5 WAYS TO POSITION YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS IN 2020

1. REDEFINE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS

The New Year is a particularly important time to take inventory of your business, do some housekeeping, and hone in on your goals. Be sure to take a moment to jot down what you hope to accomplish in the upcoming decade.

One of the best ways to refine your goals includes reviewing what did or did not work last year. Which of your sales campaigns worked well? How did your customer service team perform? What are some areas in which you fell flat—areas that may need some extra time devoted towards making them work?

As always, ensure your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, so you can easily turn your goals into action steps.

2. DEVELOP A SECURITY STRATEGY

As we step into 2020, this new decade will be marked by the continued growth of artificial intelligence.

While the growing prevalence of AI offers numerous benefits, there are also many potential risks posed by artificial intelligence, such as automated hacking, data poisoning, and the creation of deepfakes.

As the use of AI grows in the next decade—and malicious AI threats continue to become smarter, sneakier, and more convincing or authentic-looking—it is absolutely essential to develop a solid cybersecurity strategy for your business.

According to the 2019 Varonis Global Data Risk Report, only 5% of most companies’ documents and folders on their computers are actually protected from cyber threats. Additionally, Varonis reports that within just the first six months of 2019, 4.1 billion records and files were leaked due to data breaches. These startling facts reveal how easy it is to become a target for cyber-attacks.

Some key questions to consider when reviewing the state of your current cybersecurity:

• Where do you store your data?
  
• How do your employees share documents or data with each other?
  
• Are you utilizing two-step authentication or a VPN?
  
• How does your company handle password creation, sharing, and updating?
  
• What type of information do your employees handle?
  
• Do employees use their personal computers for the purpose of work?

Just like you need car insurance before getting into an accident, or health insurance before undergoing life-saving surgery, building out your security strategy before your business is hit with a cyber-attack is critical. Don’t wait to address glaring security concerns before it’s too late.

3. CREATE A DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN

The world today runs on data. Your business depends on its data. Therefore, it is essential that you implement a data management plan. Your data management plan should address how your team is going to follow data management best practices, including:

• Using proper data management software that will:
  
• Keep your data secure from cyber threats.
  
• Ensure your business is compliant with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 1-3, PCI DSS, FINRA, or ISO 270001.
  
• Ensuring your data is properly backed up.
  According to a report on data loss, 75% of companies who lost data in a cyber-attack were unable to recover their data. Additionally, half of the business who reported losing data in the last three years all had some sort of backup system in place. These alarming numbers demonstrate that often, backups are not running as correctly as companies believe.
  Don’t let corrupted, failed, or missed backups spell disaster for your company. Make sure you consult with an IT expert who can verify that your data backups are working and saving properly.
  
• Creating a disaster recovery strategy for your data. Having a data recovery strategy spelled out for your company is like having a map of the fire exits on the back of a hotel door. You hope you never have to use it; but should you ever need it, you’ll be glad you have it. “Hope” is not a strategy. The key is to manage your data properly before disaster strikes.
  
• Eliminating old, stale, and unnecessary data. Focusing on the quality of your data is essential. According to the 2019 Data Risk Report, 87% of companies that were surveyed for old data uncovered at least 1,000 sensitive, stale files.
  Keep in mind that even old, stale data is subject to compliance regulations like GDPR, FINRA, or PCI DSS. Additionally, stale, sensitive data poses a risk to your company should it ever be breached, compromised, and leaked. To ensure you keep high quality data, make sure you eliminate old, unnecessary files or data that are no longer relevant to your company or your old clients.
  Also take time to check your data routinely for accuracy, and to train your employees on how to properly input data into your records or CRM.

4. EMBRACE AUTOMATION

Automation uses technology to streamline your business processes with the purpose of eliminating busy work and minimizing costs.

If you want to remain a key player in the marketplace, automating several of your business processes is becoming absolutely essential. Not only does automation save time and costs, but it frees your employees to focus on critical issues—instead of mundane, repetitive tasks.

According to a 2019 MailChimp report, “Businesses who use automated welcome emails to connect with new contacts saw an order per recipient rate 9 times higher than the regular bulk email.”

The new year is a great time to take a look at which of your business processes can be automated. The key is to automate processes that will help you deliver your goods or services to your clients more efficiently. Use technology to your advantage, so you can accomplish more in 2020.

5. EXPAND YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

Many SMBs (small-to-medium sized businesses) struggle with establishing a strong online presence. But in today’s world, having an internet presence is essential to surviving the cutthroat marketplace. Are there aspects of your digital footprint that you can expand or improve? To ensure your business’s digital presence is up-to-date:

• Upgrade your website with a new, fresh look. If you need help designing a modern website, consider reaching out to a professional for help.
  
• Consistently publish blog posts that answer leading industry questions—and, ultimately, drive traffic to your website.
  
• Engage with MQLs (market qualified leads) or your customers regularly via email campaigns.
  
• Stay relevant and up-to-date on industry news by utilizing social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.)

Photo by: Matthew Henry