In today’s world, growing your small business is difficult. This process requires a considerable amount of effort, and oftentimes, it will take a while to get off the ground.
In the beginning, you will need to be wearing different hats so that you understand all about what tax obligations you have, daily interactions with your customers, as well as dealing with all aspects of your marketing and sales.
Fortunately, there is a light at the end of that long, long tunnel. If you are struggling to build your small business up, follow these tips to help your process along:
1. Provide Consistently Great Customer Service
It is important to ensure that you deliver high-quality customer service by going the extra mile whenever possible. Your clients will notice this and be much more likely to refer their friends to your business.
Here are some customer service tips:
- Get to Know Your Customers
Understanding your customers is helpful in order to develop the proper services and products required to meet whatever needs they may have.
By personalizing your services and encouraging your clients to provide feedback, you can gain additional insight into your consumers.
- Implement a Loyalty Program
A solid way to increase your sales is by implementing a customer loyalty program.
Acquiring new customers tends to be quite expensive, which is why finding reliable ways to find new customers and retain them are crucial.
2. Build Your Online Marketing Network
If you don’t have a website already, you should create one.
You don’t want to miss any potential clients just because they went to Google for their inquiry and were immediately directed to your competition.
Social media is one of the most powerful ways to promote your small business as well as gather valuable insight about your customers through ‘social listening.’
You get to see firsthand what clients are commenting to their online friends about your business as well as find out what trends and keywords appeal most to your target audience. These will help you improve your customer service.
3. Always Look for New Opportunities
By better understanding your demographic, you will be able to find new opportunities for your business.
For example, knowing your direct competitors as well as details about your channels of distribution will allow you to analyze them and seek possible areas of expansion.
If you know who you’re going to reach out to, then new forms of design in your marketing can make a big difference. Imagine your company’s slogan and logo on business cards that use hot foil printing. It can certainly spice up your look, and it’s an opportunity that you should give a try if you feel like it will help to interest your demographic.
4. Host Events
Hosting an event gives you the opportunity to build relationships with your customers and get to know them on a deeper level.
Events are a fantastic way to introduce your business to new customers, to expand your contact network and to launch new products and services. There are myriad different types of events and it’s wise to plan a gathering or a launch that is relevant to your brand and your target customer.
Whether you’re planning a small-scale restaurant opening with local press and food bloggers in attendance or you’re preparing to wow the crowds with an expertly orchestrated visual production for a new gadget, app or software solution, it’s essential to plan ahead.
Seek advice from experienced live event production companies, get quotes and think carefully about how you are going to maximize exposure. Live stream the event for those who cannot attend, make presentations exciting and memorable and make sure you follow up leads.
5. Social Media
Social media started life as a network for keeping in touch with friends and family but it has evolved into a multipurpose platform.
Nowadays, social apps offer incredible opportunities for businesses and brands to reach vast audiences and form deep connections with their customers and followers. For new businesses, social media can be a valuable, cost-effective marketing technique but it’s important to know how to use it to get your business out there.
Content is key when using social media to generate interest in products and services.
Focus on creating high-quality, interactive, engaging content, which will appeal to your target buyer. Content should be visually enticing, informative and useful. Use video clips and high-quality images and link your social media accounts with your website.
It’s a great idea to encourage your followers to share your page and your posts by incentivizing interaction. You can do this by running a competition or offering exclusive discounts to those who share your posts and tag others.
You might also wish to work with influencers who are relevant to your brand. You don’t have to pay huge sums to attract influencers with millions of followers.
Sending products and samples out can earn you recognition from bloggers and creators who genuinely like your range and you can also contact micro-influencers.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Change Strategies
If at any point you notice that your marketing strategies are no longer be successful, don’t feel like you are stuck in that marketing activity – you can always experiment.
If something isn’t working, try refining your approach and put more of your time and energy into activities that are achieving results.
Perhaps you need to engage a specialist to create a workable SaaS marketing strategy, which wouldn’t just give your marketing a push in the right direction, but would free you up to work on other areas of the business too, for example.
7. Pay It Forward
Consider giving back to your community if your business is in a solid enough place to do so.
Participating in some kind of community event or sponsorship is a great way to raise the profile of your business and attract new customers.
8. Attend Networking Events
When you own a small business, you probably rely a lot on word-of-mouth for growing your client base.
Networking lets you build a relationship with someone new while also encouraging them to refer their friends to your business by word-of-mouth.
Stock Photo from g-stockstudio @ Shutterstock