Do you know how your annual turnover compares to your competitors, whether your business is paying more rent than it should or whether your staff is overpaid or not paid enough?

Irrespective of whether you’re running a plastering business, real estate agency or medical centre, no business is too large, too small or too unusual to benefit from the enormous potential a detailed benchmarking analysis can provide.
 
In essence business owners can use their competition as the ultimate measuring stick for improvement.

Benchmarking analysis provides small-to-medium enterprises with the most commonly sought-after details. Information varies from tiered levels of competing businesses in terms of size and revenue, financial processes, administration, staffing and product specifics, all the way through to how much of the competition’s budget is dedicated to advertising and marketing. Information can be compared to competitors on a national scale and also those located within or close to your business area.

Determining whether you should invest in benchmarking your business really depends on how well you know your business. Ask yourself the following to establish whether you’re on top of your business, its associated industry and of course, your competitors: 

  • Who are my most important customers and why?
  • Am I spending too much, or too little, on advertising compared to my competitors?
  • How much are my competitors paying their staff?
  • What do customers like from a business, like mine?
  • How much are my competitors charging for similar products or services?
  • Which marketing techniques would best suit my business and what are my competitors doing in this area?
  • Can I further streamline my products, services, or processes to increase my end-of-year bottom line?
No longer can businesses just sit back and accept what used to be known as a bit of ‘healthy competition’. Benchmarking is a key to success and it is not as daunting as you might think. It has been successfully used in the corporate sector for decades and is a powerful financial assessment management tool.
 
Your Prosperity business adviser has access to industry statistics for a broad range of sectors and business types. Contact them today for an analysis of your business performance and to put in place a strategy for your business success.

 


Business Benchmarking and Modelling Specialists

Adam Sealey
Adam Sealey
Manager, Business Services and Taxation
Aidan Vuocolo
Aidan Vuocolo
Manager, Business Services and Taxation
Angela Redfern
Angela Redfern
Manager, Business Services and Taxation