Is The Graph Taking A Nosedive? Reviving A Stagnating Business

It can be a very difficult state of affairs. No matter how much work you put into your marketing components, getting the right staff, and building up the business over the years, one swift move can end up eradicating all your hard work. It happens all the time, unfortunately.

A business suffers many obstacles, and when these obstacles become personal, and jobs are on the line, or we have to start playing Sophie’s Choice with our investments, what can we do to bring the business back up to code?

If a business is stagnating is there anything we can do to revive it?

Look Inwards

We have to start by looking at the business. Before we break it down into individual components, we must see if there are any elements beyond our control first. Once we begin to assess the situation that we’re in, that is when we can start to see if there are telltale signs that we didn’t pick up on at the outset. Perhaps the business has lost its sense of direction, or there’s something missing in terms of the people that work for you or are running the company. It could be the financial aspects, namely that we don’t have enough finances to keep everything going, which means we’ve got to start cutting corners. Or it could be the product itself. Is the product not viable anymore?

Because a business relies on the strength of its product, this naturally has a detrimental impact on the customer and if they actually want to purchase the item in the first place. As soon as we begin to look inwards and really focus on what is missing, we can start to get over ourselves and find the right steps to go forward.

Change Your Strategy

Your strategy is all about redefining how you put your business back in the big leagues. By changing your strategy, you are redefining your direction and, ultimately, the purpose. And you can break it down into a few simple component; as well as the purpose, you can change your values, your mission, as well as your brand. And by breaking these aspects down, you will find a new identity, and begin your ascent again.

A lot of businesses decide to make drastic alterations to the company, but without giving thought to the fallout. It could result in a lot of unhappy workers, or even customer dissatisfaction. But if you want to make an omelet, you’ve got to break some eggs! By changing your strategy, it results in a lot of hardship.

You’re essentially giving your business a facelift, but doing it from the inside out. As a result, there can be so many changes, not just structurally, but in terms of processes, and even technology. Ripping it all out and starting again is never easy, and it can feel like a big mistake at the time, but the strategy becomes the new bible to reinvent yourself from. As such, you can look at your business plan and see if it really has served its purpose.

Rebranding The Business

Rebranding the business can work from two perspectives, the internal and the external. Rebranding the business as the customer sees it can mean that you are working at making positive changes to help the business reach more people, and provide a better service for the customer. But internally, rebranding can mean altering so many different components. Not just the processes, but the overall company culture. As a business grows, it can end up shedding a lot of the attitudes that doesn’t suit it anymore. This is all about changing and moving with the times. For example, if you had a business model that is unsustainable, then you’ve got to completely rethink your approach.

A lot of businesses make a success of their new approach to marketing, and this can mean going with the PPC approach, or completely altering the email marketing so they can connect to the customer. When a business is flagging, a well-timed email marketing campaign can do a lot.

It can implore the customer to help us in our hour of need. Generating leads and sales is a very essential approach, no matter how ethical you try to make your business. You can find more info at to get some inspiration. As a business begins to find its feet again, by altering the branding, it can put a lot of things into focus. Perhaps the business model was unsustainable because it didn’t go for the hard sell. And no matter how much you try to ignore it, it becomes an essential aspect to embrace. Because we can spend a lot of time avoiding what everybody tells us and try to forge our own path, we can end up cutting off our nose to spite our face.

Rebranding isn’t an external facelift, but it’s something that should be done organically, from the inside out.

Altering The People

If the cold hard facts are in front of you, the numbers don’t add up, and it all points towards poor productivity, is it time to get in some new blood?

Massive layoffs aren’t sensible but what you could do instead is embrace outsourcing. Everybody has their own opinion as to whether this is sacrificing the identity of the company for short term profit, but you be the judge. There is a detailed explanation of outsourcing at https://www.chrisducker.com/how-outsourcing-works/ but what you can do, rather than give up one part of your company, is hire contractors.

Hiring contractors is a good balance. But what you have to be careful of is the consternation within the office. There can be a lot of battles between permanent and temporary staff, which doesn’t benefit the company in the slightest. But as the business may require new blood, by having extra people on board to make up the numbers, to make the workload come down, or generate new leads, this can be enough to kick start the business in the right direction. Usually, contractors come on board because of a heavy workload, but if you’re struggling to make ends meet because the productivity is not where it should be, this approach can get the job done, but it can also inspire the permanent workers to up their game. On the other hand, a restructuring of roles within the organization could be what the doctor ordered.

By getting a handle on what people can do better, and moving them sideways or adding something a little extra to their roles can mean that we are condensing our finances, and helping make the most of every aspect.

Fixing Your Finances

The financial component is always a big problem. Because a lack of money is one of the main reasons a business goes under, you’ve got to look at your financial options as closely as possible. Sourcing funds can come from numerous areas, by selling off some of your fixed assets, or even using your personal savings. But what you could do is cut costs from the operations side of things.

This is something that should be looked at when evaluating the company from the inside, but if you haven’t thoroughly examined the operational expenses and looked for surplus areas that can be siphoned off, this should be undertaken as soon as possible. Angel investors are one external component that could prove to be your savior. But there are many business loans available as well, and it’s important to take an exhaustive approach, and not take the first option that comes your way. Instead, you should think about the big picture, and if one aspect of funding is financially feasible in the short-term to give you that boost, while you build up the other areas of the business.

If there’s a weak financial component in, for example, your inability to pay clients or suppliers on time, an immediate cash boost like a business loan means that they can be paid off, which gives you time to build up a better action plan.

It can be a very desperate time, and you may feel that the noose is tightening with every passing day, but reviving a flagging business is not just about you taking the bullets.

If you’ve got the right caliber of employees, they will take responsibility for their part of the business, and this can be inspiring for everyone. After all, everyone needs to pull together to make it work. And regardless of the individual components that are failing, if you can keep going, and muster some unshakable enthusiasm, this infection can help with the morale.

A stagnant business can mean that people will want to jump ship, but they will consider this even more if you are stressed and anxious. It’s far better for you to be honest with them, but provide assurance that you have confidence in everyone’s ability to bring the business back up. Changes are always afoot, but they feel like major upheavals for many people, but this is an essential road to go down if the business is to survive.

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