Whether you are just starting out in the world of business, or own several companies – there is always something you can do to push your business or company to the next level, improving your brand's reputation, your products or services and in turn, your income. However, this takes a lot of time and effort – and you have to be willing to put the hard work in if you want to succeed. In fact, perseverance is a necessary attribute for a business owner – if you do not have the determination, your company can only go so far. Also keep in mind if you are trying to sell your business later, you will need to show the businesses value and stats so weather you want to sell or not you need to know your numbers!
With that in mind, here are 5 small things you can do to help your business to grow – even during turbulent times.
1: Understand Every Part Of Your Business
In order to help your business grow, you need to know everything there is to know about it. Although this may seem rather obvious, if you do not develop a strong understanding of your brand, your company will struggle to thrive. You have to understand:
- The product/services you are offering. (What am I selling? What does it do? Why do people need to purchase it? What is the best (and fairest) price for my product?)
- What makes your business unique? (Why should a customer choose you over a competitor? What do we do that nobody else can?)
- Your customers/clients (Who are your products for? How will you reach them? How will this change over time?)
- How much money it will cost you to run your business – including any hidden costs. (How much am I spending on materials? How much is office space? What wages are my staff earning?)
- What you have to do next in order to make your business grow. (How can I reach new investors? How can I appeal to more customers? What product do I need to release next?)
- What your competitors are up to and what you can learn from them. (What products are people buying at the moment? What kind of reception did their latest release receive? Have they made any mistakes that I can learn from?)
- What mistakes you have made in the past, and how you can avoid them in the future.
Once you have developed this understanding, you will be able to put a clear business plan in place, that will allow you to take the next step towards success. Treat your new business plan as a bible, and follow it as closely as you can. If you discover something isn’t working, find a suitable alternative and draft this new method into your plan.
2: Get Online
It is no secret that as a society, we spend more time online than ever before. In fact, many of us seem to live with our phones attached to our hands. Therefore, it is essential that your brand/company has a strong online presence – this will help you reach out to new customers and sell products/services through an online store. If you don’t have an online presence, it will be much harder to make a sale, as your brand will seem rather outdated in comparison to others.
Therefore, you should spend some time focusing on developing your company’s website – ensure that it is easy to navigate, clear and clean as a messy website will turn away potential customers. Remember, you don’t want to make purchasing a product through your website difficult – it should be straightforward and achieved within just a few clicks – otherwise, they will turn to a competitors' website and you will lose out on money.
You should also set aside some time to develop your brands’ social media presence, as this is a great way to boost your brand's visibility. It goes without saying that the more visible your brand is, there more money you will earn. When curating social media content, remember:
- You need to post consistently, otherwise, people will lose interest and will unfollow your page. However, it is also important that you don’t overwhelm your followers with content either, as this can quickly become frustrating. Try to post around five times a week.
- Use analytics to figure out when your posts will get the most engagement from your target audience, and schedule posts to be sent at this time. This means that more people will see your content.
- If uploading photographs of products, ensure they are of high quality and accurate depictions of the product itself. Don’t make outlandish claims as you will be called out quickly.
- You have to ensure that your posts match your brand. If creating graphics, use a consistent style and use colours that match your logo. This will ensure your social media feed looks clean and professional.
- If promoting a product, include a link.
- You can improve the visibility of a post on Instagram or Twitter by adding hashtags.
- Your content should vary depending on which social media platform you are posting from. For example, a LinkedIn page is better used for collaboration and business guidance than boosting sales.
- Collaborate with other local companies, encouraging your followers to check out their pages.
- You can improve your brand’s reputation by posting snippets of reviews onto your social media channels – this will show that you can be trusted, and it also gives you the opportunity to acknowledge (and resolve) any mistakes you may have made. Customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that takes accountability.
- Your pages should be used to help you cultivate a relationship with your customers, therefore you need to engage with them as opposed to simply posting a picture. Reply to or like their comments, and respond to any messages you receive.
3: Get To Grips With Digital Marketing
You probably know already that your digital marketing strategy is vital if you want to succeed – however, the world of marketing is a confusing one, especially if you have limited experience in the area. Thankfully, there are plenty of companies you can collaborate with, such as Conduit, who can help you scale your digital agency – making the process as simple and straightforward as possible. They are one of the leading agencies in the country and can help you with all things digital, including:
- Website development
- SEO (Search engine optimization)
- Targeted email
- Paid search
- Paid Social
- Programmatic video
- Programmatic display & native
Once you have a strong digital marketing plan, you will soon see a huge difference in your earnings, and as a result, your business will continue to grow from strength to strength.
4: Listen to criticism
Whilst positive feedback is great – and can be used as a sign that you are on the right track, negative or constructive feedback is actually more useful if you are trying to grow your business or improve the quality of your services. It gives you something clear to work on moving forward.
Therefore, you should always ensure you take note of any criticism you receive. Whilst you will not able to please everyone, it will help you become more accountable for your actions and understand where you have gone wrong. Then, you know what you need to focus on in the future.
As a result, you should set aside some time each month to read reviews. Pay attention to common themes within the complaints – for example, are customers repeatedly claiming that a particular product is bad?
Respond to reviews when appropriate, and ensure you find a way to move forward. Try to respond in a way that is courteous and professional. You should never respond angrily, even if the customer is in the wrong – as this will reflect negatively on your company/brand. Be honest and open – as this will help you improve upon your reputation.
5: Learn New Skills
Running a business is no easy feat – you have to deal with so many different tasks at once. From managing your staff, to getting to grips with your finances and as a result, you may need to develop skills you have never used before in order to succeed. For example, you need to possess the following skills:
- Leadership/Management ability
- Networking skills
- Communication
- Problem-solving abilities
- Marketing
- Project management
- Planning
- Analytical skills
- Customer service
- Delegation
- Time management
- Good numeracy
- Good literacy
- Flexibility
- Computer literacy
- Branding
Thankfully, there are plenty of short online courses for business owners, that will help take you (and by extension, your company) to the next level.
You should also encourage others in your team to take part in these courses – after all, you are in this together and the skills will be transferable no matter what the next step in their own career may be. Furthermore, employees are often drawn to jobs that give them plenty of opportunities to grow and develop professionally and personally, making your company a more attractive workplace.
In short, there are many different things you can do to take your business to the next level. However, the above list is a great place to start if you want to make some changes and find new ways to allow your business to grow and develop.
