It might have always been your ambition to have your own business, and as that dream becomes a reality, you will quickly find that the challenges you used to have as a small business owner have not only just gotten bigger but are joined by some extra ones as well.
This is especially true when it comes to expanding what you have without losing that small business vibe that may have been what separated you from the countless faceless entities your customers have to choose from. There are areas, though, where your efforts are unlikely to be wasted and instead bring you excellent results and act as stepping stones to much bigger and greener pastures.
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Invest in staff training
It doesn’t matter if you now have two staff members or 2,000; they all need to know what they’re doing if you intend to give a high-quality product or service to your customer. This might seem like common sense, but you will be surprised at how often this simple step is bypassed.
Clearly, this is likely to be quite a large job if you have gone a long way in a short period of time. So, rather than take on another job that you haven’t got time to do, it might be best to leave this to the professionals. They are likely to get better results, far faster than you might – and any cost incurred in doing this is expected to be recouped in growth, extra orders, and efficiency.
Encourage repeat customers
Repeat customers are the best type of customers because they are already familiar with your brand. Not only that, but you also don’t necessarily have to invest huge amounts in advertising to sell to them again
One of the ways of inspiring loyalty in customers is to recognize their faith in selecting your company for their purchase by giving them free gifts. This is where your company’s creativity can run wild; from branded stationary and free t-shirts to custom golf hats and mugs, there are so many possibilities when it comes to free goodies to give to customers.
In the case of complementary apparel, selecting a high-quality merchandiser is ideal for wearable items, as you would like your customers to wear them as often as possible. They are also likely to associate the quality of the free gift with the quality of your company – and you don’t want any poor-quality freebies to ruin your brand’s reputation.Â
What’s more, if customers wear their free gift out in public, they are, in effect, advertising your brand to everyone who sees them and attracting more customers. This means you have the chance to showcase your brand and show off that it sells high-quality goods – so seize that marketing opportunity and don’t skimp on quality.
Up your game on social media
Every small business should be on social media to reach new customers and reinforce their relationship with the customers they already have. The platform you concentrate on initially should be the one most used by your target audience demographic, so you are not showing your product to people who are not likely to be interested in it.
Again this is something that could be best left to the professionals, especially if you are not that tech-savvy. You could spend all day making poor social media content when a specialist content or social media marketing agency can probably achieve better results in a fraction of the time.