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Concentrated
Efforts Enhance Profits for
Public Relations Firm
The
Challenge
The
owner of a successful public relations firm was
concerned that she was so busy working in the
business, she could not take her business to the
next step. In the past, she had not taken the
time to determine where she could enhance profitability
or measure the value of each client. To invest
in the future of her firm, this business owner
chose to join a Business Performance Roundtable,
where a Business Performance Advantage specialist
would teach her and other business owners how
to utilize performance measurement to improve
their businesses.
“When
you are a sole proprietor, it is difficult to
think about the future of the business because
you are so busy with the day-to-day work for the
services you provide. I couldn’t go farther,
but I knew that there was potential for growth,”
the public relations firm owner says.
The
Results
After
one year and 12 monthly sessions of working with
the business performance team,
this firm enjoyed a 25 percent increase in their
gross revenue and, more importantly, a 40 percent
increase in profits.
The
Performance Measurement Solution
The
business owner joined the Business Performance
Roundtable with the goal of identifying areas
where she and her team could – and should – concentrate
their efforts to enhance profits. The fact that
the Business Performance Roundtable was offered
by the firm’s CPA firm, whose professionals know
the public relation firm’s financial situation,
added a powerful dimension to the process. The
program offered a structured curriculum designed
to help each participant pinpoint facets of their
company’s operations that inhibited growth. The
group also gained the benefit of “hands-on” support
from other business owners and the business performance
team of consultants as they progressed through
the sessions.
“One
of the benefits of a Roundtable situation is that
many of the participants experience similar problems
and can offer ideas of what has worked for them
in the past and what has not,” states the lead
business performance specialist. “When we discuss
and apply the performance measurement process
within the group, they are able to not only monitor
their business changes but also see the progress
made in other businesses as well. The synergy
of the Roundtable team that the public relations
owner participated in was so dynamic that the
members also shared referrals and began to do
business with each other as well.”
During
the 12-month program, the group moved through
individual business investigations, developed
a Mission and prepared a detailed Vision of where
they would like to take the business in the future.
Next, they tracked their relationships with their
customers to find opportunities to increase return
business and improve the retention of these customers.
At this stage, each business owner identified
interactions that are key to the success of their
relationships with their customers and uncovered
problem areas where they were losing business.
Throughout
the year, participants studied Roundtable topics,
which ranged from Optimizing Human Assets, Financial
Literacy and Streamlining Operations to Targeting
Marketing Efforts. With each step along the way,
each participant searched for activities that would
allow them to measure the results of their efforts.
These performance measures were compiled in a Flash
Report that helped the business owners stay abreast
of the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) of their
success. “I
was able to focus on my business and utilize tools
that were provided to help us streamline and refine
our operations, thus making us more profitable.
Through this process, our employees gained a clearly-defined
picture of what is expected of them, and as a
result, we have more productive employees,” said
the public relations business owner. “I highly
recommend the Business Performance Roundtable
to any business owner that is looking to improve
their bottom line, grow their company and be successful.”
In
addition to meeting this client’s accounting needs,
the relationship continues with ongoing executive
coaching and strategic planning and implementation.
The business performance specialist concludes,
“We are partners in the success of our clients’
businesses and when they succeed we both win.”
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