How to Grow Your small business Without Reinventing the Wheel
You take business growth seriously as a small business owner. Perhaps you're unsure of which areas to prioritize, or you simply want to know how to grow your business in general. Fortunately, it does not have to be difficult.
Launching new products or services, updating your current offers, keeping clients, or overhauling your web presence are all ways to expand your existing firm. You can increase your profitability in the future by pushing your expansion strategy to the next level.
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| How to Grow Your small business Without Reinventing the Wheel |
Important takeaways
- Market research can assist you in better understanding your clients and developing a growth strategy.
- A product launch does not always imply the creation of something new; it can simply imply the provision of new access to an existing product or service.
- Creating free business profiles can help you enhance your internet presence and bring more attention to your small business.
There are four forms of market research.
When considering expanding your firm, it is beneficial to conduct research on your client's preferences. Almost every successful company got there by first understanding its customer base. Here's how to go about it:
1. Conduct primary research
Primary research is market research that you undertake on your target clients. Some examples of primary research are:
- Customer satisfaction surveys may be used to better understand existing consumers or first-time buyers.
- Polls: Similar to surveys, polls are a wonderful way to get a consensus on anything from favorite logos to the type of online content people wants to see.
- Focus groups: Using this strategy, you may invite customers to weigh in and express their ideas in a semi-structured group interview format (online or in person) in exchange for a coupon or gift card to a local coffee shop.
- Observation: You can combine any of the approaches listed above with this type of study. As the name implies, observation is the process of observing and noting crucial client decisions as they interact with your product or service in-store or on your internet. To do this type of research, you can use a helpful tool like Hotjar.
The advantage of primary research is that it can provide particular suggestions on how to build your firm.
Conduct this form of research before or after launching a new product to determine what your customer base thinks of it. Use the input to improve your current offering or to lead the development of your next new product.
2. Secondary research
Secondary research involves information that is already available and is carried out by a third party such as a researcher, marketing agency, competitor, or government organization such as the SBA (Small Business Association). It can provide you with high-level suggestions for your business model and growth plan.
Secondary research is a low-cost technique to research customer trends and use them in your business decisions to stay current.
Articles, infographics, videos, and e-books are all types of secondary research. Seeking out these resources might offer you useful facts about your industry and what your competitors are up to.
Furthermore, with so many content makers available, you're bound to find beneficial how-to videos or step-by-step guides for practically any small company question.
3. Qualitative investigation
Qualitative research can be conducted by you (primary) or by someone else (secondary), but it primarily refers to any information that cannot be measured numerically-it is more concerned with feelings and impressions.
When releasing a product, for example, you can perform qualitative research by asking open-ended questions such as:
- What is the primary benefit of utilizing this product?
- By acquiring this product, you were seeking to tackle what problem?
- What, in your opinion, would make this product better?
This form of research might help you narrow down prospective customer expectations and feelings during a product launch. It will assist you in determining whether your product meets their individual demands and may reveal the fresh potential to solve problems for your clients.
4. Quantitative investigation
In contrast to qualitative research, quantitative research is totally based on facts and figures. It may also involve both primary and secondary research, although it does not include "feelings" or "hunches."
You can do quantitative research for your product launch at the following locations:
- New followers, engagement levels with product-specific posts, and new email list subscribers on social media can all tell you a lot about what's working with your audience.
- Website page views: An spike in website traffic following the launch of a product can be a solid indicator that you've addressed a specific demand within your present client base or a new target market.
- Sales: Tracking sales during the launch of a new or improved product can provide information about your target market and how they are responding to your marketing strategy.
How to Grow Your Business in Three Key Areas
Small business expansion necessitates some planning. You can make adjustments in three major areas by applying what you discover from your research:
1. Introduce new products or broaden your market reach.
Starting with your products or services is the simplest way to grow your business in the short term without incurring the financial load of creating a second location.
Examine the present products that are well-liked by your clientele. What could be lacking in your offerings? Perhaps you're wondering why a particular product isn't reaching a specific demographic.
A short social media poll may reveal that these customers want more access to your items at local merchants so that they may try them before buying.
This is especially true for cosmetics and skin care, where clients frequently desire to smell the product or test it on their skin before making a purchase choice.
Your expansion strategy does not necessarily have to include the introduction of a completely new product.
It could also mean introducing an existing product to a new market or to a new audience. Primary research can assist you to figure out how your clients utilize your items and what they could be lacking. These insights can aid in determining how to launch or extend items in a novel and effective manner.
2. Involve your clientele
Customer retention is simply the acquisition of repeat customers. It is when you gain the loyalty of a customer who has previously purchased from you. Your small business begins and finishes with your ability to acquire, engage, and keep customers.
According to studies, it might cost up to seven times more to create new client relationships than it does to sustain current ones.
Improve profitability and sales by focusing on current client retention and maintaining momentum with referred customers. If there is a problem with your product or service, a happy (and repeat) the customer is likely to provide constructive feedback since they want to see you thrive as a loyal client.
Here are just a few of the numerous advantages of customer retention:
- As the relationship between your firm and its consumers grows, so does their brand loyalty, which can boost the likelihood of word-of-mouth recommendations (aka more business growth). These referrals are the highest type of compliment you can obtain for your small business. It means you provided a good experience that exceeded expectations, and the benefit of having a positive reputation is that you have to do less marketing for your own firm because your customers do it for you.
- It is easier to foresee busy seasons when you have a consistent customer base, which promotes a more stable company climate. It enables you to plan ahead of time with the appropriate amount of stock and resources (people), resulting in a more pleasant customer experience.
Share useful material on your company blog, email newsletter, and social media channels to stay in touch with your consumers and boost your chances of retaining them. Useful content allows your target audience to learn something instead than merely being pushed a product.
3. Take advantage of your online reviews
More than ever, business owners must communicate with their customers online. Here are a few ideas for improving your web presence.
Activate free business profiles: Add your company to sites like Yelp and then stay active by updating your company information, adding images, and responding to reviews.
When potential clients search online for businesses like yours, word-of-mouth recommendations, including online reviews, are critical, making your Yelp Business Page a handy asset. Make sure you have a Facebook and LinkedIn business page set up.
Conduct routine internet searches to discover what people are saying about your company and respond to all reviews on your Yelp Business Page. This is an excellent strategy to control your reputation and outperform the competition.
- Be responsive: Always notice and respond to all comments and reviews as soon as possible.
- Here's a simple method and checklist for replying to both positive and negative reviews:
- Thank you to everyone who provided comments and took the time to do so.
- Any good or helpful comments should be highlighted.
- Address any issue and determine where it deviates from your company's core values. For example, if the consumer believed they received bad customer service, make it clear that this approach contradicts your aim to deliver the best possible service. Then explain how you intend to use their feedback to improve things, such as providing more service-oriented training to employees.
- Provide another option for continuing the conversation, such as a direct message or a phone call.
Improve on what you already know.
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