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The Most Common Business Blind Spots & How to Overcome Them

In today’s competitive and ever-evolving business environment, understanding where your company is succeeding or failing can be the difference between surviving a rough patch and going out of business. Business blind spots are areas of operations that a business may overlook or not fully understand. This could mean a lack of knowledge or experience that could negatively impact their operations. Blind spots can range from the strategic to the mundane, from gaps in industry knowledge to technological ignorance. Identifying and addressing these business blind spots is an important part of running a successful organization.

Fortunately, there are ways to identify and overcome these common business blind spots so businesses can get back on track and reach their goals.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

One way companies can identify potential blind spots is by conducting regular internal reviews of processes and practices. By studying past successes and challenges, companies can gain insights about areas in which they may need to focus more attention or take corrective action. For example, utilizing enterprise mapping can help you discover redundant workflows and help improve collaboration between departments.

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Companies should also consider looking outside their own walls for resources and advice; external experts may be able to offer valuable perspectives and insight into potential blind spots.

If you believe you could benefit from having an outsider look at your business, contact Orion Development Group to request a free consultation. We are passionate about helping companies identify and overcome their blind spots so they can continue to grow and succeed.

At Orion Development Group, we specialize in understanding the unique needs of each business, identifying common business blind spots, and strategizing ways to address them quickly and efficiently. Contact us today for your free consultation.

In this article, we’ll go over what blind spots are in business, the most common blind spots in organizations, and more importantly, how to identify and overcome them.

What Exactly Are Business Blind Spots

The phrase “business blind spots” refers to areas of a business that are not well understood or have been overlooked. These could be areas of operations, technology, customer service, marketing, or any other aspect of running a successful business. Understanding and addressing these weaknesses can help improve the overall success of your organization.

They can arise from a lack of insight into internal operations, customer feedback, or changes in the market. Without an effective way to identify and address these issues, businesses can quickly become stuck in a vicious cycle of stagnation or even decline.

Most Common Business Blind Spots

Business blind spots are prevalent. However, in our work throughout the years, we found that they generally fall under these buckets:

Ignoring Customer or Market Feedback

Not paying attention to customer feedback can lead to introducing a new product or service that is not up to their expectations. This is often the case for startups and the most common reason why they fail—they spend their resources building something that customers either hate or don’t want.

Customer feedback can provide invaluable insight into how you can improve your business.  It is important to take the time to listen and act on any feedback you receive.

Consumer preferences and technological advances frequently change. If you are a retail or brick-and-mortar business and still implement your pre-pandemic playbook today, then you’re going to take a hard hit if you haven’t already.

Ineffective and Outdated Processes

One of the most overlooked business blind spots is a lack of effective processes. Processes are the foundation upon which a business operates and yet they often are not given the attention they deserve. Without well-defined processes, businesses can become inefficient, mismanage resources, and miss key opportunities.

Throughout the years, we’ve also noticed that many companies fail to update their processes as they grow. They may have had well-documented processes when they started, but because of the ever-changing business environment, it’s now become obsolete. This often results in a decline in performance and an increase in costs.

Departments often work in silos, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the best for the customer. Busting these siloes is key to success in today’s competitive markets.

Not Leveraging Data

Data is one of the most powerful tools businesses have to measure their success and identify areas for improvement. It can be used to monitor customer activity, assess competitors’ movements in the market, and pinpoint areas where your business could use more focus or attention. However, many companies fail to take advantage of data and its potential benefits.

Having an effective way of managing and leveraging your data can provide a great advantage to your business in the long run. Let’s say you want to understand the buying behavior of your customers. You can use data to analyze their purchases and identify trends in their behavior that you could use to create better marketing campaigns or product offerings. Instead of relying solely on your gut, you’re using data to make an informed decision. This greatly reduces the risk of failure and increases your chances of success.

Knowledge Gaps

Finally, knowledge gaps are also a major blind spot for many businesses. Companies often fail to invest in their employees’ development and provide opportunities for them to learn new skills or stay up-to-date with industry trends. This can be detrimental to the performance of your business, especially if you’re dealing with highly competitive markets where knowledge is key to success.

This can also present itself when your most trusted subject matter expert leaves the company. As we’ve seen in a lot of our clients, retaining knowledge is just as important as having it, and without proper systems in place, this can be a huge blind spot.

It’s important to understand that this is an ongoing process. Having a system or program that continuously upskills your staff and build on that knowledge bank can ensure your business remains competitive and continues to thrive.

These are just a few of the blind spots businesses can encounter. It’s important to be aware of these issues in order to stay ahead of the competition and avoid costly mistakes. By understanding the potential pitfalls, you can create strategies that help you confidently navigate through any situation.

Address Your Business Blind Spots Today!

Don’t let your business be held back by its blind spots. Our team of experts is here to help you identify any potential weaknesses, develop solutions to address them, and build a strategy that will improve the performance of your organization. Request your free consultation today.

Identifying Your Business Blind Spots

Identifying blind spots in business is essential to growth and improvement. One way to begin this process is by asking your customers or clients for feedback. You may be surprised to find out that customers view needs or issues differently than you do, which could provide new insights into improvements you can make or areas where you are already excelling.

Additionally, an internal audit can provide valuable information on how the organization is operating and how various departments interact with each other. By conducting an honest evaluation of the current operations, management teams can figure out if any processes are not running optimally, as well as identify any potential weaknesses in areas such as compliance, logistics, or budgeting.

Process documentation and mapping play a huge role in this step. Without taking stock of what you do (your as-is processes), you’ll never know how it can be improved. You won’t know where your bottlenecks are nor will you be able to develop ways to streamline processes and make them more efficient. Mapping out processes also allows for easier communication between teams as each team can have a better understanding of what the other is doing and how they work together to achieve your common business goals.

Ultimately, taking a close look at your own business will alert you to potential blind spots before they cause unnecessary problems down the road.

Overcoming Business Blind Spots

In order to effectively overcome your identified blind spots, it is important to create meaningful changes that address customer feedback, mistakes, inefficiencies, and knowledge gaps.

For customer feedback, use this information to create a plan for improving customer service and satisfaction. This may involve providing more specialized services or better communication channels so customers feel heard and valued.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, famously said that “We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with what the customer needs and we work backwards.”

Implementing changes to overcome blind spots can come in the form of surveys, reviews, or other feedback systems in order to get timely insights from customers throughout their journey with the business. This can help you quickly course-correct any issues, as well as create more successful internal processes.

When it comes to mistakes and inefficiencies, the first step is to identify where these issues are occurring and why. Then implement a strategy that addresses the root causes of these problems so they don’t happen again in the future.

This can be done in a few ways such as documenting your key processes. This will help create a standard, which teams can then use to troubleshoot any errors or inefficiencies. Additionally, investing in the right tools and technologies can also be helpful for streamlining processes and eliminating manual steps that may be slowing progress down. If you need help getting started, you can download our free mapping and documentation template here.

For knowledge gaps, it could be beneficial to invest in training to ensure all team members are on the same page and understand their roles and responsibilities. This can take the form of:

Ultimately, having a clear understanding of where your organization’s blind spots are will help you create meaningful changes to achieve greater success. By taking the time to assess your current operations, conducting process mapping and documentation, and implementing the necessary changes, you can ensure that blind spots don’t lead to future problems.

Need Help Uncovering Your Business Blind Spots?

No business is perfect and there will always be areas that need improvement or can be improved upon. Business blind spots are common and can often be difficult to identify without actively looking for them. However, taking the time to properly assess your business operations and processes is essential for uncovering these blind spots so that you can make the necessary changes to ensure success.

By understanding what needs to be done, creating meaningful change plans, investing in the right tools and technologies, and providing training and development opportunities, you can ensure that blind spots don’t impede your organization’s progress. This will create a stronger foundation for the future and help your business reach its full potential.

If you need help uncovering your blind spots and ensuring your company stays competitive, contact Orion Development Group today.  Our team of experienced professionals can help you identify and eliminate your business blind spots so that you can focus on what matters most – growing your business.  With our expertise and guidance, we will give you the tools needed to achieve long-term success in the ever-changing market.

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