While every successful business has taken its path to profitability, growth, and market dominance, there are similar things that these commercial enterprises share. These businesses have key departments they rely on to outperform everyone else and grow to exceptional heights. If you are looking to build a business of your own, here are five departments you’ll want to invest in for long-term growth and success.
Product Development
A business needs to have a good product or service to thrive in its respective niche. It’s not enough to have a product/service that can be rolled out into the market, you want to build a product that can outperform your competitor’s. Investing in good product engineers and testers is key to creating a product/service that can withstand market and consumer shifts over time. So, what is product engineering? In a nutshell, it is the process of designing, testing, and launching a product, whether it’s a software system or line of clothing. The unfortunate reality for most entrepreneurs is, there is no perfect product. All products and services today have been refined numerous times to provide greater value to its customers. A product development team can create an initial offering and then refine it as new consumer feedback is received.
Accounting and Finance
A business’ survival, especially during its early stages when capital is limited, depends on how effectively one can manage cash flow. An accounting department composed of experienced and skilled bookkeepers and accountants can help your business direct its available financial resources towards assets and acquisitions that fuel growth. Your accounting department will track all revenue, expenses, equity, accounts payables, and other financial data throughout the fiscal year. A solid accounting department will help you prepare your income statements for tax time and for stakeholders who are vested in the business.
Marketing
Your business’ marketing department can determine your brand positioning and exposure. A good marketing team can help bring light to your business’ products and services while a bad marketing department can send the wrong message to your intended audience. A business’ marketing department works on developing your product’s packaging, suggested retail price, brick-and-mortar store layout, and other creative projects that inform customers about the business. In addition, your marketing department is also responsible for running surveys and conducting studies to determine future market trends and customer needs.
Production
The production team of your business handles all the inventory-related tasks and processes. Without a production department, your business can run into inventory issues that can stop the business’ day-to-day operations. For instance, not having a good handle on your inventory and production can lead to a lack of products to sell to your customers during seasonal periods of high demand. Have a department that focuses solely on manufacturing your product and having a solid understanding of how much product you need and when you need it. Your production team must be able to predict how much raw materials or SKUs to order from your vendor/supplier otherwise you might order too little or too much at any given time.
Sales
There is no use in having the perfect product if you do not have a solid sales department to push the product out into the world. Your sales department sells products to customers, either to retail customers or other businesses. A good sales department can effectively coordinate its sales team to cultivate strong customer relationships, hit specific revenue milestones, and pitch new products to potential investors and customers. Having solid communication skills and a push-and-pull strategy for attracting customers without appearing pushy is key to building a growing customer base.
These are the top five departments you’ll want working for you if you want to build a successful business over time. Assembling these departments may require another important department that every business should have – human resources. With a good HR team, you can start building these five other departments by bringing in industry-leading experts who have the experience and know-how. Note that building and maintaining these departments do not have to happen overnight. It will require a great deal of time and attention and a trial-and-error approach to getting the individuals and teams you need.
