Measuring to Manage – What You Do Not Measure, You Cannot Manage

November 28, 2021
International Business

Measuring to Manage - What You Do Not Measure, You Cannot Manage

What you do not do

If you’re having a problem in your car – for instance, the clutch is stuck, and the wipers won’t work, the door won’t shut, or what have you is it – do you go to your mechanic, telling him, “My car needs fixing. Can you do it?”

He responds, “No problem, I will have it done in an hour.”

It’s not possible, Jose! Don’t make him guess what’s wrong. Instead, you explain to him what needs to fix. You get specific.

If you’re experiencing an issue in your body, such as a headache or cramps in your knees, constipation, or anything else – would you push yourself to the doctor and tell him, “Hey Doc, my body is not right. Can you fix it?”

He replies, “No problem. Take these blue pills and stay away from tax inspectors and in-laws, and you will be right in a week.”

There’s no approach, Jose! Tell your doctor what’s bothering you, and with a bit of prodding or poking to see if she can come up with an answer to your specific issue.

You are the mechanic or doctor of your company.

In your company, you are the mechanic or doctor. You can call on others from time to moment, but in the day-to-day, you are the one performing the repairs and maintenance.

What are you trying to fix? What’s the problem? If you were to send your company to a business coach for help, what would you tell them? “Hey coach, can you fix my business?”

And he’d add, “So, what is actually wrong?”

You could think, “I do not know; it just needs fixing!”

Absolutely not, Jose! You’d need to provide him with many specific figures, and he’d take on the work. You are the coach. How many things do you know? What are the specifics you have to deal with?

Do you know how many customers “visit” your business every day? These could be visitors who are physically present as well as email/website visits, phone-ins, or whatever it is that your customers buy from you.
What proportion of these visitors turns into customers? Decide to purchase something?
Has this percentage been increasing or decreasing over the course of time?
What are the average sales per customer?
Does the average sales per client (or per customer) change or increased?
They aren’t marketing, or subjective questions like “why do people come to your premises? “, “why do they buy?” and the list goes on. The questions are straightforward and factual. They are also number-related queries… And when you have the answers and can answer them, you’re one in millions of business owners. Many business owners don’t and don’t want to learn – they’re trying to improve or fix an area they are not knowledgeable about.

Armed with a few basic information, You have a few useful tools to use.

Start counting your people who come through your doors, customers who call to request quotes or any other reason, or how they visit you. Don’t get caught over the matter… If you’re a vet, do you count humans or animals? If you run a clothing store for women, do you only count women, or do they count all customers who come into the store? If you own a toy store, Do you count children, adults, or both? Be patient. There’s no rule in this case other than your own common sense. Choose what is appropriate to consider and stick with this. Do not pick animals one month and humans the next. The first thing you do is what you will continue to work with. Consistency and common sense are crucial here.

If you can, try it daily as it is helpful to find out if specific times of the week are more beneficial than other days.

Add up your daily visits as well as your daily customers and sales, and you’ll are now able to calculate Your first set of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) visitors/customers, customers/customers, and customers.

Steps 1 and 2

What can you do with these figures? First, you must realize that we’re either optimists or optimists, and the numbers could surprise you. It’s time to do a reality test. This is the base on which we can start the work.

Second, this could be another aspect of the Great Mystery of Business… or perhaps of life. If you begin to focus on something, or something specific, it starts to improve itself, or you come up with methods to make it better in ways that you’ve never even considered before. For the coming month, you should begin counting your visitors and customers (visitors who purchase) and sales for the day daily.

While you’re doing this, we will provide you with accounting and legal information regarding different business structures over the next four posts, and we’ll then turn to increase retention of customers as well as sales per customer. And ultimately, profits. Enjoy the counting!

I am a journalist with a business degree and work experience…

I am a certified accounting professional (BBS Accredited by the CA) and have served as an executive director of a business and owner, lecturer at a university as well as a corporate trainer.