Business growth contributes to longevity. This is especially true in the case of small businesses, 70% of which don’t survive their tenth year in business (Source: Fundera). Such failures are often due to lack of cash flow and other issues that could be prevented by steady business growth.
Surely, you’d prefer not to become part of that predominantly sad statistic; you want to be in business for years to come! How can you do it? To grow your small business, there are five things you must do.
Related eBook: 2018 Marketing Must-Dos
5 Steps to Small Business Success
1. Set Up an Online Foundation
The internet is one of the greatest tools you have at your disposal. Failing to use it will make it unnecessarily difficult for you to progress and could even be a roadblock. Therefore, you’ll want to lay the foundation for your business’s online presence as soon as possible. At the very basic level, your online foundation consists of:
A Company Website
In this day and age, you simply can’t do without a professional-quality company website. There are just too many benefits to pass up—24/7 sales power and customer service, stronger branding, increased credibility, and so on.
Social Accounts
If you haven’t already, you need to embrace social media and develop an active presence on the platforms where your current and potential customers gather. Why? Business growth isn’t just about making more sales. It’s about building relationships and fostering brand loyalty. Interact and engage with your target market through social media.
Directory Listings
The foundation for a strong online presence wouldn’t be complete without listings on major online directories such as Google and Yelp, at the very least. Yet, you should also list your business on directories specific to your locale or industry so that it can be more easily found online.
2. Publish Quality Content Regularly
Once the foundation is laid, it’s time to build on it by regularly producing valuable content. A well-planned content marketing strategy will nurture current leads, prospects, and customers. Additionally, it will increase awareness of your business, drawing in newly interested individuals.
What kind of content can you create? The options are basically limitless! You may choose to start a blog to educate your audience about your industry or to give practical tips and advice. You could also create content for social media, perhaps in the form of videos, which are becoming increasingly more effective in marketing. Besides that, there are:
- Infographics
- eBooks
- Case studies
- White papers
- Emails
- Newsletters
- …and more!
Diligent market research and testing can help you to determine the forms of content your audience like to consume. Using a balanced mix of the best types can solidify your credibility and progressively move people through your sales funnel.
However, to have that effect, your content must always stay true to your branding and must be distributed with consistency.
3. Invest in Local SEO
In addition to setting up online directory listings, there are several other ways you can increase your local online visibility. These include:
- Targeting location-specific keywords on your website, along with your blog and any ad campaigns that you run
- Adding a location page to your site (or pages if you have more than one location)
- Guest posting on local blogs and, if possible, linking back to your site
- Using Schema Markup to help search engines understand more clearly what you offer and where so that they can rank your site accordingly
Especially if most or all of your customer base is local, it’s vital that you invest in local SEO specifically. Otherwise, when potential customers turn to the internet to find a business like yours, your competitors will appear to be the only options and will thus take business away from you.
4. Take Advantage of Local Resources
Outside of marketing your business online, you can also use several offline resources to grow your small business. In fact, you should use such resources.
For example, the local newspaper or a popular radio station can be excellent tools for creating awareness and attracting people to your business. In many cases, they can have a direct impact on sales and even customer retention.
Too, you can join a chamber of commerce, which provides support to businesses like yours and creates new opportunities that’ll help you expand your horizons.
5. Expand Your Professional Network
You’d be wise to make connections both locally and beyond. Networking and being connected with other business owners can be beneficial in more ways than one. Just to name a couple of advantages, it provides access to unlimited knowledge based on varying perspectives and experience, as well as opens the way for profitable business opportunities.
Building relationships with influencers, in particular, can both boost your credibility and widen your audience.
To successfully grow your business, you must develop a strong and engaged network of professionals.
Grow Your Small Business With These 5 Tips
If you attend to these must-dos promptly, you will in time notice signs of growth such as steady or increased demand, consistently positive feedback, and a more diverse customer base. Growing your business doesn’t have to be hard!
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