In tough economic times, it is natural for small business owners to prioritise stability over expansion. But if everybody else is thinking the same thing, there might not be a better time to steal a march on your competitors and accelerate business growth.
This doesn’t mean to say that building up an enterprise is easy, as you will undoubtedly have several obstacles to overcome and need to heighten your exposure to risk. However, by bearing the following tips in mind, you should be able to increase capacity, attract more customers, add more revenue streams, and boost bottom-line sales.
Explore investment opportunities
The biggest hurdle standing in the way of most small business’ expansion plans is having enough money to do so. But, with the markets suffering from a downturn, you can explore investment opportunities and increase capital through automated trading.
By using pre-planned strategies based on previous market performance, you can reduce the impact of rash emotional decisions and detrimental gut reactions. You are also given the ability to executive multiple real-time trades simultaneously and analyse trends thanks to a wide range of indicators.
Reduce even more responsibilities with automation
Small businesses don’t always have fewer responsibilities to manage. In fact, there is a strong chance you and your staff have to juggle even more tasks than that of a larger organisation, which can range from payroll to publicity.
But this is where automation can help yet again. Instead of running scared from technology that can perform the duties of a human, embrace it. For example, there are software programs that can automate project management systems, schedule social media activity and electronically process accounts.
Focus on lead generation
There is nothing necessarily wrong with chasing more sales, as your business relies upon revenue in order to stay afloat. However, it might be more advantageous to focus on lead generation first, otherwise you will have no prospects to encourage down the sales funnel.
There are a number of ways you can identify and contact prospects, which include direct mail, telesales, and digital marketing techniques such as newsletters and blogging. With this information, your sales team will have a much better idea and understanding of their target market.
Add value to the customer’s experience
It is easy to overlook the simple things when attempting to accelerate growth, particularly the customer’s experience. By giving your audience greater value, they will hold your business in high esteem and be more likely to recommend you to their close friends and family members.
Word of mouth remains an incredibly influential tool, which you cannot obtain or get rid of easily. So, never lose sight of what matters most.
Hire more staff
You might think that adding the annual expense of another employee to your cash flow will spell disaster for the company’s finances. But sometimes you must speculate to accumulate, especially when it comes to people power.
Think of recruitment as a long-term investment, since the innovative ideas and enthusiastic attitude that new people can provide has the potential to propel your business to great things.
