Are you a small business owner stuck in a purgatory of slow or stagnating growth? Here are several useful tips that might help your self-owned venture grow:
Table of Contents
Focus on Online Customers
If your small business is a brick-and-mortar store, you might not think about finding customers online. This is a big mistake. A significant majority of modern consumers do pre-purchase research online. So, even if you are a candy shop located in a suburb, you can make yourself visible to millions of potential customers online with a great website. Online visibility directly transfers into actual sales. If you can build your company some name recognition online, your local customer base will grow.
Get Expert Help
If you are truly stuck when it comes to growing your small business, consider seeking professional advice. Firms like Global Resources specialize in helping small businesses and startups grow, maintain positive cash flow, and improve annual profits. The experts will be able to give you detailed advice regarding what you are doing wrong when it comes to your business. Sometimes, outside help is more important that internal introspection.
Create a Social Media Presence
When your profits begin to stagnate, that’s an indicator that you should amp up your advertising efforts. Forget about buying print advertisements, it’s time to run a killer advertising campaign online. You won’t even need thousands of dollars for marketing if you can promote yourself simply by using free social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on. Be social media savvy, and you will have your company name trending in no time. Also, if you are not blogging currently, it’s time to start.
Focus on Local
If you are a business that exclusively caters to a local customer base, focus on that customer base before anything else. Tailor your website and social media posts for local customers by using location-specific keywords and search terms. Get yourself listed on digital maps, like Google Maps, that local customers may use frequently. Target locals with your marketing campaign, rather than focusing on a generic customer base.
Become More Efficient
Perhaps the reason for your disappointing growth figures is a management problem. Is your company as well organized, productive, and efficient as it could be? It is important to check. Do a company-wide audit to see how your business might be wasting resources.
You will have to observe employee behavior (do they spend more time in meetings than getting things done, for example). Even in small businesses, the concept of strategic meetings management has changed recently. Be sure your up to date on best practices.. You should also scrutinize costs (do you really need to buy that many printer cartridges per year if you can save money by going all digital, is another example).
Cut Down Production Costs
This is not something immediately easy for many small businesses. You may have to think twice about hiring versus outsourcing. If you have short-term or cycle-based projects, it’s more cost efficient to outsource these. Spend money on fulltime, in-house employees only for projects and tasks related to core business. Likewise, see where you can make cutbacks to reduce overall production costs, so your profits improve.
Growing your business is a lifelong effort. The above tips will make the process much easier for you and the company you own.
Infographic created by Clover, a merchant services company
