As Small Business Owners, we all know you are focused on the bottom line and forecasting areas of growth that can expand your business portfolio in many ways. We’ve had a good start and a great run so far. However, there are times we find ourselves grasping at straws thinking of all the new ways we can become better innovators so our businesses can help more people and make more money. In an effort to sustain and manage growth and keep revenue in the black, small business owners should seek to increase at least four (4) areas within their business to create a pathway for revenue to come roaring in! Yes, it’s possible if you believe it is.
Here I’ll discuss four (4) areas within your business you should consider ramping up in to create opportunities for more revenue and eventually way more expansion. Be willing and open to a new way to add value and avenues of venues for your business.
Be willing to invest in more Training and Development: In order to be an innovator as an entrepreneur, it is important to consider incorporating training and development into your budget for yourself and your employees. In order to be cutting edge, it’s important to stay on top of trends and learn new skill sets to allow innovative ideas to come to life and cultivate a foundation of increase in revenue as you reach more people in the marketplace. This includes tools and systems to streamline processes and make daily tasks more efficient.
Become Customer Obsessed: More and more small businesses are looking for new ways to engage potential clients and reward existing customers. Being customer obsessed means finding relentless ways to keep your current customer base happy and working to make the customer experience better than before. In fact, according to the 2017 WASP Barcode Technologies “State of Small Business Report,” 40% of business owners seek to improve existing customer experience and retentions practices. Create a customer service experience that will draw your customers in and existing customers that can validate your service or product.
Invest in More Strategic Marketing: With so much demand and increase in technology, marketing is one area of your business that will require a lot of your attention. As an innovator, you should constantly be looking for ways to expand the reach of your business into new territory to build brand loyalty and increase your revenue. Most business owners have very little time to create a marketing strategy and many do their own marketing. The results seem to be less that flattering. Most business owners are afraid to invest in a full marketing because they either keep the work-in house or don’t know the best way to seek a reputable marketing agency that can complete the entire project. According to InfusionSoft 2017 “Small Marketing Trends Report” [link in footnote], 70.8% of small business owners all their own marketing. To free up more time to really create products and services to propel the business, consider outsourcing your entire marketing plan and track your results. Most businesses are happier with the results of an outside agency that captures the essence of their vision and can handle the entire job.
Think Expansion and Growth: How many ways can your company deliver a product or service that will create multiple streams of income for your business? Multiple ways of course. Here’s where your innovation comes in. Are you seeking to enter the global markets? Do you have a solid product and/or service that a customer can experience and rave about? Can you take what you currently have and transform the product or service into something that can be used by many and be a true solution? Start researching different markets within the marketplace and your sector in which you can become a solution to someone’s problem in a new market. The increase in visibility alone as you enter new markets will set the stage to increase revenue over a period of time.
There are numerous ways to increase revenue as a small business owner. However, with the right strategy and planning with innovation and investing in more critical needs of the business, entrepreneurs can begin to experience a massive increase in revenue in their businesses. Now is the time to focus on revenue and long-term sustainability by adding these four (4) simple ways to ramp up the revenue in your new or existing business. Remember to be the solution to the problem. Keep abreast on all new trends and systems to increase productivity and help carve out more time to work on your business. Finally, avoid the trap of doing it all. Even with an employee-based business, consider partnering with an agency to create and manage all marketing and social media. Most businesses are only in need of a refresher and minor facelift to website, graphics, etc. Be open to a new way of doing business in order to increase your revenue this upcoming year.
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