Running a business comes with highs and lows, and success isn’t always guaranteed. In fact, many elements play a part in a business’ success. It takes hard work, dedication, teamwork and strong customer service to help increase the chance of success.

Explore more about what makes a successful business and discover how Adobe Express can help you boost your own company success.

What defines business success?

How a business measures success is often based on its size, service and sector. So, what one business considers success might be completely different to another.

Some of the main ways to measure success include:

• Financial metrics like revenues and profits. A business with a high turnover and strong, consistent profit, is a significant indicator of success. What’s being offered by the business is in demand and customers are choosing that business over another.
• Making a positive social or environmental impact. Creating a business that makes a difference can have a unique selling point and attract customers interested in supporting companies on a mission to make positive change.
• Innovation through groundbreaking products and services. Being different and standing out can set you apart from the competition. Striving for innovation is essential.
• Strong customer service. Strong customer service will help encourage brand loyalty, drive positive customer feedback, and ultimately help to grow your business.

5 things that make a business successful.

The steps a business needs to take to increase its chances of success vary, depending on the industry and sector. Here, we’ve noted five things that make a business successful that you might want to implement in your own business strategy.

1. Clear and realistic goals.

To be successful, it’s important you have clear goals from the get-go. These don’t need to be huge, groundbreaking aims. Setting short-and long-term goals will help keep you motivated, and create a common goal for every employee.

Monthly and yearly goals will keep you focused, so remember to update goals as you move through the year. Some will be achieved, but others might need to be adjusted along the way as the business grows and develops.

2. Strong customer service.

Customer service should be a priority. Success is based on the foundations your customer’s help build. Their custom pays the overheads and, ultimately, generates your revenue. Poor customer service could lead to customers not returning, and negative reviews can prevent new customers altogether. Take the time to train staff to offer strong customer service – this could be the difference between retaining customers or losing them to competitors.

3. Effective leadership.

Having strong leadership can have a massive impact on the success of your business. Research has found that 77% of UK employees feel motivated when they have an effective manager. And this motivation and morale can easily translate to results – both in terms of employee retention, and productivity as a business.

4. Distinct marketing and brand voice.

Having a unique perspective and voice can make you stand out in a busy market – and ultimately drive success. This starts with creating a strong brand identity, so people can easily identify your business over the competition.

Once you have your brand image, voice and values narrowed down, you can use your marketing strategy to share it with your desired audience. This will help establish your brand as a reputable business, generate brand loyalty, and ultimately bring in more customers – new and old.

5. Positive company culture.

Business success isn’t only about how you appear to customers. It’s also driven by your internal operations too.

A strong, positive company culture can keep employee morale and motivation high. This great working environment will help boost other areas within your business, such as productivity, new ideas and development, and even customer service. All of this can have a positive impact on the success of your business.

Top tips to achieve business success.

When it comes to understanding what makes a business successful, we have a few tips to help you along the way.

• Get to know your competition. By understanding and analysing your competition, you can find a gap in the market and offer something new for your audience. This might be a different product, or a new niche within the existing market. Either way, this can give you a new route to success.
• Balance the needs of your staff and customers. Happy staff lead to happy customers, so finding that balance is essential. Offering employee benefits and a supportive working environment will help them feel valued. This can lead to a positive attitude while at work, which will then feed into product innovation and customer service.
• Think creatively. Try to be different and stand out. This will mean being as creative as you can with product launches and marketing efforts.
• Stay organised. There’s a lot that goes into running a business, so staying organised will help ensure nothing slips through the cracks. This is where things like project management tools can be super useful.

How can Adobe Express help make your business a success?

Adobe Express has a wealth of tools available to help your business succeed. Below are some ways you can use Adobe Express for Business to thrive.

1. Set your goals with editable business plan and strategy templates.

You can use Adobe Express’s free templates and tools to create the perfect business plan and strategy. Take a look at these editable business plan templates and get your company off to a strong start.

2. Create a strong brand image.

With a range of creative tools at your fingertips, you can create the perfect branding for your business using logo templates, colour palettes and more. Build your own brand kit in just a few clicks, to ensure your business image is a consistent success.

3. Encourage cross-team collaboration with handy tools.

With cross-team collaboration, everyone can know what is expected of them. The team can all work towards your business goals and communication will be stronger thanks to it.

4. Streamline your processes – from multi-channel content to social post scheduling.

By streamlining your process, you can save time to focus on the tasks that are a higher priority. For example, you can use Adobe Express to craft creative content that works for a wider range of marketing channels, and plan your social media content ahead of time – so you have more time to focus on other parts of your business. This efficiency should in turn help drive your business success.

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Good to know.

What makes a business viable?

Viability is looking at whether a company could survive and make a profit in the real world. There are a few areas that determine whether a business is viable or not. These include finances, operation efficiency, sustainability, market demand and legal and regulatory issues.

What makes a small business successful?

Understanding what your business offers and where it fits in the market, having a strong team behind it, and marketing it well can all contribute to making a small business successful. When you create a business plan, you need to decide what to prioritise first.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5 GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.