Advice to keep business on track

Jan 15 2008 by Sarah Judd, Evening Gazette

RESEARCH from Barclays Bank recently revealed almost three quarters of businesses were braced for a more competitive marketplace in 2008.

Steve Walton, corporate director at Barclays Commercial Bank in the North-east, offers businesses in the region the following advice on how to face up to growing competition

Plan and plan some more. Understanding both the challenges and the opportunities will help your business to stay on track.

Regularly assess the state of the market. Understanding what competitors are up to, looking at regional trends and also the wider economic picture will help to ensure that you can respond quickly to external competition.

Make sure that you are maximising the return on any investment. Whether you plan on investing in people and skills, product innovation or marketing, undertake rigorous ROI studies to ensure you get “bang for your buck”.

Take proactive steps to improve your risk resilience. For example, if you are trading abroad, or reliant on key commodities, consider taking out some form of protection - for example hedging - against price fluctuations.

Undertake an efficiency review. Whether it's streamlining internal processes or restructuring debt, there may be more scope than you realise for making cost savings.