When you want your business to flourish, you’ll need to step back and develop a game plan. You might need a more active online presence, for instance — or you might need to dig in and build more local partnerships. Whatever the case, it’s critical that you figure out your strengths and weaknesses first.
Then you can turn a stagnant business into a thriving one. Read on to learn 8 surefire ways you can promote business growth!
1. Build Your Online Business
Do you have a website? Even if you do, ask yourself how frequently you update it. There’s a good chance you’re underutilizing your virtual presence as a business.
A thriving online business has a website that’s easy to navigate and updated regularly. You should show clear product pictures, professional descriptions, and order forms. Similarly, it should be easy for a visitor to find your mission statement and contact information.
To build visibility, start a blog that maximizes the potential of search engine optimization (SEO). With SEO, you’ll sprinkle in keywords that viewers are likely to use to find your products. Try to do this as naturally as possible.
Use SEO in your product descriptions, tags, and blog posts. Integrating SEO effectively means that your site will ascend to the top of the search rankings!
2. Prioritize Customer Service
A little customer service can go a long way toward building business success. Greet customers by name when they enter your store, and use eye contact and a warm smile.
On your website, respond to inquiries and technical glitches as soon as possible. You also can invite top customers to write guest blog posts or testimonials to feature on your website. And whenever possible, send a follow-up note to express your gratitude to customers for their support.
3. Leverage Social Media when Running a Business
Does your business have an active social media presence? If you don’t have accounts on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, you may be missing out on a huge opportunity. Pick at least 2 platforms and set up business accounts.
If you have a tech-savvy and articulate employee, assign them to manage the accounts. Post new product photos at least every day during the workweek. And be sure to respond to customers who post comments or questions on your social media pages.
4. Seek Business Growth through Special Offers
Are you wanting to spur better business profits? As the old adage goes, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. And with a large or small business, that may mean offering some discounts.
Offer a discount of 10 or 20% to new customers on your website. When you make a sale in person, offer a coupon to encourage that customer to come back. On a marketing email to customers, tease in-store promotions, too, as a way to lure people back to your establishment.
5. Partner with Complementary Businesses
When you’re trying to expand your market as a small business, look into developing partnerships. What other organizations in town run parallel businesses that complement what you do? You don’t want to partner with the competition — but there should be plenty of other businesses eager to work with you.
For instance, if you’re selling kombucha tea, perhaps you could partner with a family-owned grocery store. They might be more inclined to support a local business anyway. Ask if you can sell your bottled beverage there, and share some samples with visitors.
6. Incentivize Professional Development Opportunities
A good team of employees is key to business growth. As a result, you’ll want to provide ample opportunities for your employees to improve their skillsets. When you do this in an encouraging manner, you show that you’re a supportive organization.
Provide travel stipends to attend conferences or trade shows. Invite guest speakers for lunch hour workshops. Most importantly, meet with your employees regularly.
You’ll demonstrate that you’re invested in their growth and you can learn more about their strengths. Especially for your strongest employees, personal investment is one of the key ways to encourage retention.
7. Refresh Your Brand
Your brand is a visual identity that allows you to be recognized. This should consist of a logo and color scheme. And you should reflect it in all marketing materials and online platforms to create consistency.
If you don’t have a crisp logo, work with a graphic designer. They’ll be able to take your goals and forge them into a memorable and unique logo. if you already have a logo, consider asking a designer to refresh it so it looks contemporary.
Consult with the team at Upstart Works to build a memorable brand. You also can get data analysis that will help you finetune your strategy to get more sales.
8. Network, Network, Network
Does your community have networking events you could be attending? Are there fairs in town where you can promote your product? Part of running a small business is hustling — and that means networking with people.
If networking events don’t exist, be the one to start them! Send out an invitation to community or business leaders you’d like to know better. A simple 2-hour meetup or coffee hour is a low-stakes way to establish better name recognition and develop partnerships.
Find the Business Success You Deserve
With so many approaches to business growth, you’ll want to figure out which strategies make the most sense for you. You’ll spread yourself thin if you try to do everything. Instead, look for a corner of the market that can help you uncover new customers — and retain existing ones.
For more marketing and business ideas, check back for new articles!
