So, you have decided it is time to expand your small business. Congratulations! You are making the right choice. After all, if you are thinking about expansion, you have probably overcome the many hurdles facing small businesses looking to succeed in the market place. The day to day operations are smooth sailing, and you are ready to look to the future. Not only that—but you are excited to expand.
Does this sound like you? If so, you need to know the 5 keys to expanding your business. In this competitive market, you cannot just assume it is enough to tread water. The truth is, if your small business is not expanding, it is dying. Sound harsh? Maybe, but it is safe to assume your competitors have taken this advice to heart—which could spell disaster for you.
No need to fear! There are so many ways to keep your business from flatlining. Even just fully dedicating yourself to the successful implementation of a few items on this list is sure to jumpstart growth. That said, if you are fully committed to rapid expansion, take seriously all five keys. Your best bet is to take them in order, and focus on mastering two or three at a time before you commit to them all.
Social Media
It is probably safe to assume that your small business has a strong social media presence. After all, few maintain solvency in the digital age without one! (However, if you are reading this and your company does not have a social media presence, you are already behind. Start here before even entertaining the idea of expansion.)
The most efficient way to make the most of your social media presence is to crosspost. What is crossposting, you ask? Well, crossposting is the act of posting to multiple social media platforms through one central hub. The idea is to consolidate all clicks into one: instead of visiting each social media platform individually and copy and pasting your post, a good crossposting app will allow you to post to multiple with just one click of a button.
So when you are posting on your company’s twitter, you should also be posting on your company’s Facebook at the same time, and your company’s instagram, and your company’s linked in…and so on, and so on. One seriously underutilized social network? Youtube. Take advantage of it, invest in some good video production, and you will see results almost immediately.
Email Marketing
It seems like a relic of a different age, now that we text and call and message, etc. But email is still massively important. We all still use it on a regular basis, and it is likely most—if not all—of your customers do too.
So how much effort have you been putting into your email marketing? If you have a solid strategy, have you seen growth in returns? If not, get to work crafting more engaging content. It will pay off.
Consulting
When is the last time you had a professional set of eyes scrutinizing your business plan? When you were first starting out? Maybe never? The truth of the matter is that you are seriously undermining yourself and your business by not taking advantage of the vast resources of knowledge provided by consulting firms. It seems silly, but do you know how macroeconomic research is conducted? Better yet, do you know what it means for your business?
Exactly.
Invest a little money now so professionals can take a bit off your plate and you can concentrate on what you do best.
App Development
This relates closely to social media, but it deserves a plug of its own. Nearly everyone these days has a smartphone or comparable “smart” device capable of downloading applications. And, when you think about it, most of the applications you are using right now on your personal device were once small businesses looking to reach people with their application.
Now, hundreds of thousands use the same application you do, looking to fill a need. Why can’t it be you and your business filling that need?
There seems to be a stigma surrounding small or localized businesses and services contracting applications to be made. But push past it. People love convenience. Even if your business is an extremely localized service to your community, they will love the ease involved in just pulling up an application on their phone.
Better yet, if they go through the trouble to download an application, they are likely to want to use it again.
Streamline Processes
When you are looking to expand a business, you want to keep the growing pains to a minimum. The first step in cultivating explosive growth for a company is bracing its infrastructure so it can handle increased demand. Growth can be taxing, and if you aren’t prepared your business may actually regress.
Compare prices for any automated systems, such as those used for invoicing, and review any contracts you have undertaken in preparation for your projected (or desired) growth. Make sure all of your systems work as efficiently as possible now, so you are not shocked to find them failing later.
