Many people ask us "What is Scopo?" So, here you go...... Scopo is the Italian word for Purpose. Purpose is the heart of every company's mission, it's why a company exists. The Purpose of Scopo is help Mercer County small businesses achieve their Purpose, to accomplish their mission. In essence, your Purpose becomes our Purpose. Your Scopo is Our Scopo! How does Scopo help Mercer County small businesses achieve their Scopo? We utilize the EXACT SAME strategic principles... and business insights that large corporations use as tools to achieve their Purpose......WITH ONE HUGE DIFFERENCE! Scopo does not charge the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars that large corporations pay every year for these same tools. In fact, Scopo doesn't charge small businesses at all, not one penny, UNLESS we can help our Mercer County small business clients earn NEW profits. And when we do, we only charge a small percentage on those NEW profits. If you're a Mercer County small businesses owner and want to learn more about how Scopo can help you achieve your Scopo...call, text, or email us today. We only exist for YOU! If you know a Mercer County small business owner, please tell them about Scopo Company's valuable services that can help their business succeed. It will be the best tip you could ever give them. How well do you know your customers?
To attract potential target customer and maintain your current customer base, it's essential for small business owners to know their customers - better than they know themselves. Large companies spend enormous amounts of capital and resources to gather data on their customers including names, gender, age, income, jobs, education, family status, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and more. If there is one thing small companies can, and should, do like the big guys, it’s getting to know their customers – inside and out. But understanding our customers is only half the battle. The second part is to deliver what the customers want. This is a key driver in the success of any business, and once successful it will be mutually beneficial for both parties – the customer and the company. Here are a few tips for getting to know your customers that go beyond standard demographics.
Do not assume that what has worked in the past will work in the future, taking the approach of “if it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it.” To be creative and innovative, it requires small business owners to step away from their comfort zone and explore new and exciting approaches to customer relationships. So get to know your customers well and they’ll come back again and again. How do you build value for a small business? Two key fundamental factors are:
1) Having an excellent understanding where the company stands at all times, and 2) Knowing how to plan for future growth – at all times. Many small business owners are constantly bombarded with day-to-day operating hassles that detract them from focusing on building a valuable firm. In addition, rising costs such as health care expenses and wages have the potential to hamper their growth potential. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are five steps every small business owner can take to build value for their company: 1) Set time aside every month to review your balance sheet and look for inconsistencies in your expenses. If they are not where they should be, take immediate action to get them back to where you want them to be. 2) Conduct a basic industry analysis and look for how much others are charging for similar products or services, both locally and nationally. Compare these prices with your own and determine whether or not your company should increase its prices. But remember to consider the price sensitivity of your customers. 3) Review your operating practices such as peak and off-peak times and compare them to staffing levels; inventory volumes and compare them to peak and off-peak time periods; and review your accounts receivable to accounts payable ratio to ensure your firm collection’s policy is on par. 4) Conduct an operations analysis and look for bottlenecks that slow your operations down and prevent or delay your company from making money. Look for way information technology can help remove these bottlenecks and make your firm more efficient. 5) Once you have your expenses, income and operations in check, look for opportunities that will ensure the long term success of your company. Be creative, and remember to open up your mind and look outside the box! If you are a small business owner and you find that you do not have the time to work on building value for your company, Scopo can help you accomplish any or all of these five steps – and more! Contact Scopo today to speak with a trusted strategic advisor who has the expertise and capabilities to help your small business succeed, and you’ll quickly learn why we say “Your Scopo is Our Scopo!”k here to edit. The world is moving at hyper-fast speed. Ever wonder why some small businesses succeed in such conditions, while others seem to barely get by or eventually shut its doors for good? Chances are it's a direct result of the owners ability to understand the economic environment in which he/she operates and effectively analyzing market demand and supply as it relates to his/her industry.
In order to do so, small business owners must have strong business and financial skill sets that enable them to perform and analyze many sets of detailed reports which include but are not limited to financial statements, competitive analyses, and assessments of opportunities and threats. And in order to do this, small business owners must spend an enormous amount of time and money to go to business school and obtain advanced degrees in business administration, finance, accounting and/or economics. Or, they could hire staff who hold these advanced degrees and skill sets but pay them the high salaries in which they demand, and deserve. Or, they can simply contract an advisor who too has strong business and financial skills with advanced degrees, but require only a fraction of the costs and can be obtained on an at-need basis. For many small business owners, the latter is the most logical choice of action. And that's where Scopo comes into play. Scopo Company helps small business owners successfully achieve their goals and objectives in this rapidly changing world that has the potential to make-or-break them in a moments notice. Scopo Company has what it takes to accurately assess the forces that impact small business owners and then help them to plan and act accordingly. Imagine walking into your local pub knowing you are guaranteed to get the perfect cocktail. The bartender's eyeballing of ingredients, stirring techniques, muddling, and proper use of garnishes are like a priceless masterpiece. Now imagine this bartender is a robot! The robotic bartender is programmed to always deliver the perfect cocktail, each and every time. It never loses focus of its core purpose. Many small businesses find a source of competitive advantage in its early stages through this deep level of focus, but over time small incremental changes in the marketplace begin to threaten their business models and owners shift their focus from their core purpose to defensive tactics designed to preserve profits. Small businesses should never lose focus of their core purpose. Disruptive innovation will always threaten even the best in class companies, but losing focus on what really matters will always weaken the original sources of a small business's competitive advantage that grew the company in its earlier stages. A robot never loses focus, and neither should a small business owner. A purpose-driven strategy is the best offensive resource a small business can implement in its arsenal of competitive tactics to preserve what really matters. No one can predict the future, but you can guarantee that your small business's core purpose will never be compromised. Earlier in the year, we stated that large retailers are rethinking their inventory strategies to profitably serve the growing needs of online shoppers. We are now beginning to see their strategies impact other parts of New Jersey and in time this will have an effect on our small businesses here in Mercer County.
At Scopo, we continuously research and analyze the global, national, state and local economic and political conditions that affect our small businesses in Mercer County, NJ. We have the expertise and capabilities to create winning strategies that are focused, structured, and innovative. Large retailers are rethinking their inventory strategies along with down-sizing their big box stores to profitably serve the growing needs of online shoppers. Small businesses too must assess their sales trends and strategize to meet consumer demands.
Peter Drucker said "the purpose of any organization is to create a customer." In essence, what Mr. Drucker is saying is that all companies should consider the needs of their customers when crafting their product or service.
Small business owners need to step back and think about what business they are REALLY in. • Do you sell houses, or do you sell a safe community where kids are free to play outside? • Do you sell ice cream, or do you sell happy taste buds all year round? • Do you sell orthodontics, or do you sell self confidence with a new smile? When small businesses focus more on their products or services, rather than the customer's needs, they are entering into "market myopia" and missing out on a tremendous amount of opportunity. At Scopo, our focus is on Mercer County, NJ small businesses and the local communities they serve. We don't sell "strategy," rather we sell "helping small businesses achieve success!" When a local small business goes out of business, we are truly heartbroken and wish that the owners had contacted us before deciding to close their doors. Because when small businesses fail, everyone in our local communities fail. • No more safe neighborhoods where our kids are free to play outside. • No more happy taste buds all year round. • No more self confidence with new smiles. So we ask ALL small business owners to take the time to step back for a moment and think about what type of business they are REALLY in. If you always keep the customer's needs at the heart of your thought process, your small business will shine brighter and longer than ever before! Regardless of which type of strategy a small business pursues, it is essential to know what customers value - both its own and its competitors customers. A "customer value analysis" determines what the underlying NEEDS of the customer are, on two levels:
1) Distribution channel - when there is an intermediary channel between the small business and the end user (ex: business-to-business), and 2) End user - when there is no intermediary channel between the small business and the end user (ex: business-to-consumer) These two types of customers have different benefits and costs so it is important to know the underlying NEEDS of both to determine the customer value analysis equation, which will eventually unfold into what type a strategy a small business will pursue. A winning strategy determines the goals and objectives of a small business, and creates a plan to turn inputs into outputs - or, turn resources into something customers are willing to purchase. At Scopo, we understand what it takes to create maximum value for our local small businesses.
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AuthorJoe Immordino, MBA Archives
April 2017
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