Every business has quiet times. How we react to these times can be turned into something positive and used to our advantage. Let’s look at a few tips and guidance from our experts on how to stay positive even when business is slow…
Reassess Your Why
Julia Day– Founder and CEO of The Independent Girls Collective shares her tips: Quiet times are a great opportunity to get back in touch with why you started your business and check that the products and services are still in line with that. You can also use this space to look at your website, marketing and what you offer and ensure that it will appeal to your ideal clients. It’s totally understandable (and normal!) to feel worried during a slow spell, but it’s an opportunity to reassess and make your business even better. The truth is, we all go through quieter patches. It’ll pass like it always does, just make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance of things picking up again.
Grow Your Skills
If you are not marketing your company correctly then you aren’t making the most of your brand and using it to its full potential. Online marketing has quickly become one of the most influential types of marketing because of its accessibility and the need for brands to be online but it is not the only type of marketing. It’s time to start ensuring that your brand is making the most of the opportunities out there to help you flourish. You may have already studied marketing or have a vast knowledge. Or you may want to look at a marketing mba to really help you grow your skill set. Take the quiet time as an opportunity to grow your skill set or get your team out on a training day to perk up moral.
Social Media
Social Media is the biggest tool. Instagram is a huge and is slowly overtaking the other online platforms. Focusing on imagery only, Instagram is great to start showcasing your brand. If you are a store then this is a must as you can show off your products, and also you can link up your store so someone can tap through on your image to your store and buy the item. It’s a great way to market. Pinterest is another brilliant app, it can house lots of images in galleries and files and you can link up your website in each image. There are plenty of online tips and courses to help better improve your social media skills. You can also utilise your Facebook pages and create fan pages for people to connect with and you can run a number of different ad campaigns on there as well show your offers and include any giveaways or relevant information.
Create A Positive Workspace
Professional Organiser Becky Stanton says: Our environment has an impact on our mood, stress-levels and productivity. Our subconscious mind picks up EVERYTHING that is happening around us, 100% of the time. So if you are ready to align your environment with your goals, connect the two together. Connect with the emotions and feelings of your space.
Firstly, ask yourself how you feel working in your current workspace. Then, connect with your vision for success (your purpose, your 10 year goals or a vision board) and ask yourself, how do I WANT to feel working in my current workspace towards those goals. Start to tweak your environment to support and create the emotions and feelings you want to feel to create your success.
Think Local
If your business is local then your most important tool may be to connect to the people around and to start doing some door to door market research as well as getting some marketing materials together such as leaflets or your business cards which can be easily dispersed around the local area and you can start to get the word out. This would have to come out of your marketing budget but it would be well worth it. You can also connect to some of the local brands and shops who would not mind housing your business cards; it’s all about that initial network building and learning to put yourself out there.
So there you have it, a couple of tips and tricks to help start kick-starting your business in a slow patch. The key to good business is always consistency across the board and a passion for what you do. If you have the passion, the rest will follow.
Stay fabulous
Christine
