee timelines will be affected when your business is forced into a virtual-first world. There’s no doubt that companies who have embraced the Work-From-Home operation will transition quicker due to comfortability with that type of communication already.
Keep Planning
Although we aren’t exactly sure what a post-COVID business world looks like, that shouldn’t prevent you from looking ahead to what you want out of your business in 2021. There are still certain things you can create or evaluate. These include best practices, guidelines, key core competencies, and company values. When there is a pause on certain job responsibilities you once did, this might give you more thinking time, use it to benefit your career or business.
Focus on Engagement
Make sure your audience is staying engaged with your brand by asking yourself three questions. How are customers engaging with a product or service, how is the audience engaging with the content being pushed out, and how are potential customers engaging throughout the sales funnel?
Commit to a Culture Promoting Feedback
The only way to help people develop on both the professional and personal front as an employer or employee is to create a culture where feedback is not only encouraged, it’s expected. When feedback is given, this allows those on all levels of a business hierarchy to know where their expectations lie and how their performance is measured.
Commit to Transparency
Following a pandemic, management’s credibility, and frankly, trustworthiness depends on how transparent they are with their staff. It’s crucial that employees are not only kept abreast of what they need to be but that they know they have a manager who will do just that. Also, people will respond when their contributions are recognized or when the result of them missing a deadline is put on blast.
What other ways do you measure business success in 2020? Share your thoughts by commenting below.