If you have a small business, there are numerous ways you can grow it this year. Here, we’ll take a look at 9 ways to grow your small business this year. Even if you don’t want to move or hire staff just yet or you’re working on your side hustle, you’ll be able to ensure your business reputation is growing and becoming more fabulous!
Work Smarter Not Harder
There are lots of ways to improve your productivity. Always have a to-do list. Plan what you’re going to do a day in advance. Try batch working. Working in batches is a very efficient way of getting certain jobs done and dusted in one go. It might be taking photos of products or emailing clients. If you can consolidate your tasks into one day or a few hours, it can have a profound effect on your workload. This will free up time to work on your growth plan.
Plan, Plan, Plan!
Having a clearly defined plan is everything. If you sit and really think about your plan, write out what you want to achieve and continually work on it, you’ll be on your way. Having a plan is the best way to work smarter, not harder. You can map out what you’re trying to achieve and how you’re going to get there in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Grow Your Small Business
Sounds cringe-worthy I know! Awkwardness aside, networking events are a great way to meet people in your industry, give out samples and cards, and perhaps even arrange potential partnerships for later on down the line. You can meet both clients and business partners, so go in with an open-mind and be prepared to make some great connections. Building relationships and collaborating is a great way to grow your small business. Imagine you meet a company owner who’s brand compliments yours and you’re able to team up and collaborate, maybe even share each others customer base and grow your small businesses in tandem?
Create Original, Helpful Content
Being helpful is the greatest way to retain customers. Creating original, helpful content that is designed to help your audience and bring value to their lives is a must. Create how-to guides and tutorials on how to use your products, as well as other interesting pieces of content. What do they tend to ask questions about?
Nurture Your Existing Customers
Rather than always trying to gain new customers, like so many other businesses, make sure you’re nurturing your existing customers. Retaining existing customers is actually far easier than gaining new ones, so if you’re neglecting them, you’re making your life so much harder. Make sure you provide them with incentives to keep on coming back to you and let them know that their loyalty does not go unnoticed.
Harness Social Media
Using social media properly is another key element of growing your business. People often look to social media now when they have a question for a business, want to find out more about how to use a product, and even when they want to make a complaint. Having somebody to post for you and respond to people will make a big difference.
Never Stop Learning
As the owner of a business, you should always continue learning. Whether you’re working on something simple like you’re communication skills, or you’re going to the University of Southern California to gain a qualification or degree, your learning is crucial to your business. Don’t ever get complacent with the level you are at.
Host A Competition
People love free stuff and the chance to win, so hosting a competition is always a good idea. You could challenge people to take a picture of themselves with one of your products in a weird place, or have them create some other form of content. It could even be something simple, like liking and sharing a post. There are all kinds of creative ways to host competitions online.
Test To Figure Out What Works
Testing your techniques and approaches is a must if you’re going to figure out what works. For example, you could split test one of your online advertisements, or even a version of your website and see which is more successful. A/B testing, or split testing, is great for figuring out which approach is best and honing it. You should only change one thing at a time though, whether that’s the copy in your advert or the font the text is in. This is something you should do constantly so you can continue honing your approach.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Stay fabulous
Christine
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