Running a business means being involved in every part of the company. It’s vital to manage day-to-day tasks and making tough decisions. Small business owners can get so wrapped up in getting everyday tasks complete that they can lose sight of the bigger picture, which leads to burning out. Taking a step back puts things into perspective for many business owners and helps them learn ways they can discover ways to bring inspiration into their lives and insight on how to better improve a business. Recharging and reinventing a business is essential if you want to continue having a thriving business. Here are eight ways to keep a company dynamic, even if things get a little chaotic along the way.
Listen to Customers
Keep things fresh in your business by reaching out to customers and learning about what they think about your products. Also, Nevada Small Business mentions that if they’d like to see additional products consider offering them to increase sales and perhaps also gain new customers in the process.
Listening to customers can lead to increasing your business’ appeal. If you notice you’re receiving numerous inquiries about certain types of products or services, it may be a good idea to take heed and look into providing them. Obviously, there’s interest and that’s the first step to making sales. Giving the public what they want may be the key to remaining current.
Imagine you’re a jewelry designer who creates necklaces and bracelets that are bold in scale. Your current customers love them, yet lately you’re receiving feedback that customers would love to see your signature take on pieces on a more petite scale. It may be worth your while to see if some design alterations could open a new market for your jewelry.
Raise Your Prices
If your business is succeeding or you’re having a hard time keeping the company afloat, Quickbooks recommends considering raising your prices. Of course, this will take some consideration, and you should do it quietly so that customers do not become outraged.
Again, this might seem antithetical to increasing sales, if only because higher costs might make some potential—or even current—clients hesitant to work with you. When you do raise prices, don’t do it quietly. Announce the increase to your current clients. Give them the chance to renew their contracts or purchase products and services before the increase takes place.
Raising prices is not something that should be taken lightly. Be sure to analyze the pros and cons of increasing your prices for both the short- and long-term.
While none of the strategies above require an outlay of cash up front, they will take time and commitment from you and your sales team to really take off, whether over the phone, in person or via social media. However, by continuing to make connections with current and potential clients, you have the best chance of increasing your sales and demonstrating your value.
Ask Outsiders for Help
Entrepreneur suggests bringing in outside eyes to gain perspective on ways you can improve your business. This may include working with a variety of different professionals to advance their expertise on a variety of subjects so you can apply that knowledge to your business.
One of the most effective and simplest ways to get a different perspective of your business is to bring in a trusted outsider to help you.
A perfect example: Working with a professional advisor or banker to help get your finances in order so you don’t have to do it all on your own. Someone whose sole focus is cash flow management can help you identify problems and opportunities you probably would not have seen otherwise. Seeking help from an advisor can be the difference between making it and throwing in the towel
Savvy Marketing
Are you using marketing and more specifically social media to your advantage? To reinvent a business, sometimes it takes trying new things. Trying something new can be getting more active on your social media accounts and thinking of other marketing techniques you haven't tried yet. Let’s see what else The Balance Small Business has to say about that:
Wasting money on ineffective marketing is easy. Seek out low-budget, high-impact marketing strategies to improve your small business. Test one or two new tactics and see which perform best before adding them to your marketing mix. Social media is an excellent low-cost and low-risk way to promote your business. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are but a few good tools to build a social presence and attract attention to your business.
Become the Expert
If you’re going to succeed, then you need to become an expert in your field, plain and simple. To do this, you need to read up on everything that has to do with your business and then apply those tips and skills. Becoming an expert, according to Forbes, can lead to a big payoff.
You can improve your small business marketing by positioning yourself as a local expert. Becoming an expert is one of the long-term marketing tactics for small business, but can provide a big payoff.
Find local interest group meetings that fit in with your business’s brand. Attend them to network, find customers, and show off your expertise.
You can offer yourself as a speaker at local events and meetings. You might also do demonstrations. Leverage the networking benefits of joining a chamber of commerce. Also, talk to libraries and other local organizations to find out how you can get involved.
Talk to local journalists. Instead of trying to get reporters to write articles about your business, you can offer yourself as an expert for other stories. Create a relationship so journalists will come to you when they need to interview someone in your niche. Ask the reporter to mention your business when they quote you in the article.
Write it Down
Reader’s Digest says you should be writing lists so that you can stay on top of everything you need to complete daily and during the week. It’s also important to make a note of potential distractions and emotional challenges that may come up. Also, check out their idea of keeping a worry journal, which is an excellent way to get the stress off your back.
The first should contain everything that you need to get done soon. It should be a comprehensive list of short-, medium-, and long-term projects and work, and you should constantly adjust it. The second to-do list should be what you can reasonably expect to get done today, and today only.
Take a few moments to assess the day’s emotional challenges. Almost as important as your to-do list is a “be prepared for” list. Inventory the tough phone calls, boring meetings, challenging customers, frustrating red tape, infuriating rush-hour drives, droning detail work, and other challenges you may face.
Carry a small notebook with you everywhere. This is your “worry” journal. When you feel stressed, whip it out and scribble down everything on your mind at that minute.
Learn From Competition
Forbes has a fantastic idea, which is to learn from competitors and investigate what they’re doing to attract customers. This is a good strategy if you’ve been lacking in your marketing and need to spruce things up.
When searching for ways to improve your marketing, look to your competitors. Find out what they are doing to attract customers. If you’re the only company in your industry still using cold calling techniques and with little return, it’s time to learn from the other players in the game. Their tactics might work for you, especially since you are trying to attract the same customers.
For example, if you see that your competitors regularly run ads on Facebook, you might consider doing the same. The regular Facebook ads might indicate that your competitors see success from running the ads. You might experience similar success with your ads and cause some of your competitors’ customers to come to you.
Call to Action
Are you using a call to action in your newsletters and blog posts? A call to action is an excellent way to reel people in and get them interested in your products. The Business Journals provides a few examples of how to do that below:
A call to action is like your knight in shining armor. What do you want from your customers after they process your content? Should they share your infographic on social media, give you their email address or return a survey?
Always think about the next step you want your customers to take.
Once your king, queen and knight are all on the same page, your content should start leading to real business results. Remember to keep your content helpful, put it in sight of your customers and ask your customers to take action.
Content marketing should work with your other marketing strategies to produce one seamless plan.
Sources: Entrepreneur, Nevada Small Business, The Business Journals, Quickbooks, The Balance Small Business, Reader’s Digest, Forbes
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