In a forever growing competitive market, building and sustaining a successful small business can be tricky. Luckily, many entrepreneurs in the industry are willing to offer a helping hand for beginners.
Here, experienced professional Michael Evan Salley discusses four tips on areas to direct focus when growing a small business in a competitive market.
Tip 1) Analyze sales and clients:
Whether your company offers a service or a product, successful sales are what will keep your company afloat in any market.
A critical sales strategy for small companies to always keep in mind is to build a sales funnel. Doing this process is a fast route to growth. A sales funnel automates your business, making scalable development easy and quick. To build a healthy sales funnel, start by getting to know your target audience.
An excellent way to increase sales is to create a customer loyalty program. To acquire new customers, it can cost three times more money for a business compared to selling a product or service to an existing customer. Customer loyalty programs also help companies to extend the loyalty life of existing customers and attract new ones, as well.
Tip 2) Know your competition:
Competition in any market is inevitable, so entrepreneurs need to know how to make it work in your favor. Rather than being intimidated by your competition, research to find out what they are doing that your business could do better. Analyze your competition, and you might find a missing piece to your business process that results in more money made.
Tip 3) Be business minded:
If you’re an active participant in the business world, you might have heard this tip before. What does being business minded mean?
In simple terms, being business minded means having a solid business understanding. There are multiple resources available for entrepreneurs to gain more business knowledge. The US Small Business Association (SBA) and SCORE are two excellent places to start receiving free mentoring services from retired business executives.
On top of getting business smart, it’s vital for entrepreneurs to stay organized. When wearing multiple hats from the beginning, organizing for proactive consistency is crucial. Keep detailed records of everything in case you run into any liability, legal, or tax issues, which are not uncommon to face when starting a business.
Tip 4) Challenge yourself:
As business leaders, entrepreneurs always have to challenge themselves to be creative, consistent and stay focused. By continuing to grow in these areas, a business stays reliable and fresh- two business characteristics consumers love.
Also, if you are in the beginning stages of being an entrepreneur, remember not to forget about taking care of the backbone of the brand: you. Self-care is essential for not only your health but for the health of your company, as well.
“Going out and building a business that withstands the market is a rewarding process. However, keep in mind that with any dream comes hard work and the will to make sacrifices. To live those out healthily, create balance and priorities in your life,” said Michael Evan Salley.
