What is it?
Benchmarking is an extremely effective way of short-cutting your business growth targets. It works by analysing what your business does well and where it has fallen behind compared to your key competitors andyour industry sector. This point is crucial - your performance is compared to those you know and compete with, not some generic ideal. If there's something they're doing better than you, wouldn't you like to know about it?
DK's benchmarking service is able to compare your data to one of the largest and most accurate databases in the UK. It's all done on a totally confidential basis - your data is never disclosed. And the report produced is very easy to read, with plenty of graphics and charts. It's essential that you understand the findings if it's going tobe helpful, so we've invested a lot of time in making the product intelligible to the average business owner.
Why do I need it?
It's been said that experience is a great teacher, but learning from the experience of others is even better. That way you can avoid their mistakes and their pain. And of course it's much more efficient.
Benchmarking compares your key financial and non-financial measures with those of others in your sector. We might look at turnover, pricing,gross profit rates, cash-flow, turnaround time, employee productivity, borrowing rates and so on. You will discover areas in which you lead, and can take reassurance from. And there will be other areas where a gaphas formed between your performance and that of your competitors. It's crucial to identify such gaps and begin to focus management attention on there areas as soon as possible.
By bringing focus to those areas where you're behind your competitors, benchmarking saves you time - it can knock years off your business plan. And it saves you money - the sooner you spot areas of weakness, the sooner you can plug those holes and get back on track.
Who's it for?
If you run a business and you have competitors, then benchmarking's for you! In other words, it's for pretty much everyone. We've benchmarked our performance at DK for years and wouldn't be without the service.
For maximum benefit, you would benchmark your performance every year, as your market is constantly changing.