As a business owner, it is always important to be reinvesting the company’s profits back into the business. Having extra cash on hand to take advantage of opportunities when they are arise often makes the difference in this economy.

But how do you squeeze more out of your business activities and boost the health of your bottom line? By eliminating waste. Usually inefficiencies are the “silent killer” of profit margins. By examining your operations and examining how much you are paying for your business services, you can take action to start generating extra profit to be reinvested into the company and give you an extra edge over the competition.

Below are three ways to cut waste and start generating extra money from your business today.

Operational Audit

In operations management, the term throughput refers to the total amount of time it takes the business to complete one customer transaction or request. To complete this audit, track 10 customers from start to finish, as their request or transaction makes it’s way through the various departments in your company. Odds are that there is a disconnect in communication somewhere that’s causing employees to spend extra time on things. This may be because things are being done by hand or there is not a clearly defined process. Identifying ways to increase efficiency means that you can reduce backlog and spend less money on wages to help more customers.

Customer Retention Audit

The cost to acquire a customer is often 3x more than it is to retain a customer. Often, it is cheaper to simply make sure that your customers are happy and want to stay with you. The following are some questions to ask at the beginning of this audit:

• How many return customers do I have?
• How many times do they return?
• Why do they decide to return?
• How many customers do not return?
• Why do they decide to not return?

Finding the answers to the questions will open up a lot of modes of action to convert more customers into return customers and make better use of your marketing dollars.

Business Services Audit

How much are you paying for your accounting system? Your customer service system? Often making a list of all your service providers and listing their competitors’ products is a useful way to see if you can accomplish the same objectives with less money. What about telecom services? This is certainly possible – but it can be complicated. Getting the right telecom set up is more than just picking a carrier –  it also involves your geography and the architecture of your building. In this case, it is better to not go it alone. Working with a trusted telecom agent ensures that the best technology meets the needs of your business operations and your budget. Working with a telecom agent has another advantage in that you can be up to date with cost saving technologies as they become available.

There are many simple and creative ways to improve your business’s bottom line and increase your competitiveness in the marketplace. If you are looking to examine your current telecom offering as part of your business services audit please do not hesitate to contact us at (877) 629-3373 for a free assessment and recommendation to save your company money.