10 Ways to Accelerate Small Business Growth This 2019
Running a small business has its fair share of challenges, but it can be tremendously fulfilling too. Entrepreneurs know the thrill of taking on an initially difficult situation and turning it around to their favor. Perhaps you didn’t have any business experience when you were just starting an online business. Now, your brand is steadily gaining followers on different digital channels. Years ago, you were scouring the internet for leads on how to find a business coach. Now, you’re hosting webinars to help aspiring entrepreneurs realize their ideas.
Entrepreneurs always find ways to make their business better but after some time, what used to be a passion project either hits a plateau or burns you out. If you want to speed up the growth of your business, passion isn’t enough. You need to couple it with creativity and rationality, so you don’t run around in circles or stay stuck in the rut.
Are you running out of ideas on how to increase business growth? Do you want this year to be bigger and better than the last? Here are 10 ways to accelerate small business growth this 2019:
1. Find out what you really solve.
Did you know? The number one reason that a startup fails isn’t the lack of capital but the lack of market need. That means, no matter how much money you have in the bank, it’s not enough guarantee to building a lucrative business. On the flip side, even if you don’t initially have the funds to start a company, you’d be well on your way to building one with a solid business idea.
Whether you’re still looking for ideas on how to start a small business or are already running one, make sure to dig deeper on what problems your products solve. For example, a local diner owner may have started their business out of passion for cooking. However, what makes them eager to prepare delicious dishes is the satisfaction of helping busy people who barely have time for home cooking still enjoy a good, healthy meal. When you understand this, you can expand your service by offering weekly meal plans delivered to the customers’ home or office address. They wouldn’t have to worry about what to eat or when to find time to enjoy your specialties when you bring it right to their doorstep.
2. Inspire creativity.
Looming deadlines, mind-numbing meetings, and crunching numbers can get in the way when you’re trying to brainstorm for new online business marketing techniques or product developments.
Don’t just wait for creativity to strike – go out and seek it. A Stanford research has revealed that creative thinking boosts by 60% when a person is walking instead of just staying put. Just think how unstoppable you would be when you’re no longer at the mercy of a creative block.
3. Cultivate your brand style.
One look at your company logo and people should know it’s your brand. That’s the kind of recognition you should be working to achieve. That’s the kind of brand awareness you get when you practice consistency.
To be consistent, you must first develop the style for your brand. Besides the logo, you must also choose and stick with the color palette, font, copy tone or voice, and even naming convention. How is your brand namespacing? Do you use capitalization? When you decide on the brand style, it’s easier to be consistent in both your physical and digital materials.
4. Highlight your value proposition.
Your value proposition is what sets you apart from your competitors. The Amazon marketplace, for instance, is known for being customer-centric by providing a stress-free money-back guarantee to buyers when many of its competitors dodge customer complaints. Do a research on your brand rivals to find out your strengths against them. Can you send a swatch to customers so they can personally check the color of a product before purchase? Do you offer free shipping regardless of how much they buy? Pull in more customers by stressing what makes you a cut above the rest.
5. Build your A-team.
It takes a team of specialists to move your company forward. The problem is, hiring and building proficient personnel takes money and a lot of work. Not every small business owner has the luxury of time and funds to recruit, train, and manage the right people for their brand. This is one of the reasons why some entrepreneurs handle multiple positions themselves instead of hiring and delegating work to in-house associates.
Thankfully, you can outsource different business responsibilities to virtual assistants. Partner with a trustworthy staffing company to help you hire, train, and oversee your associates. Through virtual assistance, you can find the right content writer VA (virtual assistant), web and graphics designer, marketing and SEO specialist, admin assistant, and bookkeeper. Because working with a remote team is significantly more cost-effective, you can work with a group of specialists on terms you can afford.
6. Conduct regular product trainings.
Although staffing companies like 20Four7VA can help business owners train and supervise their associates, you still need to coach your team regarding your products. Your employees should know your services and service terms inside out. It’s one of the keys to providing exemplary customer service.
Put together tutorial videos or eBooks or conduct a live product training through Skype or Zoom to prepare your team for customer inquiries and even complaints. When employees understand how a product works and what makes it preferable to similar items, they can better position it to customers or provide prompt and efficient answers to inquiries.
7. Provide different support channels.
Consumers have different preferences when it comes to contacting a brand. Some people prefer to physically visit a retail store while others find it better to phone in. Some consumers are more comfortable reaching out via email, while some find it more convenient to communicate through social platforms. To cater to all your customers, make it possible to contact your brand through different platforms.
Make sure to keep your communication channels open and consistently monitor and respond to inquiries, feedback, or complaints. Hire a virtual assistant to oversee the communication channels of your brand and make sure that response time is within 24 hours.
8. Get more assertive with your social media campaigns.
Consumer purchases are influenced by social media. What’s more, most small business owners also depend on these channels to reach their consumers. That’s why it’s important to curate your content in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest to position your brand appropriately and resonate with your target audience.
Learn the ropes on how to increase business growth through social media. Remember that being present in different channels is not enough – you need to be more assertive with your campaigns. That means knowing the preferred social channel of your target audience, completing business info and contact details across all platforms, and forming partnerships with influencers to expand your reach. It’s high time you treat your social profiles as points of contact for your business. It’s best to have a social media VA to publish or monitor posts and correspond with followers as promptly and as efficiently as possible.
9. Be a mobile-centric brand.
Mobile traffic has exceeded its desktop counterpart in recent years that brands are now turning to be more mobile-centric. It’s no longer just an option to have a mobile version for your website, it’s a must. In fact, entrepreneurs will do well to treat the mobile version of their business page as the main one. However, budget constraints can get in the way of maintaining a smooth and strong online presence. It takes money to maintain an e-commerce store while managing many other digital channels at the same time.
Fortunately, there are platforms specially made to help startups build apps such as BiznessApps, GoodBarber, QuickBase, and Oracle Application Builder. Being mobile-centric also means providing your customers with more modes of online payment. Besides major credit cards be open to receive money through PayPal, Google Wallet, or Apple Pay.
10. Produce brand communication documents.
How do your employees market or position your company and services to clients and prospects? Do all customers get the same treatment and answers for their concerns and questions? Listen to what people are saying to and about your brand. Is there any confusion or miscommunication about how your service and purchase terms work?
There must be uniformity and consistency in brand communications to ensure that service terms are met, and customers understand how your products work. Standardized communications also ensure that your company mission and vision statements and culture are upheld. Produce documents that contain talking points and guidelines which your employees can easily and securely access. Besides making day-to-day operations smoother, this practice will also make onboarding new associates easy.
Break away from predictable and time-worn business and marketing practices. If you want techniques for speedily driving new business development, make sure to follow these 10 ways to accelerate business growth this year.
