Being the manager of a small business can be an exciting opportunity, but it also comes with multiple challenges. For your business to grow, you must find a way to capitalize on your current strengths while eliminating any current detriments. Here are some tips from business experts which may help your company to expand and thrive:
1. Choose Your Goals
Ask yourself whether your goals include increasing sales at your current location, opening additional business locations, or creating a more effective online presence. If your goal is to increase sales at your current location, take an objective look at what your business looks like to your customers. Does the exterior of your store invite your customers inside? According to EDC Pasadena, 95% of customers report that the outside of a store plays a part in their decision about where to shop.
2. Change Your Focus
Your current business focus may be too narrow. For example, if you sell women’s clothing, does your store offer enough choices for plus-sized clothing? If you have an office supply company, you could shift space in your store to provide office furniture sales. A cupcake store can increase its offerings to include more gluten-free or vegan recipes to increase business.
3. Evaluate Your Competition
If other businesses in your region offer the same products or services as your business, do some research to see how they are doing. If their sales revenue is better than yours, visit their store and analyze their strategy. Is there something a competitor is doing that you can utilize in your store? It may be something as simple as the store layout, and adopting a similar layout might be the key to your success.
4. Retain Your Current Customers
Although you’ll need new customers to expand, pay attention to the ones you now have. Invest in a customer management system to gather information about their buying patterns. You can also initiate a customer loyalty program to reward returning customers at specific intervals. For example, a donut shop might offer 1/2 dozen free donuts to a customer after they buy their 12th dozen.
5. Hire the Best Staff
Your customers’ interactions with your staff are one of the crucial factors in determining your success. When hiring, ask yourself if you would buy your product from a potential employee. You will be likely to see quite a few people vying for a job at your company. After all, in 2019, over 1.5 net jobs were created by small businesses.
6. Utilize SEO Marketing
An effective online presence is now a mandate for a successful business. Customers looking online for a new place to shop are more likely to choose a company they find in the top three listings of Google results. To increase your Google ranking, you need the assistance of a marketing agency experienced in SEO (search engine optimization) practices. Such an agency can help you create website content that contains strategic keywords, facilitating a higher Google ranking.
7 Consider PPC Marketing
Another effective marketing strategy for small businesses is a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign. These programs also strategically utilize the keywords of your website content in the same ways as SEO marketing. PPC programs are cost-effective because you pay for the ads only when someone clicks on them. Statistics show a recent increase in usage of PPC, with 65% of small to mid-sized businesses now using this strategy.
Your small business doesn’t need to remain small. You can use one of the suggestions above to help your business grow. Take stock of your current situation and set goals to help your company grow. Keep your outlook positive and be on the lookout for future solutions. When adopt that attitude, you’ll soon find the best way for your business to succeed.
