Being a small business owner is rewarding but also challenging. You have a ton of responsibilities and sometimes feel like you are doing everything on your own. And growing your business to the next big company in your niche might seem impossible.
So in this article, we’ll present some helpful ideas to help you grow your business. Some of the ideas we’ll discuss include automated systems, digital marketing, reinvestment, and customer prioritization. Let’s begin!
- Build automated systems
Your business’s potential growth is limited when you do everything yourself or rely too much on people and manual procedures.
On the other hand, a business powered by automated systems can handle the multi-layered demands of expansion.
These systems may be as simple as a point-of-sale or appointment booking system that enables you to serve more customers or as complex as inventory management that can track your supply and demand.
Moreover, your business must have defined SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for all operations. These SOPs make new hires fit in the system quickly and help you scale the business rather quickly.
So, make sure you are not held back by manual processes and instead have automated systems to boost your productivity and growth.
- Have an active digital presence
Having an online presence is crucial for any business. And it’s even more important for small businesses.
Be sure that your business has a registered website domain and online social profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Business, and other social networks that you deem fit.
If maintaining multiple social profiles is too hectic for you, just stick to one. Make sure you choose a platform where your target audience hangs out. And for that you’ll need to perform audience research and develop an ideal customer profile. Make sure to post new content as frequently as you can, and provide as much free value to others as possible. This will keep your audience engaged and encourage them to share your digital content with others, which is crucial for growth.
Press releases are also an excellent way to boost your business. They help you promote business updates to other industry giants, journalists, and potential customers. As a new and growing business, try to leverage the straightforward creation and immediate exposure of press releases and regularly make your business announcements through them.
- Don’t be afraid to hire
Managing a small business keeps you occupied for most of the day and doesn’t leave you with a lot of time to think about business expansion. In this case, hiring a manager or assistant to oversee operations and other everyday business aspects may be the best option for your business.
This will free up your time and allow you to focus on tasks that are crucial to growing your company.
Although hiring new employees can be a long and daunting process, the right people will ultimately make your business better. Try reaching out to colleges or connecting with other professionals in your industry to build the right team.
Many small businesses are afraid to hire people because of the cost involved. But you should know that all great companies have an excellent team behind them. Hiring the right people is not a cost, it’s an investment.
- Reinvest in your business
Reinvesting your revenue in your business is the best investment you’ll make as a small business. And the most profitable business areas to be improved are your team and equipment.
Regular staff training will help them gain new skills, learn to use new technology, and improve their customer handling skills. A professionally trained and knowledgeable staff will help your business grow at a good pace.
From a business expansion point of view, it’s particularly important to invest heavily in your customer support team. Because at the end of the day, it’s your customers that will help your business grow by recommending you to others.
But reinvestment is not the only way to improve your team. You can use these 7 ways you can increase your team’s efficiency even if you don’t have a big reinvestment budget.
- Be open to new ideas and collaborations
No matter how big or small, successful businesses always look for new opportunities and so should you.
Sometimes, these opportunities may seem risky but you have to keep an open mind. For example, collaborating with a competitor may seem risky or strange. But if it can expand your audience and promote a product that you offer, then it’s not a bad idea.
So, actively participate in networking events and identify growth and collaboration opportunities. Take advantage of what others have to offer and who they know. This could give your business access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable.
But keep in mind that collaborations go both ways. You must bring some value to the table and offer a benefit to your partner.
- Focus on customer feedback and retention
You need to get inside the minds of your customers to grow your business. Read their feedback, learn about their pain points, and find out how you can make their experience better.
Why is this important? Because it costs five times more to get a new customer than it does to retain an old one.
So don’t hesitate to ask your current customers what they like and don’t like and the reason behind their answers. They’ll let you know if anything is missing, and this feedback will help you make better business decisions in the future.
Another great strategy would be to actively check social media for comments and complaints about your business. There are various tools out there that will make the process as streamlined as possible, alerting you every time someone posts about your business on social media, allowing you to improve significantly within a short period.
