If you’re a business owner or are considering starting up your own business, you need to know about the four pillars of business.
The four pillars of business are integral to running a successful business. Without one of them, your business endeavors are likely to fail because all are required for a business to run smoothly and profitably.
We’re going to be discussing the four pillars of business (operations, finances, management, and marketing) in depth today, so read on to learn what you need to focus on.
What Are The Four Pillars Of Business?
The four pillars of business are things that all businesses need to focus on and strengthen in order to make the business work. These pillars are known as operations, finances, management, and marketing.
All four pillars listed above need to be fine-tuned to ensure the success of your business, no matter what your niche or business strategy is.
It might sound daunting to have to perfect four core elements of business strategy at once, but the good news is that they all feed into one another.
Good management and operations make it easier to build successful marketing campaigns, while well-thought-out marketing will bring in more profit for your business, making the finance side easier.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at each of the four pillars of business, what they really mean, and how you can make those pillars as strong as possible.
1. Operations
Operations in the context of business refers to how your business delivers products and services.
Since most businesses involve a team working together, figuring out how everyone is going to work together to deliver all products and services efficiently and to a high standard is a key aspect of strengthening the operations pillar of your business.
Business operations aren’t just about people anymore, though. Most businesses these days have technological tools and IT systems in place to help them run their business efficiently, so if you want your operations to run smoothly, you should look into technological options.
2. Finances
Obviously, a business can’t achieve success or continue to operate without a solid budget and finances.
Keeping track of your finances is essential if you don’t want to run into financial problems later on. You need to know how much money you can afford to spend so that you know what prices to attach to your products and how much to bill your clients.
The first step to organizing your finances from a business point of view is to open a business bank account.
It is essential to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances, not just because it’s easier to keep track of but because you’ll need to do this if you ever plan to take out a business loan, and it will make paying your taxes much easier.
3. Management
When we talk about business management, we’re talking about the fine details of your customer’s relationship with your business.
For example, how are you, as a business, going to ensure that you’re providing your customers with the level of service that they expect? How are you going to manage your stock to supply the customer demand? What contact details will you provide for customer service?
When coming up with the initial idea for a business, many people get carried away with the larger picture and forget to think about these details.
However, they are essential for a successful business, so you should start thinking about them as soon as you start building your business plan and keep revising your strategies as your business grows.
4. Marketing
Marketing is how you promote your products and services to potential customers, and how you build a loyal customer base.
Marketing involves everything that draws people to your business, from your business name and logo to your social media presence. It also involves marketing campaigns outside of social media such as email marketing.
In order for this pillar of business to be as strong as possible, you have to establish a relationship with your customers that feels somewhat personal, and your brand has to be able to stand out.
There are many ways you can stand out as a business. It could be the value for money you provide, the promotions you offer, or the quality of your marketing campaigns.
Other Key Pillars Of Business
We’ve now talked about the four key pillars of business. However, there are other pillars that are crucial if you want to keep your business up and running and maintain a loyal customer base.
Here are just some of the other pillars of business you need to be thinking about when it comes to your business strategy:
Leadership
Every business needs a strong leader. In fact, many businesses have a leadership hierarchy consisting of several different leadership roles.
This is essential to ensure that your employees feel that they have direction and to ensure that there’s always someone with the right qualifications and leadership skills overseeing operations.
As we mentioned earlier, teamwork is an important part of business operations. However, without a leader, teams tend to flounder. That’s because a good leader can provide motivation, organize employees, and be a pillar of trust for other workers.
Human Capital
In addition to the important qualities of your team leader, the human capital of other employees within your business will be a deciding factor in its success in the long term.
By ‘human capital’, we mean the skills and knowledge that employees bring to the business. However, human capital also extends beyond qualifications and skills, including traits such as motivation and loyalty. It also extends to employee wellbeing.
As a business owner, it’s important not only to choose employees on the basis of skills, qualifications, and attitude, but also to keep track of how your employees are performing in the workplace and the general wellbeing of your workforce.
It’s also important to have a support system in place to help with any problems or wellbeing issues since this will not only help your employees to feel like they have a safe and supportive work environment, but it will lead to better results in terms of workplace performance.
Diversity
Ensuring diversity in your business will encourage people of all backgrounds to apply, which leaves you in a better position since you have more applicants to choose from.
Plus, studies have shown that workplaces with higher rates of diversity perform up to 30% better than businesses with little to no diversity.
Customer Service
Customer service is a crucial part of any business plan. Your customers need to feel valued and like any problems they might have are being taken seriously.
That means they need to be able to contact you, at least during normal business hours, and they need to have questions or complaints dealt with in a professional manner.
Final Thoughts
If you focus on the four pillars of business (operations, finances, management and marketing) when making your business plan, along with the additional pillars mentioned in this article, you’ll quickly be on the road to success.
Remember to implement strategies based around these pillars as early as possible to get yourself off to the best start in all your business endeavors.