If you aren’t growing perhaps you’re dying?

Any business that is constantly trying to do what they do better has to be well on the way to success. This attitude is one that any customer notices the minute they walk into a business, just as they notice a business that simply doesn’t care. So how does a business constantly improve?

There are so many ways I don’t know how to start. We can improve the way we communicate with our clients, we can make it easier for people to buy from us, we can keep working on the appearance of our business ensuring it is always clean and tidy but also fresh and modern, we can train our staff, we can be at the forefront of product knowledge on what we sell and we can have an open mind that lets us look for new and better ways to run our business.

When you are committed to constant and never ending improvement it really does show. This attitude rubs off on our staff who start to look for ways to do things better as well. Customers are more likely to come to you with ideas to improve your business because you clearly care enough to listen to what they have to say. Suppliers note this attitude and are more likely to want to help you grow your business, perhaps giving you new products to try, special deals or even just extra support when you need it. And your competitors will respect you.

In my mind these are all very good characteristics for a growing business. However, the most important area that needs constant and never ending improvement is you.

As a business owner we need to commit to learning new skills, to look for ways to do what we do as individuals ever better, to research our industry and be a leader in this industry, to read and broaden our knowledge on a range of subjects that will help our businesses to grow, to be trained in areas that make us better leaders and to always be open minded enough to find new ways to do things.

With this comes a degree of flexibility that is a key component in the overall BULLETPROOFING strategy. Any business that isn’t committed to becoming better all the time is ultimately going to die off. Just as any business that is too rigid to change, or too lazy to change or too bored to change will face the same fate.

Committing to constant and never ending improvement adds an air of passion and excitement to a business. In my mind, this is the fuel that powers a business to true success.

Last week I had a break in Tasmania – and what a great holiday destination it is. I love being a tourist, sitting back and enjoying what is going on around me. It is also great time to reflect and observe and I get some of my most innovative ideas when I am in this relaxed state of mind.

As I was checking out of a wonderful hotel in Cradle Mountain, Lemonthyme Lodge, the receptionist handed me a bag. I asked her what it was and she said it was a travel pack compliments of the resort. It contained a couple of bottles of water and some apples. She explained that every person visiting Lemonthyme has to drive to get there so they felt it was a nice gesture to make the return journey for their guests a little more enjoyable.

How impressive is this? Something for free and something practical. It may sound like such a simple gesture, and it is, but when was the last time you stayed in a hotel or a motel and they gave you something like this? In fact it is generally the opposite – businesses are giving less away, in fact many are getting down right mean. Sadly it shows.

This is yet again a sensational opportunity for any business, from the largest to the smallest, to really stand out from the crowd by being generous with their customers. Be prepared to give a bit, show your customers that you appreciate them and that you know they have a choice and they have chosen you.

Standing out from the crowd and getting people talking about your business is not about the big things – it is all about the little things. Find ways that you can do more of the little things for your customers and they will tell everyone and they will be loyal for as long as you keep it up. Don’t become mean and stingy out of fear of the global financial crisis, look at it as the best opportunity to be better than your competition, for once and all.

Small things are big in the world of business.