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4 Ways to Grow Your Small Business

Business growth doesn’t happen by chance, and when poorly managed it can actually do more harm than good. You need to make the right moves to ensure that your small business achieves long-term growth and financial success. Growing a small business is certainly challenging and requires a lot of work, but the journey is that much easier when you know which steps to take. Let’s look at four ways to grow your small business.

1. Listen to Your Customers

The saying goes that the customer is always right. Your existing customers are your most valuable source of information with regards to improving your business. Creating an excellent customer experience is necessary in order to drive more sales, so pay attention.

Surveys, feedback forms and questionnaires are one way of gathering data but one of the best things you can do is simply to listen. In order to create a strong marketing strategy and an appealing customer experience, you need a deep understanding of what makes your customers tick. When you figure out what keeps them up at night, business growth will surely follow.

2. Establish Customer Loyalty

Research by Invesp shows that it’s five times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one, and you should pay heed to this oft-quoted statistic.

Of course you will need to acquire new customers in order to grow your business, but cultivating customer loyalty is incredibly important, too. You have a much greater chance of landing a sale with an existing customer, and they spend an average of 31% more.

The moral of the story is that you shouldn’t forget about your existing customers in the pursuit of new ones. Nurture your existing customer base with exclusive discounts, early access to special offers and loyalty programs.

Don’t forget about the power of referrals, either. Incentivise your current customers to bring in new business with offers and discounts. Not only is this a very affordable way of acquiring new customers, it will not cost you anything until you have actually made a sale.

3. Show Up on Social Media

These days, businesses need a social media presence just to prove that they’re legitimate, but if you’re only posting once in a blue moon then you could be wasting a valuable marketing opportunity.

Content marketing via social media is a low cost way to grow your audience and attract new customers without spending a fortune on a flashy advertising campaign. Post content to social media in order to attract the eyes of new customers and stay front of mind. Otherwise, you’ll easily be forgotten about in favour of a competitor.

4. Professional Development

You should view your employees as an investment. Let’s take a look at a well-known business proverb:

A CFO says to a CEO “What if we invest in developing our employees and they leave?”

The CEO replies “What if we don’t, and they stay?”

In order to grow your business, you need to ensure that your employees grow along with it. Building a strong and motivated team is vital to the success of your small business.

Staff motivation has a direct impact on productivity, so make your team feel valued. Listen to them, ensure that strong lines of communication are in place and invest in their professional development. As your business grows, you should train your employees to handle the new tasks that may become part of their job description and allow them to realise their potential. This will result in a high staff retention rate and a team that works hard to ensure your business achieves success.

Play the Long Game

Success doesn’t happen overnight but if you’re serious about growing your small business, the above strategies will help you to get there. It’s important that you approach this process with an investment mindset, rather than looking for an easy way to make a quick buck. By being patient and taking the above steps to grow your small business, you will soon find yourself on the road to financial success.

 

 

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