Starting a business and growing it to a point where you can relax and watch the structures and systems you’ve put in place work for you is the dream of every entrepreneur. You can do many things as a small business owner to increase your business, grow your customer base, and generate more revenue. Here are five major ways you can expand your business.
1. Know your Customers:
Understanding the people you sell to is one of the surest ways to increase your business. The major reason for this is because you have the chance to start from where you are right now. You do not have to worry that you have nowhere to start from. Already, you have people who are buying from you and what you need is to capitalise on that and multiply the numbers. To do this, know your customers. Know what they want, what they need, what makes them tickle. Know the things you offer that make them come back. Once you have that, put all your energy into it.
Running a business is a service to people for pay. It is not about you. It is about what the people who are paying you want. So when you get it, you develop products and services to meet those needs and satisfy those desires.
One major way you can know your customers is by communicating with them. Always ask for feedback about your products and service both after purchase and after use. Let them tell you how the products made them feel. Let them also tell you how they will want to be better served. All these are the tips you will put to use in developing your next set of products and services.
2. Make Use of the Internet:
This is an era of massive communication and networking, and everything is happening on the internet. Putting your business off the internet at this age and time is a disservice not just to you but to your customers, and it will cost you.
Start with the World Wide Web. Create a business page and put up your products and services there and your contact. See your business page as your online shop, the one that everybody in the world can visit regardless of their geographical location. You definitely want to make it as neat and exquisite as possible.
Also, make use of social media. With the billions of people on Facebook and those still joining every single day, you have a place to advertise your products already. Create social media accounts for your business separate from your own personal accounts and update the accounts regularly. If you cannot handle it, get a social media manager to put up content every day and engage your potential customers. When you make a sale, either online or offline, direct the customers to your social media pages to drop their positive feedback and reviews. Let the world know that your small business is doing something, and many people can testify to that.
3. Give Attention to Networking:
This is another effective way to grow your small business. You need to go out of your way to meet people who need your products and pitch yourself to them. Networking allows you to reach not just potential customers but investors too. It’s so important that you pay attention to this because you will not meet people outside of your circle of influence without it. But when you step out of your comfort zone to network, you expand your circle of influence.
One good way to network is by attending events. Business conferences, trade fairs, and the likes are very good opportunities for you to meet people who will become your customers or investors. It is a chance to also sell your small business to a fresh set of people that you’ve probably never met before.
You can also host an event if you can’t readily find one to attend. Bringing together your best and most reliable customers and investors, and business partners is a sure way to make some good noise about your business.
4. Engage in Community Service:
The primary goal of community service is to give back. However, there is a plus to it when you are running a small business. Giving back allows you to create awareness about your business and what you do. And because this is on a platform of charity, people are more likely to patronise you. They have just seen you display kindness, and they surely want to contribute to your success.
Your business does not have to remain stagnant or have slow progress. You can push things up yourself by putting these tips to use.