10 tips for growing your small business
Ten tips on how to grow your small business including writing a marketing plan, market research, and using the internet.
1. Use A Professional Voice-Mail Message.
Your business voicemail is not the time to be clever or cute. If you need to, write a script to use when you record your announcement. Ideally you should recored a new message each day. Identify your company, yourself, the day and date, and indicate your availability (for example, will you be out of the office that day?) and when the caller can expect to hear from you.
2. Get On The Internet.
No matter how small your business is, you must have the proper communication tools, and an e-mail address is essential these days. Check your e-mail at least twice a day, and respond to messages promptly.
3. Consider A Web Site.
Even if you don't have a product that can be effectively sold over the Internet, a Web site can help establish your presence, providing customers and suppliers with information about your company and what you have to offer. Including a Web address on your marketing materials sends a message that your company is a sophisticated, forward-thinking operation.
4. Hand Business Cards Out At Every Opportunity.
After you've been in business for a while, you may forget that not everyone you meet is aware of or remembers what you do. Passing out business cards at every opportunity - even to people you know - is a good reminder. Remember, your business cards don't do you any good unless they're in someone else's hands.
5. Stimulate Word of Mouth.
Encourage existing customers to refer new customers to you by rewarding them, with a gift or a commission or a discount on their next invoice.
6. Write And Use A Marketing Plan.
Piecemeal marketing will rarely be cost effective. Develop a detailed marketing strategy that covers at least one year and includes target markets, your unique selling proposition, tactics, budgets, specific tasks and expected results. Map it out on a calendar so you know exactly what you have to do and when. Continue your marketing efforts even when business is good; if you stop informing customers, your sales will eventually drop.
Click here to see our marketing plan template
7. Do Market Research.
It is important you don't guess the potential demand for your products and services. To effectively forecast, you need real numbers based on reliable research. To do the research on your own, start with a basic questionnaire for potential customers. If you decide to use a market research firm, shop around and check references first.
Click here for a more in-depth article on market research
8. Keep Abreast Of Changes In Your Market.
No matter how well you defined your market when you started your business, it's highly unlikely it will remain the same over time. If you don't recognise the changes in your market, you can't respond to them. As you grow and your capabilities expand, you may be able to serve markets you couldn't before. External circumstances may also change your customer base. You have to constantly reevaluate your market and how you reach it.
9. Use Quality Marketing Materials.
Your customers will assume that the quality of your work is as good as how you present yourself. Amateurish business cards and brochures send a message that you don't take yourself seriously, so why should your customers? Hire a good graphic designer to design your business cards, letterhead and brochures. If you can't afford a graphic designer, use a simple typeface on quality paper; most printers have formats you can follow.
10. Join Business Associations And Organisations.
Look for the groups your prospective customers belong to, and spend most of your time with them. Join your industry's leading trade association and your local chamber of commerce. They are good ways to enhance your image, meet potential customers, receive industry information and cut business costs through association discounts.
This information is brought to you by The Small Business Company
Contact a Business Advisor for more info
