10 ways to grow your small business
Growing a small startup can be a real challenge, there’s lots of competition and it can be hard to stand out. The good news is, with the right tips you’ll soon widen your reach and boost sales.
To help you forget the right path, and achieve the success you desire, we’ve outlined 10 ways you can grow your small business in this article.
1) Create a growth strategy
If you want to grow your business you first step is to create a growth strategy. As part of your growth strategy, you can set goals, and figure out how you’re going to grow your business. Designing a strategic plan can help you to figure out what’s most important to you, and make plans for the future.
Use your business plan as a basis, and go from there. Here are a few questions that might help you to create a growth strategy:
- What are the strengths of my business?
- How can I use these strengths to attract more customers?
- What’s unique about my competitors?
- How can I ensure that my brand stands out in the market?
2) Improve your branding
If you’re keen to grow your small business it’s a great idea to improve your branding. Your brand is like the personality of your company, it includes everything from your logo and tone of voice to your services and company culture. If you want to improve your branding, the following tips may come in handy:
- Work on creating the perfect brand story, you’ll need to engage your audience on an emotional level.
- Your brand needs to be memorable, what can you offer that similar brands can’t?
- Consumers prefer eco-friendly brands, how can you include this in your messaging?
3) Manage your reputation
If you want to grow your small business, you must look after your reputation. It can be useful to work with a reputation management company. These companies can help you with many different tasks, from gathering positive reviews to monitoring your mentions on social media. When you’re choosing a reputation management company make sure that you choose a brand with lots of experience.
It can also be useful to work with a PR company, with the help of PR professionals you can ensure that you’re presented favorably in the media. If you find yourself caught up in a scandal, PR companies can also help you with damage control. If your business processes involve the internet it’s important that you have robust cyber security solutions. To learn about the best options, check out Managed Azure Sentinel.
4) Keep up with SEO trends
To grow your business you’ll need to keep up with the latest SEO trends. Marketing best practices are always changing, and so it can be helpful to work with an SEO professional. An SEO expert can help you in many different ways including:
- To create an SEO-optimized website and blog.
- Ensuring that your content responds to search intent.
- Implementing the latest SEO strategies to help grow your company.
5) Use influencer marketing
Working with influencers has so many different advantages. With the help of an influencer marketing campaign, you can grow your online audience and improve customer loyalty. Influencers are skilled content creators who know how to promote brands. To find the perfect influencers to work with, try using platforms like Upfluence, Klear, or Hepsy. When you’re choosing the right influencer, the following questions may come in handy:
- How do you intend to promote my products?
- What are your methods to engage followers?
- Can you tell me about your experience/knowledge of my industry?
6) Embrace video marketing
Video marketing is a fantastic way to grow your business. You might create video ads, try live streaming, or make tutorial videos. Incorporating live video, like using the platform offered by Mux at https://www.mux.com/live, is probably the best way to engage and expand your audience. There are numerous advantages of live streaming, including:
- You can host engaging online events.
- Your audience can ask you questions in real-time.
- A great way to boost conversions.
- Live videos are a great place to market your products.
- You can use webinars to discuss industry topics.
7) Improve your product quality
Unless you have an amazing product, it will be difficult to grow your small business. It’s best to use an effective product quality strategy, this will help you to improve the quality of your products. As part of your product quality strategy, you should gather lots of customer feedback. Collecting customer feedback is a great way to get insights, and you can use these insights to improve. The following questions might come in handy:
- In your opinion, is the product or service worth the price?
- What was it that made you choose this product?
- How could the product or service be improved?
- How likely is it that you’ll recommend our product to a friend?
8) Collaborate with other businesses
Have you ever considered collaborating with another business? Working with another business can help you to reach a whole new audience, and grow your following. Many brands team up by offering special giveaways. It’s a fantastic way to engage customers and get people excited about your brand.
Choosing the right company to work with is crucial. You’ll need to make sure that you find a company that shares your values. Working with the wrong company could risk your reputation, and you might end up alienating your audience.
9) Support your staff
Your employees are at the very center of your business, if you want to keep on growing, you’ll need to support your staff. If they have been allocated tasks, they won’t have to worry about which jobs they need to move to next. However, if you do not perform adequate capacity management, some staff will be overworked and others underutilized. Managing their workload and potential is key to helping them feel supported by the business.
There are plenty of ways that you can keep your staff happy, including:
- Providing staff wellbeing packages is a great way to support the mental health of your employees.
- Offer support with training workshops, or sponsor your staff for a vocational course.
- Hold regular one-to-ones, and help your employees to set workplace goals.
10) Manage your finances properly
If you want to grow your small business you must manage your finances properly. To keep on top of your finances you’ll need to create a budget. The easiest way is to use budgeting and forecasting software. There are lots of popular software tools that you can use, including Vena, Scoro, and Prophix.
Using these ten tips you’ll soon grow your business. No matter what industry you work in, these ideas will help you to achieve success.
Photo by Mathilde Langevin
