04 May 5 Sure-Fire Ways to Boost Your Small Business in 2017
It’s that week again.
What… we are talking about the National Small Business week!
And what better way to celebrate this week than to share with you
this exclusive blog post for all small business owners out there.
If you are running a small business, then you know that there are only 2
options for you to take.
It’s either you consistently grow your business, or you stop letting
it grow and just see it die a slow and painful death.
You wouldn’t want to see something that you built with your blood, sweat
and tears go down the drain, right?
So here are 5 sure-fire ways to grow your business in 2017.
1. Plan for Growth
When we talk about growing a business, we don’t mean more profit. Because more often
than not, growth would mean more spending and overhead costs for you.
So for growth to happen smoothly, it needs to exceed the overheads so that it doesn’t
eat into your profits.
Here’s a common problem for many small businesses during the early stages of
growth- they are growing… not fast enough to hire quality staff, but fast
enough to drive the present staff crazy with mountains of stressful work!
So here’s what you can do: devise a strategic plan for growth. After all,
if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
Start by improving your systems and processes. Also, make sure to fully
utilize the resources of your team and focus on being more productive.
Although every business is different, they all have the same fundamentals. So let’s
look at how you can make better use of your time and your team’s time.
* Draw up a daily operations plan and share it with your team.
* Use a scheduler like the Google Calendar that the entire team can have access to on
mobile and desktop.
* Set your deadlines, and make sure that they are achievable. You wouldn’t want to
set deadlines that are impossible for you!
* Prioritize your day by writing a list of the top 3 things that you MUST do today.
* Leverage on technology to better manage your daily processes by using cutting edge
tools like Doodle and Appointlet.
* Drop all those tasks that are wasting your time and money.
* Don’t forget to take short breaks, because you deserve it!
2. Zoom In On The RIGHT Target Audience
There is a disease that is plaguing businesses big and small, and it is causing them to waste
ridiculous amounts of time and money chasing after all the potential clients, amazing
opportunities and just about all the other shiny lemonades in between.
Its time for you to eradicate this deadly disease, and zoom in directly onto your
target audience!
This is a fail-proof strategy, and it WORKS every time. It will work for your business
today, tomorrow and for many years to come.
The game is like this: go for the same target market, clients, customers in the same category.
Then offer them what they are looking for… and watch the profits come rolling in.
It really is that simple. The end result is always better and faster growth, greater profits
and immense satisfaction.
How is that possible?
Because you stay focused on creating a process that attracts new customers, nurtures them and
delivers the right products to solve their needs. And by doing this same process repeatedly,
you get to refine and perfect it.
So it’s a case of rinse and repeat, and soon your team will get very good at it.
Once you have it down, the next step is to pick a new target audience, and then start
implementing your winning formula again.
Remember… rinse and repeat!
Don’t fall into the trap of always acquiring new leads and clients like what other businesses
like to do.
Focus on your present customers- the ones that are already buying from you, and simply up-sell
them with other products in your store.
3. Focus on Getting Better Search Engine Rankings
Today, people go online almost exclusively to search for all kinds of information.
It’s not enough to just put out a pretty website, and then hope for the best. You
also need to know how to drive traffic to it in the first place… lots of it!
But with more than 600 million active websites on the Internet all fighting
for a share of the online traffic, the game now becomes increasingly challenging
for you.
This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in.
When someone is searching for the term “Orlando plumbing service” on Google for
example, you’ll want your website to be listed on the first page.
Why only the first page?
Because people want information FAST, and only about 10% will even bother to
click through to the second page.
If you do things right and get your site ranking high enough, that’s free
traffic at its very best.
And these are the people who are ready to open up their wallets to buy your
service, if you can solve their problem.
Now, SEO can be a very complicated process that will take some time to
produce results.
So the best way is still to hire an expert to do the work for you.
You are a business owner first and foremost… not an SEO genius. So let
the experts handle it, while you work on bringing success to your business.
4. Boost Your Online Reputation
Today’s consumers are not like those that you saw 10 years ago.
They are smarter, sophisticated and more informed.
They go online using their mobile devices to check on the reviews of
products or services before they make a buying decision.
Whether it is a pasta restaurant, a chiropractor, or a cleaning service,
they would want to see positive reviews before they take the next step.
Let’s face it: we all want the best value, at the best price and for the best quality.
And you can bet your last dollar that your customers will think the same way too!
They will have plenty of options. So they will naturally go for the seller with the best
online reviews and recommendations.
It surprises us that businesses are still spending tons of time and money to acquire
the best technology, machinery and staff.
But they totally neglected to put aside enough resources to build up their online
reputation.
As the saying goes, it take 20 years to build up your reputation… and only 5
minutes to destroy it!
5. Leverage On The Power Of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is HUGE… and its only getting bigger.
Imagine a huge trade show, where all the leading companies and business leaders
gather and network with each other.
They build a strong strategic alliance.
They talk:
* Business
* Mergers
* Opportunities
* Lead generation
* Products and services
Don’t miss out on the party. Get LinkedIn, and join in.
Its very easy to use too!
Simply use LinkedIn’s highly advanced features, find the right people for your
business to connect with, send a few good emails… and you are good to go.
There are no complicated steps, learning curves or procedures for you to go through.
Just do your own research, and reach out to your potential clients or vendors without
any hassles.
Okay, here’s a bonus tip: find ways to save money!
A small business like your’s does not have a limitless budget like the big companies.
So it will be wise of you to find every possible way to save money. You will be
pleasantly surprise at how the numbers will add up to affect your bottom line.
Here’s a quick example: laptop computers consume approximately 90 percent less energy
than standard desktop computers!
So opportunities to help save money for your business is everywhere. You just need
to know where to look.
Be always on the lookout to save money, because every penny saved is a penny earned.
And guest what… you can even use those pennies earned to reinvest and grow your
business too!
Your small business will always be faced with challenges, and these 5 useful ways
can ensure that your business will not only withstand your competitors; it will
continue to thrive for many years to come.