As a business owner, there are many responsibilities that you have. You must take care of your business, employees, finances, stock, equipment and customers amongst many things. If you are just starting your business, there are business functions you must know. These will ensure your business grows and is successful.
Business functions are specific tasks and goals that you need to complete within your business. Some examples of business functions include sales, marketing, human resources (HR), admin and information technology (IT), amongst others.
For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in order to ensure your business keeps growing, here are eight business functions you have to know!
1. Sales and Marketing
The marketing and sales departments are what make the business. The marketing team is responsible for creating content (videos, pictures, articles etc) to promote the business. The sales team connects with potential clients and customers to help build brand awareness and generate revenue.
Usually, a medium-sized business will have a dedicated sales and marketing team. To ensure your business growth is consistent, you have to get a sales and marketing team that works well together and creates innovative and capturing content to secure clients and make profits.
2. Business Strategy
When you start your business, you must have a strategy. This strategy should outline long-term and short-term goals for your business. As your business grows from small to medium-sized, your strategy must align with the growth.
By adjusting your strategy as you grow, you can see the strengths and weaknesses of your business. This will help you see which parts need more work and investment. Additionally, you will see where your business’ competitiveness lies and where you are better than the competition.
3. Business Finance
Finances are vital to the strength of your business. The more money you make, the better your growth will be. You can easily pay employees, buy stock and equipment, and invest in the latest technology.
As a business owner, you need to deeply understand the financial ecosystem of your business. This will help you see where money is being spent and where it is coming in the most. It will also ensure you can pay your employees and adhere to tax laws.
4. Customer Services
This function is very important because customers can make or break your business. Without them, there is no profit but the more customers you have the more money you make.
As a business owner, knowing how to approach your customers will help you build a positive brand for your business. It’s important to have a clear and direct line of communication with your customers. This will help you address any complaints or questions you as a customer may have more easily.
5. Human Resources
Every company needs a human resources (HR) department. This department focuses on functions that are related to employees. This includes finding talent, hiring employees, handling performance management and employee relations.
When you first start your business, you must be in the HR department. As the business grows, you must hire a professional HR manager to ensure that you are complying with regulations and laws that affect your business.
6. Product Distribution
If your business involves a product that you create and distribute, you will need a distribution strategy. Your products can be sold in-store, delivered to customers or even listed on e-commerce platforms such as Takealot or Amazon South Africa.
As your business grows, you will need to find a distribution system that works for you and your customers. You can invest in a vehicle that will deliver the goods or partner with a courier company to ensure customers receive their orders on time.
7. Overall Management
This is the overarching role of a business owner. You oversee all departments and the functions of the business. Management can be divided into levels, including top, middle and lower management.
As your business grows and you have fewer day-to-day operational responsibilities, you will rely on your management team to ensure everything runs smoothly. However, you will not be obsolete as you are still the business owner.
8. Information Technology
Technology integration is still a struggle for small businesses in South Africa. However, if your business is past the small stage, you need to start thinking about investing in tech.
By understanding available technology, you will also be able to understand which tech tools to leverage for your business. There are various technologies you should consider such as POS systems, e-commerce tools, artificial intelligence and cyber security tools.
These are just a few of the business functions you can apply to your business. These functions will help you in everyday business operations and will help you ensure your business success is long-lasting.
