What Do You Want From Your Business?

If you can clearly answer that question, then Brian Cochran Consultants may be able to find solutions for your company.
What do we mean?    For instance, do you want profit? Growth? Stability? Market Share?
The trade offs for each are different, as are the small business solutions required.

If you are not sure exactly what you want from your business, we have methodologies to help you discover YOUR answer.

One size does not fit all

All businesses are unique.
What works for one company may not work for another company, even if they are in the same market. Each will have different strengths and weaknesses, as well as different philosophies of business.

Most obviously, they will have different personnel and objectives. The companies simply work differently. So, it is reasonable to conclude that each business will have a unique Business Development Process.

All businesses DO have some things in common

Core functions are the same for all businesses. Every business must:

• Attract customers/clients
• Offer to sell a product or service (sometimes both)
• Accept orders
• Fulfill orders
• Solve customer problems
• Issue invoices
• Process payments

Exactly how a business addresses these core functions determines its style.This will also impact the selection of small business software that will be used to support your requirements. Some companies will only need sales force automation software. While others might be looking for field service management tools, or customer service management system. Depending on the complexity, a full CRM software suite or complete business management software package might be best.

Turning Data into Business Building Information

Simply by operating a business, data is generated. Every transaction creates data. Whether it is a marketing promotion, a website visit, a response to an email marketing campaign, a quotation, an order, or a shipment; each transaction produces data. Companies, even very small ones, swim in a sea of data.

For small companies, there is so much data that it threatens to drown them . . . and most of it is useless data.

Yet, if that data can be organized into some logical pattern, it becomes information that can be most valuable to you as business intelligence. At the very least, you can find out how the business is doing. You may even be able to avoid impending catastrophe. But, neither is possible without quality information. If it is not business building information; it is just expensive data you collected.

From Information to Business Intelligence Knowledge

With information it is possible to see “What’ is happening”. It may even be possible to recognize relationships between various groups of information. Still, that may not be enough to answer “Why.”

Until “Cause” and “Effect” are known, and tested, via company actions measured against results; management will be unsure what precise actions should be taken to attain a desired result.

Once management has the Business Intelligence “Knowledge” that tells them which actions are appropriate, they can be sure of the results they will see.

How can Brian Cochran Consultants help you?

Brian Cochran Consultants has many tools which can help your company, but like the master architect, your objectives determine which tools are appropriate. We can consult with you to understand what you want from the business, and advise you which of the many small business software tools are likely to give you what you want.

If your needs are basic, then the small business tool may be basic and inexpensive.
If your objectives are complex, then the business management tools would be similarly complex.

Either way, the right business software will be base upon, and must support, your small business strategy.
How can we help you today?