Your business may be small, but that doesn’t mean you want your clients to think you’re small-time. That’s why staying on top of what other successful entrepreneurs are doing to grow their operations is important. Here are some of the top trends to follow that can give you an edge when it comes to improving your enterprise.
Being Accessible
A missed call might be a missed opportunity, so it’s important to be available to your customers when they need you. Rather than handing out your personal number to clients, it can be smarter to get a business phone number in order to stay connected. If your business is strictly local, you may engender more trust from your clients by having a line in your area code. Otherwise, consider acquiring a toll-free number that can boost your business’s credibility. For added accessibility, some providers will even let your business number ring to multiple devices; that way, whether you’re at home, at the office, or in your car you’ll never be out of reach to a potential client.
Building an E-Presence
For most entrepreneurs, it’s no longer enough to have an email address and a basic website to be truly competitive. Today’s customers want to engage with you on social media, and they expect to get information and make purchases through a robust e-commerce platform. While you might be able to run your Facebook and Instagram accounts on your own, it’s probably wise to engage a firm that specializes in e-commerce to create and manage your site so it is as effective as possible.
Embracing Gig Workers
One of the happiest problems a small business owner can have is being too busy. If you find you’ve taken on more orders than you can handle, you may be reluctant to hire employees, especially if your rush is only short-term. The good news is, with more and more workers taking on gig employment, it’s becoming easier to find the help you need without going through the involved process of hiring permanent employees. The next time you could use some extra help, check out gig platforms like Upwork and Freelancer to meet your temporary needs.
Being willing to follow trends and changes in the business world is often what makes the difference between a successful small business owner and one that fails. By implementing even just one of these ideas, you’ll be taking a forward-thinking approach to helping your enterprise thrive.
