When running a business, you should always be looking for ways to increase sales and make your business better. Is your large or small business in need of improvements and creative ways to increase performance?
Here are some helpful tips on how you can increase productivity and the overall success of your business.
Social Media
Since the rise of the internet, marketing businesses and products have changed drastically. Potential clients and customers are almost guaranteed to check your small business out on the web before engaging. Social media can be an amazing tool for spreading the word about your newest line of products or services your business might offer.
[Tweet “Potential clients & customers are almost guaranteed to check your small business out on the web before engaging. “]Even a small following on Twitter and Facebook can increase traffic to your website. Social media will also present the opportunity for customers to give feedback on experiences and products. This can be a great way to fix anything that might not be up to standard and keep your finger on the pulse of the customer-client pool.
Employee Vetting and Interview Screening
As your business grows you are going to need to hire more employees. Your business is your passion and your livelihood, so hire employees that share your passion and vision. Experience is important but passion and dedication are better. Evaluate your potential employees with the utmost scrutiny. Find out how to do a background check and credit check, or hire a certified company that can help screen incoming employees.
The roots of an employee’s past will more than likely nourish their future. You’re going to want to know if your employees have any kind of criminal record or if they pay their bills on time. These two checks are going to tell you a lot about how your potential employee is going to perform at your business.
Search Engine Optimization
When someone needs a pool cleaning service, one the first things they are going to do is Google pool cleaning service. Unless your business is in the first 5 five choices, you aren’t going to be getting anywhere near the same kind of exposure that your competition is.
In case you didn’t know, there is a way to boost your rank on search engines like Google and Bing. Unless you happen to be a tech and marketing guru, you might want to consider hiring a digital marketing firm to take the reins on moving your company up in search engines.
Open Communication
Create a work climate where your employees know they can come to their higher-ups with suggestions for improvement and criticism. Your employees are going to know what’s running smoothly and what’s in need of improvement better than anyone. Keep your ear to the ground and remember that even the lowest level employee has valuable knowledge about your business.
Customer and client surveys are a fantastic way to assess what your target demographics are thinking. Send out an email with a survey offering discounts and coupons for anyone that participates. As stated before, social media can be another viable form of creating open veins of communication between you and your consumer base.
Limited Time Sales and Promotions
Limited time sales and promotions create a sense of urgency for your target demographic. If a potential customer is already interested in buying the product you sell, seeing that they can get it cheaper from you (if they buy it immediately) is a great way to pull in new customers and motivate existing ones.
Make sure that you clearly state the terms of the sale so that the buyer doesn’t grow comfortable and think that they can come back and buy the product at sale price later on. Be specific with your start-date and end-date.
Raise Prices
You don’t want to raise your prices if growth has slowed. Raising your prices at the wrong time can hurt your business. Even though it might seem counter-intuitive, raising your prices by a small margin can boost your overall revenue and customer base–if done right. Don’t be quiet or discrete when you raise your prices.
Make an announcement to all of your current or potential customers and clients. Offer to sell products and contracts at their current price before the increase. If you have any long-term clients, consider offering them an extended adjustment period or no price increase at all.
When it comes to growing your business stay hungry for knowledge and new information. People are often your best resource, don’t be afraid to listen and learn from everyone you can.
[Tweet “When it comes to growing your business, stay hungry for knowledge & new information. “]Identity Magazine is all about guiding women to discover their powers of Self-Acceptance, Appreciation, and Personal Achievement. We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity 5 questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.
1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.
I have accepted that it is impossible to please everyone. I struggled for years to fit in with what I thought were the “cool kids,” but in the end I was unhappy because I felt I could never be my true self.
I now accept that to be my true self, as an individual, means that not everyone will like me, and that I can’t please everyone. But I now understand that being myself brings to me the most fulfilling relationships.
2. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?
I have learned to appreciate my family more, flaws and all. When I was young, my parents had a very busy life, and struggled to just make ends meet in our family. As a result, I became resentful that they never spent enough time with my siblings and I.
Now I appreciate them more, because they worked so hard for our family, and I am grateful now that I can have a stronger relationship with them as an adult and have a truly fulfilling relationship with them.
3. What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.
The most rewarding thing I have ever done was when I decided to study abroad in Barcelona for a semester. I really felt like I broke out of my shell. Being in an unfamiliar place where you can’t speak the language is difficult, but I gained so much confidence in myself that I can achieve my dreams in life. I still have a passion for travel. I would love to become a travel writer one day and circle the globe!
4. Of course, we all have imperfections, or so we think. In truth, we are all perfectly imperfect. What are your not-so-perfect ways? Likewise, what imperfections and quirks create who you are–your Identity?
Sometimes, I get self-conscious that I’m too weird for people. For example, I love to spend the day inside reading books instead of partying all the time. Despite staying home, I’m actually love being with people. So a lot of extroverts don’t understand that I enjoy time alone too.
Not everyone gets that that is just me! I also have what I guess is a strange sense of humor. Some people call it an intelligent or witty sense of humor, and so sometimes my jokes fall totally flat. But this is all okay, because like I’ve said, that’s just what makes me, me!
5. “I Love My…” is an outlet for you to appreciate and express all the positive traits that make you…well…YOU! In fact, sharing what you love about yourself will make you smile, feel empowered, and uplift your spirit and soul. (We assure you!) Therefore, Identity challenges you to complete the phrase “I Love My…?”
I truly love my ability to connect with people through writing. To me, it’s one of the most magical things out there. It’s pretty crazy that you can create a made-up character or story and someone, somewhere, will feel like they are understood. It’s an incredible feeling.
That’s why I enjoy reading. Even if I just write personally for myself, I feel empowered that I can indulge in my imagination. Finally, I love my ability to have deep conversations with people. When people open up, I feel like our souls just meet in a space of harmony.
When we expose our humanity to each other, I think it’s just a very beautiful thing. Also, I can’t forget, I love my cat, Pancakes! There is simply no better pet out there.
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