The Problem With KPIs In Small Businesses...
Gavin Gibbons
Private Investor | Adviser & Partner On Scaling Your Business To Exit | Mergers & Acquisitions | Managing Partner at Next Level Ventures
Most successful small and medium sized businesses track and monitor their performance.
But many business owners see Key Performance Indicators as a tool better suited to larger corporates... or they might think they use KPIs in their business, but in truth, it's a bit hit and miss.
From what I see on a regular basis, many business owners are overly relaxed about the importance of implementing effective KPIs or don't manage to track them consistently enough.
Here are some of the most common problems I find with KPIs in SMEs...
?? The KPIs are measuring the wrong things
?? The KPIs are out of date
?? Data is frequently missing or late or incomplete
?? They're not tracked regularly (or frequently) enough
?? Action isn't taken when problems are identified
?? Or the response is insufficient or takes too long
?? Too little individual accountability for each KPI (lack of ownership)
Businesses of all sizes seek faster, more effective and efficient ways to acquire and retain the right kind of customers, increase sales and optimise margins.
But knowing where (and where not) to direct time, energy and resource; what to fix and what to kill off, all require high quality data, from simply asking the right questions, which support making consistently high quality decisions.?
Not just long term strategic decisions but tactical, daily decisions.?
Smart use of KPIs will provide exactly that.
#schaker #business #investments #SME #KPIs
Help to increase long term net worth using Successful Financial Strategies
2 年Love all the points! Totally true about it, most owners need to update in their mind and in the way of doing things better. Amazing post!
ERP Specialist | Business Central/Acumatica Implementation & Support | Director - Flexxus Business Solutions
2 年Gavin, a number of the issues you highlight are created by not having systems in place that can automate the collection and presentation of the data behind the KPIs. The other side of KPIs is: What are the unintended consequences of measuring and monitoring the metric?
Leadership & Personal Growth Coach | Author of Leadership & Personal Growth Books | Creator of Leadership & Personal Growth Online Courses
2 年Agree you should first consider what metrics you want to focus on.
Sales and Marketing Coordinator @ Dant Clayton Corporation | B2B Marketing, Employee Training
2 年Part of this is because some companies don’t have a clearly defined strategy, but equally many don't understand how to use KPIs.
Elite Lead Generation, Sales Manager and Appointment Setter/Dialler. Highly skilled in business development, managing and growing teams and systems. My work ethic is unmatched, I am a highly dependable and organised pro
2 年Some small businesses choose too many KPIs, that's the other side of the coin.