When you have a small business it can feel like you are swimming against the tide quite often. It can feel that no matter what you are doing, you never seem to make more progress with your business or get too much further on with your goals. You could also feel like you have trouble with choosing the goals for your business; where do you want to be in the first place? As small business owners, we want to be a success and create a profitable business. But how do you get there from where you are? So if you want to help to create a successful small business, and help it to be more profitable than ever, then here are some ideas and suggestions for how to make things happen. It is a good idea to remember that building a small business is a marathon, and it is not a sprint. So don’t try to do too much all at once.
Have a Customer Service Focus
There are many studies and surveys that have been done, with a focus on customer service, much like the one on the site jdpower.com/customer-study. And the results all say that the same kind of thing, with reports of large numbers of people (up to 80%) actually cancelling a purchase or intended purchase because of a negative customer service experience. So if you want your business to grow, then you need to make sure that you are able to turn the business into one that focuses on good customer service, as it can really impact your bottom line. Good customer service really needs to be a priority. You could look at what you’re already doing, how to better train staff or yourself, as well as revamping things like a return policy, and so on. It can all make a difference.
Improve Your Marketing Efforts
If you have some effective marketing, then it can be a really key way to improve and increase your sales. Marketing can feel daunting for some, but it doesn’t have to be anything that is going to cost a lot in order to work and promote the business. Some of the most cost-effective ways to market your business are things like:
- Sending out promotions with your invoices. This can be a good way to help have repeat custom from people that have already shown you an interest.
- Involving local or even national newspapers and magazines in your openings, launches, moves, and charity events can all be pretty low cost.
- If you can give free workshops or classes that are related to your business and the products or services that you do, then it can make a difference and help to create some loyal custom.
- Being able to develop business partnerships and collaborating with others and doing some cross-promotion is always a good idea.
- It might not be for everyone, but something like cold calling can still work. Just make sure that you are doing it in an effective way.
- If you can advertise your business locally, then it can help to create some loyalty with local people. Things like vehicle wraps to advertise your business is such a good idea.
Getting the Right Tools to Help
They say that a bad workman blames his tools. But in business, if you have the right tools, it can make a difference to how well the business runs and how well everyone is able to do their job. For example, a cleaning or hospitality business would need professional cleaning tools from sites like Steamaster.com.au to really speed things up and leave this looking good. A digital business will need the right cloud storage tools and equipment to make sure that things are stored in the right way. It can all make a difference when you have the right tools.
Online Presence
If you are able to create an online presence, then in this day and age it can really make such a difference. So many people look online for things these days, research products online, and shop online. So being part of that will make a difference.
To start off with, you need to have a professional looking website. That can all be very quick and simple to do. A simple website that does talk about who you are, and what your business does, as well as how to contact you, then it will help to make a difference for your small business. Think about the following for your website:
- Business logo
- Show your business name
- Give a summary of what you do, and the kind of products or services that you have
- The business contact information is really important, of course. It could help to have a Google Map link too
- Having a business statement or tagline is a good idea, as it could be something like saying that you provide ethical and sustainable products, or the best pizza in town…
- Having some testimonials from customers can be a great idea, as it gives your business the appearance of being more trustworthy
This post is written by someone else and I have received payment for publishing it.