15 WAYS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS
You probably went out on a limb to create the business you now run. You probably took risks to get where you are. You may have never thought you’d make it this far. But now that you have, you’re ready to grow your business even more and take it to the next level. The big question is: how? How do you grow your business into something bigger and better? While there is no one way to grow a business, there are certain avenues you can pursue that will help more than others. Here are 15 options you should pursue if you’re serious about growing your business and making a name for yourself. 1. Plan ahead You can’t successfully grow your business blindly. You need to have a plan. How much do you want to grow? Do you want to simply increase revenues in your current location, or do you want to expand to multiple locations? Do you want to put more focus on e-commerce over your brick-and-mortar store? What is your plan to get to where you want to be? Make sure you have laid that out in detail before you move forward. 2. Hire the right people Your team is an extension of you, your brand, and your business, so it’s important to find the right people. Make sure you know exactly what roles you need and what you want them to be doing in those roles. Make the job description as clear as possible, and in the interview, focus on soft skills instead of hard skills. It’s a lot harder to teach social intelligence. 3. Open a new location If you’ve done your homework and you know that a second location would do a world of good for your business, then do it! A second location is a great way to expand your brand and reputation. Make sure you’ve got a business plan for your new location, that you have the funds to carry it out, and above all else, make sure you choose the right location. 4. Embrace technology What forms of payment do you currently accept? Are you still a cash-only business or do you accept cards now? What about mobile payment options? Do you use a POS system? If you want to grow your business, make sure you are able to accept as many forms of payment as possible to ensure you don’t have to turn any potential customer away. There are so many ways to automated processes now that you should utilize as many as makes sense for your small business. Do you have a newsletter that you send out each week or month to subscribers? Do you do it manually or do you use an email marketing automation system? You have so many things to do every day already, try using some tools that will help you streamline processes and free up your schedule for more pressing matters. 5. Tap into E-Commerce Does your business have a website yet? If it does, can your customers purchase anything on the site? If you’re ready to grow your business, e-commerce is a channel you should absolutely be pursuing. Nearly 80% of the entire U.S. population has made an online purchase and 50% have made more than one. E-commerce sales aren’t slowing down any time soon. In the 2nd quarter of 2016, e-commerce sales account for 7.5% of total sales! Suffice it to say, if your small business has not tapped into this market yet, now is the time to do so! The more revenue opportunities you can generate for your business, the better. 6. Increase your online presence If you have a website, that’s a great first step. But what about social? Do you have a dedicated Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter page? How do people hear about you? Do you utilize any paid social? Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to have a page on EVERY social channel available. But what you should definitely be doing is analyzing where your ideal customer spends the most time and make sure to grow your presence on those particular social channels. Another great way to boost your online presence and grow your business is to have an active blog for your small business. Find out what your customers want to learn more about and what content will help them and drive them to your site. The most important thing for a blog to be effective is to blog regularly. You need to create a blog that is reliable, one that is constantly producing new content. If your blogging efforts are only sporadic, you will have a very difficult time gaining any type of loyal following. 7. Have a GOOD website Just having a website is not enough in this day and age. If it looks old, dated, or unhelpful, people will perceive your business as one that is not credible. In fact, 48% of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business and 94% said it was the reason they mistrusted a website. If you don’t have any experience designing a website, not a problem! There are plenty of sites out there that can help you put together a classy website that fits your company and/or brand perfectly. Take time to perfect your website so it conveys exactly what your business is all about. 8. Loyalty programs or discounts Out of all the business, you generate, 55-70% of company sales come from your most loyal of customers. With that in mind, you want to do everything you can to keep those loyal few around as long as physically possible. You can use a punch card, a points system, or a myriad of other options, but make sure whatever system you choose is something that those loyal customers will adopt. 9. Franchise If you want to expand rapidly and have a business model that can be made into franchise opportunities, then franchising your small business may be an excellent way to grow your business. The most important thing to remember