Systemic Systems
Running the systems in your business can be complicated and rewarding but they're worth looking into.
How do you invoice? How often do you charge your clients? How do clients get your product? How do you handle customer service complaints? The answers to all of those questions reflect your systems. Some of those systems may be invisible to you. The way you handle employee complaints may not have a conscious system; you may handle complaints by immediately talking to that employee or having them fill out a complaint form, and both of those are systems.
Personalize systemic systems for branding. What’s your company’s brand? Does it offer a high level of customer service? Is your systemic system in the way of fulfilling that service? What is your tolerance for getting that system done; what’s your nature? Does your existing systemic system support that nature?
Systemic systems are hugely personalizable. Your branding comes out of your vision. Which business do you have? Are you a high-level service with a high level of quality and a high level of time? I have a product that takes me two weeks to complete. For me, I’m loyal, and my business is a long-term relationship with clients, and getting them clear on what they get from me. I want my clients to feel clear they've gotten a good product from me, so I write up a report and review that report with them over the phone.
Does your service have a quick turnaround? What's your brand identity? What’s the brand, niche, or quality your business delivers to the client, and do your systemic systems support that? Maybe your system offers quick updates to websites. Is your system to have someone who needs help leave a message where you check messages once a day? Do you feel that gives clients the quick turnaround they're paying you for?
Write down systems in the areas of inventory management, product creation, and product delivery. What’s your customer support system? What are your internal systems? Who does your bookkeeping? How quickly do you invoice? What systems do you have around email, snail mail, texts, and other forms of communication?
What's your employee management system? Do you meet with employees once a week? Do you meet with them at all? Do you debrief with them every morning or do you have one-on-ones? Any system is fine; whether you're conscious of the system or not, the system is happening. Any system you have around marketing and social media management needs to be written down as well.
Make sure your systems serve your nature. Is it your nature to turn things around quickly? Have you created a niché that doesn't fit your nature? For me, I am better at talking than I am writing, so I take the audio from my radio show and hand it over whose nature is to write. If you're a detail-oriented person and you have a system that doesn't have a lot of details in it you may feel like that part of your business is out of control.
Have systems that serve your nature-- they will ultimately serve your business and goals. Systems, sometimes, though they are relatively core to your business, need to be moved on; you need to delegate them.