Advancing your business can be more difficult than it looks. Throughout the years, we’ve worked with numerous businesses that — from the outside — seemed to be doing great. They had the day-to-day business activities down to a science, but something was missing. Their businesses’ growth was stalled, revenue wasn’t increasing, and they couldn’t figure out how to get to the next level. In almost every case, the problem wasn’t from a lack of ambition or capability. The problem lay in disjointed efforts, ignored data, and uninformed stabs in the dark.

To grow your small business, there are a few things that are essential in today’s business world. Holding the status quo will only get you so far. Here are a few areas you can address to elevate your business to the next level.

1. Break bad habits that are holding you back. Often, there are certain bad habits business owners have that are inevitably holding the business back – even without them knowing it. Are you taking too much on yourself instead of delegating to your team? Are you spending money on shiny new advertising programs without evaluating whether they’re a good fit for your business? Addressing these behaviors first will help you put your business on the road to growth.
2. Improve marketing cohesiveness. Marketing shouldn’t be a disconnected process. If one person is handling your website and another person is responsible for your printed flyers, you may find yourself in a situation where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. This kind of disconnect can cause brand confusion and unnecessary marketing efforts. At Addison Clark, we believe everything is connected. Your company’s branding, website, print pieces, email marketing, video ads, and more should all be connected under one marketing strategy to work towards a common goal.
3. Invest in a measurable marketing strategy. Speaking of marketing strategies, a good marketing strategy no longer cuts it. In today’s business world, you need a measurable marketing strategy. Knowing which data to look at and how to measure results will drive your important business decisions. By investing in a measurable marketing strategy, you can clearly connect the dots between the data in order to address your business goals today while looking ahead to the future.
4. Focus on customer service. This critical part often gets overlooked when a business is trying to grow, but if consumer insight tells us anything, it’s that a consumer’s buying decisions are greatly influenced by the customer service they receive (or don’t receive). The good news for businesses is that giving quality customer service isn’t impossible, impractical, or expensive — and the pay off is worth it! Customer service means regular customers which means regular income. More importantly, it means happy customers and happy customers are some of the best word-of-mouth referrals you’ll ever get!
5. Increase visibility. If you’re trying to expand your business, it’s important to make sure your brand is visible. While you could do this through traditional ad buys, don’t neglect the online space. Optimizing your website for SEO, building out your Google My Business profile, and making sure you have a presence on Google Maps is all important for helping potential consumers find you. These efforts can translate over to your content marketing through instructional videos, helpful blog posts, and engaging social media content.

The most successful small businesses are constantly improving, adapting, and growing. By analyzing and testing as you go, your business will get the benefit of seeing what works and what doesn’t. If you’re struggling to get to the next level or simply taking stabs in the dark, give our team at Addison Clark a call. With proven solutions, personal service, and a data-drive approach, we can help your business achieve current goals while looking ahead to the future.