5 Essential Focus Points To Grow Business In Any Market
Small business owners can’t change the macroeconomic market conditions in any given period. However, there are ways to not just survive but thrive even in downmarket times. Financial crises come and go and the geo-political landscape may look disturbing but local businesses continue to serve their communities. Here are 5 key factors to keep an eye on in order to grow business.
#1: Watch Your Cash Flow
Always remember that cash flow is what enables you to open the shop doors each morning. You need to keep an eye on sales, margins and your expenses but you must also focus on ensuring that you are receiving payments from customers. Consider integrating systems to remind customers when their invoices are due. Although unpalatable, if customers fail to pay invoices on time you may have to engage a collection agency to get your payments.
#2: Focus Your Marketing
Review your historical methods of promoting your business as well as your products and/or services. If economic times are a bit tough you may need to consider new strategies to improve your visibility and stand out from your competition and grow business. Marketing isn’t just limited to buying ads and putting up signs. Social media (love or hate it) is a major channel that business are using to promote brands and improve sales. If you are not comfortable with doing this yourself get some professional help. All businesses should have a professionally developed website that focuses on a key goal (such as getting more sales) and integrates with any social media platforms.
#3: Review Existing Customers
You probably have customers who buy a similar set of goods regularly. Do you know why they only buy this set? Is there an opportunity to sell additional products to them. No-one likes to be up-sold but it is a tactic employed at all levels of business and if done well is very effective. It’s also cheaper to focus on existing customers than find new ones so repeat selling and up-selling should be considered first. Have a conversation with people at the checkout to find out more about them. Avoid pushy interrogation techniques, just have a friendly targeted conversation. Don’t neglect the importance of word-of-mouth referrals either. Ensure your salespeople are promoting your brand at all times.
#4: Analyse Your Customer Base
Are you always selling to the same set of customers? Where do these customers live – are they local only? Is there an opportunity to broaden your reach in order to get an expanded set of potential customers to grow business? Perhaps you have products that you sell in your shop that could also be sold online. This is where your website can be the best salesman you ever employed and social media extra channels to find more potential buyers.
#5: Realign Business Goals
As a result of operating your business for some time your reality could be different from the goals you applied when you first started operations. You should have short-term and long-term goals and tailor your marketing and other processes to achieve them. Visit Link to Business.gov.au site for more ideas about running and growing your business.
If you need advice with establishing or re-booting your business’ online presence please contact us for a free site review and action plan.
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