Sometimes, it can feel like your business is stuck in a rut, and you’re a little unsure of how to get out. However, there are positively loads of ways you can start improving your business and moving it forward the way you want it to go.
Here are just 15 suggestions you can use to get started. Enjoy!
Start Networking And Build Relationships
One of the best things you can do in business is begin networking and building relationships. You know what they say: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. If you know the right people, you never know what sort of opportunities could be presented to you.
Networking can be done in person, or even on social networking sites like Linkedin. Never underestimate the importance of building strong relationships, whether that’s with your vendors, customers, or even your staff members.
Become Expert Content Creators
Creating content is a must in this day and age. Businesses must do it so that they can establish themselves as experts in their niche, and bring people back time and time again for the useful information that they offer.
Create content on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Write your own company blog. Cover topics people ask about constantly. If you make sure your content is high quality and you offer real value, there’s no way it won’t work for you. Just be sure you’re consistent and that you follow a posting schedule. Sporadic posting won’t do!
It’s also vital to ensure your content is optimized for SEO. And while you can do it yourself, it is something that changes so much, that you can find affordable SEO pricing plans out there and hire a company to overhaul your content for you. While content is king, SEO gets loyal subjects to line the streets!
Use New Technologies
Technologies are evolving so quickly, but it’s still important for businesses to utilize as many new technologies as possible to create a better product/service and offer a great user experience. If you’re not sure what sort of technologies you need to use, or even how the ones you’re currently using are working for you, you can contact a consultant like ATB Technologies to assess what you’re doing and get some constructive advice.
Make sure you stay ahead of your industry and aim to make your business run smoother by automating certain tasks and making the lives of your employees easier.
Start Attending Events In Your Industry
If you’re not currently attending events in your industry, you’re missing out on valuable networking opportunities, not to mention learning opportunities! You can get your name out there, meet up with other businesses, set up partnerships, sell your product/service, give talks, and take away a lot from the people who speak at these things.
They can be expensive to attend, especially if you plan on having your own stand, but they are more than worth it if you plan and prepare properly.
Open Your Mind – Get Out Of Old Patterns
The key to making sure your business constantly moves forward is to open your mind. Get out of those old patterns. Figure out what’s not working for you anymore and stop doing it. Try new things. Getting unstuck from your old patterns is a surefire way to get things moving again.
Find A Mentor Or Consultant
If you’re really not sure where you’re going wrong or what you could be doing differently, a mentor or consultant could look at the situation objectively for you. Just make sure you take your time to find the mentor or consultant that’s right for you, as some of them give very generalized advice. You might prefer to find one that knows about your industry and can give you real, actionable steps.
Constantly Find Ways To Improve Yourself
You’re at the helm of your business, which means you play a huge role in how your business is doing. If you’re overworked, feeling stressed, tired, or uninspired, then no wonder your business isn’t doing very well! Constantly finding ways to improve yourself will automatically improve your business.
A happy business owner usually means happy employees, happy clients, and a happy business. So, how can you improve yourself? Find ways to manage your stress. Meditate. Find a good work/life balance. Have a great support network in family and friends. Find people to look up to and get inspired. Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep. Go on courses and workshops. You have an endless number of options!
Find New Ways Of Learning
Always learning is a must for any business owner. Read books by successful people. Use YouTube to learn new things. Spend time with people who have done what you want to do and spend less time with people who are negative, or just don’t support your vision. You can learn in a variety of ways. Make sure you spend a portion of each day contributing towards learning new things.
Utilize CRO
CRO is a technique called ‘conversion rate optimization’. Specifically, this technique is about making sure your business is getting as many conversions as possible, whether you want those conversions to be newsletter sign ups or sales.
It’s about changing minor things on your website and then sending different versions to two sets of people, and then assessing how they respond. You can constantly hone your website and online techniques this way. You’d be surprised at the small things that can make a big difference, from the color of your call to action button to the placement of different elements. It all makes a bigger difference than you realize.
Get Clear On Your Ideal Client
You absolutely must get clear on your ideal client so you can focus on them and target them in everything you do. You need to know who you’re talking to, and who you’re designing campaigns for.
Trying to please everybody will only dilute your efforts. How old are they? Do they have kids or pets? What do they like/don’t like? Where do they live? What platforms do they use? Outline everything about them!
Have A Brand Makeover
Perhaps what you really need is a brand makeover. If you have been the same for a while, it could be time to re-think things. This doesn’t just mean changing your logo, fonts, colors, and maybe even your name.
It means looking at the other elements that need improvement too. Perhaps you need to improve communication, or try harder on social media. People don’t just work with you for your product or service. They want the good feelings from the overall service that you’re offering. If your service as a whole doesn’t make them feel good, they’re unlikely to come back.
Build A New Website
Maybe your website is outdated. It should be easy on the eye, make good use of white space, be responsive, easy to use, and contain relevant, interesting information. Some businesses start out trying to build and maintain their own site, but this never usually ends well. \
Getting another company to build your site for you, a professional with experience, will always have better results. It’s an investment. Just make sure you work with a company that has great testimonials. Make sure you own the site too!
Set Goals
How can you move your business forward if you haven’t set any goals to reach for? Set goals for the week, month, every quarter, and so on. Of course you shouldn’t overwhelm yourself and your employees with too many goals, but you should have enough to keep you aiming high. They will help you to avoid getting complacent, and you’ll be able to come up with plans to get to where you want to be.
Put A Big Focus On Customer Service
Great customer service is one of the most important things a business can offer. Leaving customers with a mediocre or less than satisfactory experience will not do. Did you know that unhappy customers are likely to tell around 20 people about their experience?
That’s more than the amount they’d tell about a good experience! Bad news travels fast, and it won’t take long for your reputation to get dragged through the mud if you’re not showing that you genuinely care about your customers.
Make sure you’re replying to them in a timely manner, being consistent, rectifying problems so they feel like they’ve been victorious, and go above and beyond for them in everything you do.
Outsource And Delegate
Learning how to outsource and delegate will do the world of good for your business. Outsourcing to companies who can do things better than you will save you time and money in the long run, and allow you to spend more time focused on what you do best.
For example, outsourcing to a marketing company, and even calling in a cleaning company so that your employees don’t have to worry about polishing and vacuuming – a clean and healthy work environment is important! Learning how to delegate is crucial too. You need to make sure you’re giving the right jobs to the right people, and that there are no crossed wires.
Are you ready to use these 15 suggestions to move your business forward? Which of them will you use to grow your business and get things moving again? Leave your thoughts and any ideas of your own below!
