In Carol’s recent post on the Nextiva blog, “Do Mid-Sized Businesses Face Middle-Child Issues,” she shares four tips that can help your business grow if your business is neither a big business nor a small business / startup. Carol begins:
Do you remember Jan on The Brady Bunch? Plagued by middle-child syndrome, she couldn’t simply rely on small-child cuteness, like little sister, Cindy. And, she didn’t get the recognition and accolades earned by her older sister– Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
At times, the celebration of growing to mid-sized status wanes due to the unique issues of being in the middle of the pack. You’ve lost some small business benefits, but you’re not quite ready to compete with industry giants. This is the time to get creative. The following 4 ideas can help your business flourish as it continues to grow.
1. Carefully alter your people-pleasing policies.
You got to where you are by exercising great flexibility to meet client needs, but you can no longer afford to turn on a dime with every unique client request. Now that your team is larger, however, you can build in more flexibility to your processes.
Built-in flexibility reduces the number and frequency of special requests. It also helps avoid a major turmoil, while meeting occasional special customer needs. Shortened deadlines are a common example of special requests. If you sell products, then having a same-day shipper waiting in the wings can keep customers happy. Similarly, service businesses can often use digital delivery systems to expedite approvals or even get reports to print shops.
2. Use your size to your advantage to retain and hire employees.
The allure of startup excitement attracts some employees; others prefer the prime salaries and benefits from major conglomerates. Your business may be somewhere in the middle, which means that you can afford to offer the best of both worlds.
You can read the rest of the post here.
