FEATURED POST OF THE WEEK

Our long-form article of the week. You can always view the current and past featured posts on Empower’s blog.

Make operations your strategic growth advantage

Have you considered how your business's back-end operations can be a competitive advantage? Many overlook this, but let's explore how strategic operations can drive your success. As a bonus, by the end of this post you’ll see how “operations” and “process improvement” can be innovative and fun, I promise!

When you first launched your business, you likely implemented systems that wouldn’t scale long-term. That’s fine! Initially, being scrappy helped you survive, get your first customers and manage each day. However, once you achieve market fit and success, you’re probably just as busy (if not more) as when the business launched. Those initial systems feel like they’re now flimsily held together by tape. The lack of organization impacts your stress, focus and daily productivity. You also observe the effects on your team’s performance and customer experience.

How do you combat this position?

I firmly believe that strong operational design can set you apart and better situate your business for long-term success. Let’s explore this further. 

Typically, when people talk about growth drivers, they focus on sales, marketing and a strong product offering. Operations become the focal point when attention turns to cost management and margin. Let’s take a few moments to flip this norm on its head. Instead of only considering operations as a “bottom-line” driver, think about how strong processes and automation can also be accretive to top-line growth.

Don’t get me wrong. Sales, marketing and offering products people want to buy are key levers to growth. You need paying customers to have a business, right? But, let me ask another question: How do you think effective sales and go-to-market strategies come to life? 

When a business sends you an email an hour after you added a product to your cart but never checked out or a customer success representative (or AI chatbot) can answer your questions promptly and completely, those things don’t just magically happen. I can almost guarantee that a set of carefully crafted systems is implemented in the background to drive these outcomes. 

Each of those examples illuminates how operations can contribute to growth.

• Example #1: Developing the right marketing automation processes allows a business to deliver more personalized experiences, which helps accelerate a purchase decision. The more customized and contextualized the communication, the more likely you can reduce the consideration period and increase revenue. 

• Example #2: Nothing frustrates a customer more than not receiving prompt responses to inquiries. Strong customer support processes and systems can reduce this friction. This can also expedite purchase decisions, increase satisfaction and extend customer loyalty. 

The abovementioned help connect the dots between operations, sales and marketing. There are also other ways to think about operations as a growth lever. I’ve outlined below several reasons that I get excited about working with Empower’s partners to optimize their operations to enable better success: 

Flexibility & adaptability

Naysayers will say that implementing processes and structure makes things too rigid. With a narrow mindset and the wrong people developing and putting them into place, this could be the case. At Empower, we think critically about the unique needs of each partner and construct operational recommendations through the lens of how they will drive innovation and provide more flexibility than was previously imaginable. We don’t believe we’re setting businesses up for long-term growth if we design a business process or implement new technology with a fixed mindset, and without considering a variety of angles and circumstances. Think of disruptive events, as minor as a brief power outage or as large as a global pandemic. No matter the scale of the interruption, it’s the agility of your systems and processes that enable you to adapt to these changes and minimize the impact of disruption compared to the competition. 

Improved quality

Better processes can lead to more effective inventory management, fewer errors and a higher-quality product delivered to customers. For example, not having a strong system to manage inventory could lead to frequent situations in which your most popular products sell out and you lose revenue because you can’t get or produce more quickly enough. Overall, improved quality also leads to higher customer satisfaction and a better chance that you will build a loyal base that will keep buying from you and refer their friends. 

Deliver better experiences

This goes for customers and your employees. Strong systems and automation can enhance your potential when it comes to surprising and delighting both of these groups. You’ll also be able to manage consistency at scale. When employees have the tools to feel more empowered in their jobs, they’re more likely to pass along newfound enthusiasm to your customers. As customer satisfaction increases, so do your chances of growing revenue and a more lasting business. 

More resources to reinvest in growth

Even if you think about operations through the traditional lens of cost reduction and improving margin, you can imagine how the financial savings gained through driving efficiency can be used to reinvest in growth areas for the business, whether that includes something like launching a new product line or opening a new location.

Next time you consider putting off optimizing your business operations, remember how crucial it is for achieving your growth goals. Also, remember that when carefully thought through, strong systems and processes don’t have to be rigid or limiting; they can hold the keys to your competitive advantage and sustained success.

WEEKLY DOSE OF EMPOWERMENT

The weekly dose of Empowerment is meant to provide one weekly tip that’s both practical and approachable, to help drive incremental improvement to your day-to-day. We’re always open to your contributions as well. If you would like to submit a tip to be shared with the Empower community in a future newsletter, please reach out at [email protected] with the subject line “Weekly Dose of Empowerment Submission.”

Go for a walk

This week’s tip is straightforward: get outside (or on a treadmill) and go for a walk. 

There’s a lot of literature about the benefits of walking for your productivity. A Stanford University study indicated that walking can increase a person’s creative output by 60%.

That stat should be compelling enough, but here are nine additional benefits to seal the argument for taking a stroll:   

• Clarity of thought

• Enhanced ability to solve challenging problems

• A boost of energy

• Reclaim your concentration

• Remove distractions

• Improve your mental health

• Improve your physical well-being

• Break up the monotony of the day 

• Walking meetings help develop more free-flowing communication and better collaboration

The walks don’t have to be long. One research study cited in this BBC article found that the first five minutes of a walk outside showed the largest improvements in self-esteem and mood. 

My advice for you is simple: start today. Find at least five minutes. And, in the words of Nike, just do it. 

JESSICA’S READ, OR LISTEN, PICK OF THE WEEK

A little something that got my gears turning this week and might pique your interest as well!

10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Motivate Employees by Square

TL;DR

This piece of marketing content from Square outlines key drivers of employee engagement and satisfaction. Spoiler alert: money and benefits don’t top the list.

As someone who has built teams and managed a diverse set of individual contributors, a lot of these tactics resonated with me.

We all know that a strong team is key to a business’s ability to execute and a meaningful driver of success. While this is an intuitive concept, sometimes keeping in mind what drives employees surprisingly gets overlooked in practice. So, I thought this piece provided an approachable resource for the business builders and people managers in this community.

Which have you found to be the most impactful in your work?

JUST FOR FUN

Really, this section is just for fun. Who knows what will be in store each week?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for…ice cream! It’s prime time for scoops, swirls and waffle cones. I asked GhatGPT to provide me the most unique ice cream flavor from each of the 50 states and here was the response:

Disclaimer: This list was not verified for accuracy. Please feel free to reply with your ice cream challenges and/or complaints.

I guess it’s time to head to my nearest Jeni’s in Nashville and check out the Blackberry and Goat Cheese.

Which flavors do you want to try?

LOOKING FOR MORE EMPOWERMENT?

You’ve worked hard to build your business. Let’s work together to make it last. We want to be your partner in the journey to build the business that lives into your vision.

If you want to learn more about Empower’s offerings or methodology, reach out to discuss how we can support your goals. 

If you were forwarded this newsletter and enjoyed it, I encourage you to subscribe and join the Empower community.