Making profitability a priority isn't just a matter of concentrating on it for a short time and then letting it look after itself. You must maintain a consistent focus on profitability across all areas of your business.

Routinely manage your profitability

You need to review your profitability regularly, assessing all the key areas - how you buy, your sales and marketing processes and plans, production and delivery arrangements. It's a good idea to build these reviews into your everyday business processes wherever possible. For example, consider motivating sales teams to focus on profitability of sales, rather than pure turnover. You could also reward production staff for suggesting more efficient ways of doing things.

Periodically, you will need to step back and reassess the profitability of your business.

Watch the market

Stay aware of trends in your market - they will have an impact on your profitability. If you fail to recognise these developments, you may miss opportunities. If you watch trends carefully, you stand a much better chance of capitalising on them.

There are two key processes you can use to manage your profit strategy - benchmarking and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.

Benchmarking shows you how you are performing against comparable businesses. If you benchmark regularly, you will get a more impartial idea of where improvements can be made.

Regularly carrying out SWOT analyses will help you manage your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as they change. This gives you the best chance to respond to changes before your competitors do, thereby protecting and growing your profit.