To become a market leader today, businesses must invest in their success. This means looking at the most critical areas of their business and funding resources and people to make sure that they are keeping ahead of the competition. For those companies that make these investments, their chances of getting and maintaining a lead on everyone else is improved greatly. Here are two critical areas that any sized company needs to dedicate some financial resources to gain their best chance at success.
Research and Development
To become and stay a market leader your company must invest heavily in research and development. R&D is an investment that positions your company to always be on the cutting edge of your industry and to lead rather than follow. Your company should dedicate a percentage of its annual budget to your R&D efforts and have a specific team focused on finding new and more efficient or effective ways to conceive, create, and deliver your products and services.
Many companies feel that R*D is expensive and since it often cannot be quantified, it is hard to determine its value. In terms of its expense, there are ways to defray costs. If your company is in Canada the Canadian government provides the Scientific Research and Experimental Development or SR&ED program that offers generous financial rebate incentives for companies conducting research and development activities in Canada. The SR&ED Program is open to any company that fits the criteria and in addition Canada has SR&ED financing companies who can provide the SR&ED funding upfront. This allows companies to fund the R&D in advance and do more of it. With this critical area of your business fully funded you can commit more time and resources to it and always be at the front of your market sector.
Employee Training
Business today moves so quickly and the skills that your employees have that have helped them to keep your business competitive and running ahead of the pack can become antiquated in the blink of an eye. To assist your employees in always being effective, you need to make sure that they receive the latest training available in their respective job areas. You can provide online education that is convenient and powerful.
Employees can catch up on new ways to do their jobs and learn complimentary skills as well. You can also provide training on company rules and regulations and those in your industry to make sure that everything is being done legally and of the highest quality. Employees can take these training classes at nights or on weekends and be well armed to compete with every competitor no matter the size of the company.
Companies should set up specific training schedules for employees so it is assured that they are getting access to the latest strategies and offer them bonuses when they complete their training. This shows them how serious your company is to make sure they can win.
Focus on investing in these two key areas of your business and your profits will increase.