Having been operating in this industry for 22 years Dovetail has seen many small operators come and go, and we have observed that the operators that are successful are the ones that have focused on a niche aspect of the industry.
Distinguish your business above the rest
Setting yourselves apart from the other industry leaders will play a major role in your success or failure. The companies that remain focused on their niche are generally the ones that remain in business over the long term. It is imperative that as a small operator you distinguish yourselves from the existing, more established businesses, and one way you can do this is by keeping the focus on your niche.
Not only will your service suffer, but by offering too many services you will incur extra and unnecessary costs to the company. So instead of offering a little bit of everything rather stay focused on excelling in your niche and dominating that specific corner of the market.
Invest in a good IT System
There are other factors that will help or hinder the success of your company and one of these influencing factors is the IT system, which is becoming more and more advanced. While a solid IT system does require an initial investment, it will most certainly stand your company in good stead for the future.
Don’t rely on one large contract
Once you have made the decision to expand your business you mustn’t rest on your laurels, you constantly need to be building relationships and bringing clients/ customers in – especially in the courier industry.
It is very unwise to build a business that relies solely on one contract only, no matter how dependable that contract may seem, the contract could be lost. If this happens you will need to have a strong enough cash flow that will keep your business afloat during the leaner months.
Keep up with industry trends
As a small business operator seeking to expand one’s business you need to keep on top of industry trends, not only will this guarantee an income to a certain extent, but it could help alleviate unnecessary costs in terms of research and certainly where trial-and-error are concerned.
This doesn’t mean that you mimic your competitors but if you keep abreast of trends and developments it will certainly stand you in good stead. It will also mean that you are listening to what clients want because customers tend to drive trends – to a large extent – and anyone in the service industry will tell you, the customer is always right.
Keep your finger on your business’s pulse
Finally, the owner of the operator must be involved in the daily running of the business. Because the courier and transport industry is constantly moving forward, without the stakeholder involved, this could lead to poor decisions being made which can be costly and have a negative effect on your customer-service.
Speaking from experience, Dovetail has succeeded in making the jump from a small start-up to an industry leader because we saw a niche in the market that needed to be filled.
We have also maintained our focus on the products we offered in the beginning and have only expanded on said focus instead of expanding in to other verticals and following our customers growing needs and requirements where software is concerned. For more information, view our full range of services to see how Dovetail can help you take your business to the next level.
Written by Shermandra Singh – Business Development Director of Dovetail Solutions. Originally written for and published on Bizconnect.