Anyone can start a business. All you need is an idea, some start-up capital and some know-how to figure out your taxes and legal obligations. Beginning, therefore, is the easy part. The challenge lies in how you keep it alive and even grow it.
Boosting your business and trying to get the edge in a competitive market can cause many sleepless nights for any business owner. If you’re scratching your head, struggling to come up with ways to generate new business in 2019, then consider these options below. They could be the brainwave for which you’ve been waiting:
Make yourself accessible
If you want to get ahead and get the edge over your competition, then be more accessible than them. Don’t make your potential customers have to jump through hoops to talk to you over the phone. Have a chat with a Broadsoft VOIP PBX provider about your installation options or consider online chat software. A VOIP system enables you to make and receive calls from your business number no matter where you are, while online chat caters to those tech-savvy customers who would prefer to shop online.
Team up
If you are struggling to get that coveted brand recognition that leading brands seem to get in a blink of an eye, then consider teaming up, also known as co-branding. While it doesn’t have to be a permanent arrangement, you and another closely-linked business could bring business to each other by offering combined services or products to benefit you both. It’s not a new phenomenon, as tens of companies have done this successfully before – such as Repsol and Burger King, Microsoft and Toyota, and Coca-Cola and Heinz.
Network
When you first start in business, you have to rely on connections you already made before you crossed over into that “business owner” status. However, those relationships can only take you so far. You have to build new ones.
Networking is an integral part of boosting your business. Start attending community events under your branding, and involve yourself in public meet up groups as frequently as possible. The more people you meet, the more recognizable your brand will become.
Provide Incentives
When you first launch a product or service, not everyone is going to welcome it with open arms. Some people may not even trust it. You have to make people see that there’s something in it for them. Otherwise, your business could be one of the many that fail.
Use tried and trusted marketing techniques such as incentive programs. You could even follow DropBox’s lead by offering something additional for bringing a new customer to their attention. Such an idea earned the online storage giant growth of over 3,900 percent.
Advertise
How can you expect to grow your business if no one knows it exists? Even though advertising costs quite a bit of money, it can also earn you a whole lot of profit! You merely need to find the best avenue for you. One of the most effective advertising methods is social media. Every year, businesses spend around $12 billion on Facebook advertising, with real-time, trackable results to ensure it works for you.
Every year, thousands of businesses are going to lose money or close their doors for good. Yours doesn’t have to be one of them. Boost your business in 2019 by investing in advertising, making yourself accessible, teaming up with other companies, incentivizing, and networking. You are going to need to spend time and money, but the success that follows will make it all worth it.
