We are fairly certain we are not the only people thinking "How can it be February already?"  And in retail it comes around even faster, there is the speedball effect from Labour Weekend to Christmas, New Year’s Sales and bang, its February! Hardly time to review your 2013 year and plan for 2014.  But failure to understand your previous year’s business performance and plan for the coming year can only lead to achieving the same results you always have, it’s the old "if you always do what you have always done, you will always get the same results".

We have spent January reviewing business performance with our clients, and also looking at our business.  Not all businesses are created equal and small wins need to be celebrated.  We are big believers that mistakes aren't failures, but failing to learn from them is.  Pulling apart and understanding various aspects of your business and putting back together will ensure that you are setting your business up for success.

Ask yourself the following questions:-

1. What did we learn from last year?

2. What are our customers wanting from our business?

3. Is our brand relevant? 

4. What are our competitors doing better than us?

5. What do we want to achieve this year?

Question 4 raises some interesting questions around success, what does success mean to you?  Without fail most business people will answer in terms of sales growth, without considering the steps to achieve that financial success. Increasing team performance, introducing a customer centric philosophy will ensure your business delivers the sales growth and financial success we all strive for - so are these better measures of success?   

Retail Connect was born in 2013, what we thought potential clients wanted is significantly different to what we are now delivering, and we were happy to change with the demands of the market, business as with life is a journey and it’s important to be part of the journey rather than only the destination.

We would love your feedback on the 5 questions, so please let us know what came up with, and for a more robust look at your business ensure you involve your team - you'll be surprised what comes out of a team discussion.