How to Grow your Small Business Without Increasing Overhead
Raise your hand if you’ve ever faced the challenge of wanting to grow your business, but didn’t have the funds to do so? Small business owners are faced with this every. single. day.
The good news? You don’t have to break the bank to grow, and by leveraging some great technology, new processes and putting a focus on retaining your current customers, you could see your revenue increase, along with your bottom line.
Let’s get into it. Here are a few ways to increase your revenue without making huge investments:
Incorporate Technology
Let's be VERY careful with this one. The worst thing a small business could do is over-leverage technology to the point where it’s a barrier between you and your customer. However, when technology automation is done well, it can be dang near magical.
Using tools like a CRM (customer relationship management) tool such as Keap or Hubspot to manage your communication with prospects and existing customers can help you from having to repeat conversations to your team, and can keep everyone on the same page, making the client always feel seen, heard and understood regardless of who they talk to.
Project management tools like Basecamp or Trello keep all of your work in one place, easily accessible for others to check in on and help with versus having a myriad of emails, calls and text messages to keep things straight.
Last but not least, we personally LOVE Slack for internal communication. We can break up the channels by clients or projects, and my team can quickly broadcast messages to each other to keep everyone informed.
Focus On Retaining Customers
If you know, you know: keeping a customer is SO MUCH LESS expensive than trying to find a new one. Customer retention is one of those metrics that should be focused on so much more than it actually is, and I’m here to spread the word. Building loyalty with those who already trust you enough to shop with you is so important, yet we spend so much time and effort on marketing for NEW customers, that we often forget this.
Scheduling regular engagement and touchpoints for our existing clients, and building personalized offers each quarter can help increase loyalty and spend throughout the lifetime of their relationship with our company, AND can have them become advocates on our behalf. And as we all know: nothing beats word of mouth when it comes to getting the word out!
Making Sure Your Digital Presence Is Solid
Your online presence is CRUCIAL. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Optimizing your website so it is search engine friendly is critical, as is making sure you’re actively engaging on the social platforms you choose to be on. Notice we said “choose to be on”, because, frankly, you can’t be on all things and be good at them all, too. Pick 1-2 platforms and really focus on QUALITY content there - that will win every single time versus being spread thin everywhere.
Also, make sure your Google Business profile is up to date, as is your hours on Apple Maps and other profiles such as TripAdvisor (if applicable).
Form Strategic Partnerships
Look around you. NO one, and we mean NO ONE, got here on their own. Partnering up with other small businesses and organizations can offer so many benefits and mutual brand awareness to each others’ communities. You could host events together, or do a Facebook Live together to talk about each others’ businesses. It’s one of the best ways to increase reach and stretch resources without having to invest much.
Focus On Niche Markets
When you know who you’re targeting, the entire world gets so. much. easier. If you think you can sell your product or service to anyone - you’re probably right. But can you easily sell it to anyone, and does just “anyone” need it, want it and value it the way you want them to? The answer is no.
The BEST way to expand your business is to know WHO you’re expanding your business to in the first place. From there, messaging, marketing, service offerings, pricing - the whole shebang - becomes so much easier and less expensive to drive growth through. Think of it this way: every time you don’t know your audience or your customer, you’re shooting in the dark trying to figure out what will stick. When you actually know who you’re targeting, you can hit the target MUCH easier, making you much more successful in a quicker amount of time.
