Inflation is burning a hole in Americans’ wallets for consumers and business owners alike. Look no further than the Producers Price Index for proof. A measurement that assesses how much more companies are spending on their needs, the PPI was up 8.5% in September on an unadjusted year-over-year basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It comes as no surprise, then, that 30% of small-business owners say inflation is their single-biggest pain point, according to newly released polling conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business.
When you add in supply chain disruptions, which many companies are still encountering, organizations are looking for any opportunity to stretch their dollar further and offset their rising costs. Here are a few ways you can go about improving some of your supply chain processes, which can help you generate more income from the products or services you provide:
1. Update the FAQ section of your website
Is your customer service department getting a lot of the same questions lately? Whether it’s when your location opens and closes or what your company’s policy is on mask use, addressing frequently asked questions like these via phone or email replies can take your staff away from more important work functions that have a larger influence on your bottom line.
Thus, if you find you’re getting the same kinds of questions over and over again, consider updating the FAQ page of your business’s website. Look for themes in the inquiries you receive from customers. Regularly updating that page and making it easily locatable on your website can help you reallocate resources so you spend more time on the core needs of your business, which increases productivity and efficiency.
2. Freshen up the product description pages
If you’re a product-based company, you likely have a bunch of pages on your website or as part of your online store that detail the specifications of your merchandise. But it’s possible that these pages may not be as descriptive as they need to be. Thus, take a look at the pages and do so with an inquiring mind. Is there anything on the page that ought be there but isn’t? Be it where it was assembled or whether batteries are included, updating your website’s product pages with data consumers want to know makes it easier for them to decide whether the item is right for them quickly, rather than abandoning the purchase because the pertinent information they needed was unavailable.
3. Invest in enterprise resource planning software
Even if you’re a small business, you likely have several different departments, each of which is crucial to ensuring your customers have all they need. But you can’t be everywhere at once to see how processes are going. Enterprise resource planning software gives you that visibility. Cloud-based ERP solutions are leveraged by companies in virtually every industry because they help to streamline their core business processes, including accounting, risk management, quality assurance, warehousing and more. An ERP centralizes all of these workflows so you can see what’s happening in real time, which can improve work efficiency and enhance productivity.
