These Are the 7 Most Expensive Words to Avoid if You Want Your Business to Achieve Massive Success
What’s holding your business back or preventing it from moving forward? Chances are, it’s the mindset of your business, which can easily be distinguished from the words and phrases that are said around your office, in meetings, to management and to your employees. Have you ever said “we have always done it that way”? Or have you heard someone else in your business say it? If so, these words can be holding your business back and preventing the growth that you’re trying to achieve.
In order to achieve growth, change needs to be embraced. If you look at the most successful businesses in the world, one thing you’ll immediately notice is that they are constantly changing with the times. Let’s take a look at why “we have always done it that way” are the 7 most expensive words in business and how you can change your mindset in order to reach your business’s goals.
Times Change
What used to work 5, 10, 15 or more years ago may not work at all today. “We have always done it that way” can hold you back from innovation, new ideas and even from reaching your customers.
Your customers today probably aren’t your customers from years ago. What used to please customers may be making your current demographic unhappy or untrusting of your company. For example, there was a company who was stuck on paper marketing only and the only way to sign up for services was for customers to fill out long forms and send them back in with payment. In addition, the information mailed out by the company was not well designed and the information was hard to find due to tiny text and bad contrast in the design.
Now that we’re in the day of the Internet, websites and online payments, customers started to complain and ask why they couldn’t find the information online and why they couldn’t also pay online? No matter how many customers asked or complained, the company was stuck in the mindset of “we have always done it that way.” In the end, their profits went down and they lost several customers due to being stuck in an old way of doing things.
You’re Stuck and Can’t Move Forward
Consider this meeting scenario: Employees have been brainstorming trying to come up with new ways to reach their targeted audience and market their products. Many hours have been spent on this project which was requested from management. Upon entering the meeting and presenting their findings, they are immediately informed that their ideas won’t work. Why? Because the company has always done it in a certain way and the new ideas go against the grain.
There are two ways that this scenario is expensive for the company:
- They are prohibiting growth by not considering any new ideas – ideas of which may be able to increase sales, customer loyalty, or reach new customers.
- Staff spent several hours working on a project, which in the end was tossed out of the window because others are scared of doing things differently.
Employee Retention and Hiring Can Fall
Employee retention and making good hires are essential to keeping business costs down. When a business has a high turnover rate or they can’t find the right employees for the job, it’s easy to see how it affects the bottom line.
Having the mindset of “we have always done it that way” and employee retention goes hand in hand. For example, businesses that have been around awhile may completely disregard the option of flex time for employees, working from home, or having a casual work environment. The problem is, new graduates and the younger generation know that there are companies who embrace these business perks. While working from home or flexible hours won’t work for every type of business, if employees can’t find the type of work arrangement they have with your business, they’ll go find a business that will. You’re now stuck with finding replacements for employees who left, which easily costs tens of thousands of dollars.
In addition, when conducting interviews, potential candidates are going to ask questions regarding company culture, workflow, company perks and so on. If they get the feeling that your company has been doing things the same way over and over, it’s going to convey that your business is not open to innovation or new ideas, which will make candidates question if it’s a good place to work or a good fit for their skills and aspirations.
Competition is Taking Over
If your company is having a hard time embracing change, remember that your competition may be welcoming to new ideas and doing things differently. If you’re stuck but your competition is running away with innovation, it’s going to cost your business money through the loss of sales and recommendations. Again, you can say that what you’ve been doing has always worked, but it’s just as important to research what your competition is doing so you can stay ahead of the game.
Newer Systems Can Help Save Money
Technology has been growing at speeds that most people and businesses cannot keep up with. However, technology can save money and help businesses grow if the right systems are implemented. For example, there was a company who insisted on doing their email marketing by sending each individual customer an email with the latest news and promotions. On average, they were sending over 1300 emails per week with the same information repeated in every email! Think about how many man hours were lost because a person had to send 1300 emails that contained duplicate information. Automated technology like email marketing services can save money through man hours and allow employees to focus on other projects that can bring in more money.
Technology is not the enemy as long as it’s used correctly and the systems in place are tailored for your specific business type. “We have always done it that way” in these scenarios are highly costly and are preventing higher profits.
Are you wondering if there are other words and phrases that are expensive in business? Of course, there are! Here are a few:
- We can’t
- We don’t know how
- We don’t have anyone to do that
- We need to focus on this one thing
- We’re not open to new ideas
If you want to have growth in your business and increase profits, toss the mindset of “we have always done it that way” completely out of mind. Not only is it expensive, but it also stalls innovation and learning different ways to make your business thrive in today’s marketplace.
