As our country is coming out of the recent deep recession, we need to make sure that our companies are ready. We’ve all trimmed our costs as much as possible to survive the recession, but now, to grow and flourish in better times, we need to change our focus from cutting costs to investing wisely in the future, if we haven’t done so already.

Many companies cut costs so deeply that their service levels suffered. They will struggle to win back a reputation so they can keep current customers and appeal to new ones. We all have to focus now on remaining productive and efficient, while increasing our customer services. Customer service will be a major divider between successful, growth companies, and those that fail or merely survive.

Being good is no longer enough. Every company has to plan to be better, especially in the eyes of their customers. Focus now on where you should spend the added income that will be coming to you from business growth in the future.