Family Business Institute Consulting

How Effective Use of Social Media Can Help Your Family Business

Is your family business using social media to reach out to your clients? Although social media is a free marketing tool that can allow family businesses to level the playing field when competing with bigger businesses, relatively few closely held companies are tapping into the marketing potential of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. Here are a few reasons why you should make room for social media in your schedule: 

Nurture Customer Relationships

As a family-owned business, one way you can set yourself apart from your competition is your level of personal service. Your business is built on relationships within your organization and with your clients. Social media gives you an outlet to directly engage your existing clients and hold onto their loyalty. For example, you can set up Google alerts for clients’ names and be the first to congratulate them on good press, or use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to remind you of clients’ birthdays, anniversaries, and other personal milestones.

Promote Services

Social media is a great source of free advertising. Simply maintaining active Facebook and Twitter pages and engaging people in your community can help attract new customers to your family business. Make friends by sharing news from other people in your town and watch as they return the favor by passing on information about your products and services to others in their network.

Build Business Profile

Social media gives you an opportunity to establish yourself in the business community and build a good reputation among fellow business owners. Services like LinkedIn make it easier to develop new business relationships and receive kudos from colleagues. Every connection adds legitimacy to your family business and could be a lead for new customers.

If you’re a closely held business, don’t let another day go by without taking advantage of everything social media has to offer. Family Business Institute can help you develop a winning social media strategy that will help increase your profits. Learn about our family business consulting services by calling (888) 438-1948.

Small Business is a BIG FORCE in Transforming People's Lives!

Small business and family businesses are much more than just factories pushing products out the back door. Small business owners - entrepreneurs - have the power to positively touch more people's lives than those in just about any other profession. Watch this video from The American Enterprise Institute; it captures perfectly why small, entrepreneurial family businesses have helped fuel a standard of living and prosperity unmatched by any other in the history of mankind. Entrepreneurs give first; they push their ideas out into the world with no guarantees whatsoever that they'll be successful. If they do make it, they help - whether intentionally or not - many other people along the way by creating opportunity. A vibrant entrepreneurial community is a necessity for the creation of a prosperous society.

Articles and Websites for Helpful Family Business Tips

As the owner of a closely held business, you understand the challenges and obstacles on the path to success for any company. At The Family Business Institute, our goal is to help you, your team, and your business grow and improve through strategic planning services. Our expert team of business consultants offers many services that small businesses need to get ahead of the competition. Find out more about these services by calling (888) 438-1948.

This article from WAHM.com provides additional information about setting goals for your business.

Inc.com provides helpful rules and guidelines for setting smart business goals on this page.

When evaluating your business’ current success, consider the questions posed in this article from Forbes.

If you’re still unsure of whether you need to set goals for your company, read through this Houston Chronicle article to discover how goals can help improve your business.

In this guide to goal setting, Entrepreneur.com provides great advice, tips, and rules for setting smart objectives.

What a Family Business Assessment Can Do For Your Company

As a business owner, you understand that you need to continually work toward growing and improving your company. In order to successfully improve business, though, you must first understand the areas of your company that could benefit from extra attention. A business assessment helps the owners and employees at a closely owned business get a better understanding of their business through in-depth analysis and examination.

Provide a Comprehensive Evaluation of Operations

A family owned business assessment works to paint a clear and thorough picture of your business through five distinct service areas. First comes a business health assessment, which analyzes both the general business and family functionality. An assessment also includes a personality profile assessment, business planning and management analysis, and an in-depth review of your company’s financial performance. The assessment concludes by offering feedback and support for your closely held business’ future through management and ownership transition and planning.

Point Out Areas for Improvement

In order to improve business, your company needs a thorough, sound, and objective diagnosis of its problems and shortcomings. Identifying these areas of concern lets you develop strategies for improvement which will help your company achieve unprecedented success. A business assessment from an outside, objective, and experienced company will help with everything from process management and basic day-to-day functions to business succession. A business assessment also takes into account the perspectives and opinions of all members of the closely held business which can be invaluable for identifying unspoken concerns.

If you’re interested in improving your company, a business assessment is a great first step. The experts at Family Business Institute have the skills and experience necessary to help your company grow and succeed. We offer business assessments, management training, and many other helpful services for closely owned businesses. To find out more, call our friendly business consultants today at (888) 438-1948.

Tips for Successful Family Business Succession Planning

From the early days of business planning to later years of ownership and management succession, running a family business offers many challenges. Determining the best methods, successors, and timeline for passing along your business is vital to its future.

Watch this video for helpful information and tips on determining succession for your family business. It explains how to plan for succession, how to choose your successor, and when you should seek help to make great decisions for your company.

If you want advice on continuing or improving your family business, talk to the family business consultants at Family Business Institute. We offer management training for businesses in every step of the development and succession process. Learn more about how we can help your business by calling (888) 438-1948.