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5 Big Lessons for Small Business Owners

Starting and running a business is a difficult task, and growing one is even more challenging. With fierce competition and the need to distinguish your brand, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, especially in today's economy. But with the right strategies and approaches, you can ensure a profitable future for your company. 

I want to share with you 5 smart approaches for small businesses to develop and grow in the year ahead. 

First, improving your brand's image is critical. Your brand's popularity is one of the most important aspects of its growth. Creating an appealing and relevant brand personality that characterizes your company is key to standing out from the competition. To promote your brand's image, consider providing promotional clothing to your staff, silently advertising your brand while increasing employee satisfaction and productivity. Using social media is another valuable way to promote your brand as well. 

Second, enhancing your client experience is essential. It's challenging to expand a business without treating customers nicely. Everything we do should center around creating happy customers. Gathering client input through emails, internet posts, surveys, and reviews is the best way to improve customer experience. Building a customer loyalty program is another way to boost customer satisfaction. 

Third, use the internet to your advantage. The digital market allows small businesses to engage with billions of people across the world or just in your city in a matter of seconds without investing a lot of money. Setting up an e-commerce site with excellent website quality and implementing search engine optimization tactics can boost your presence online. Social media and influencer marketing can also help grow your business by expanding its reach and strengthening client relationships. It should not focus on what you do but on how you help your customer. It should be about them not you. 

Fourth, know who you're trying to reach. Understanding your target audience is critical for a loyal, steady, and expanding customer base. Gathering and analyzing customer data can help you identify your target segments and assign them distinct profiles, also known as buyer personas. Start by creating a list of 75 characteristics of your "A" customers. This won't be easy but it will help you to get a better understanding of who they are and how you can help.

Finally, conduct competitive research. Studying your competition can help you stand out from the crowd and achieve a competitive advantage. You can identify your competators by evaluating your target market and gathering information about them through online reviews, websites, and social media profiles. In conclusion, growing a small business requires patience and smart planning. 

Remember as Ben Franklin would say, “Those who fail to plan are planning to fail.”

By improving your brand's image, enhancing the client experience, using the internet to your advantage, knowing your target audience, and conducting competitive research, you can ensure steady growth and success for your company. With the right approach, your small business can reach new heights and gain significant market. 

At ActionCOACH, our 6 Steps business building process guides our clients through these areas quicker than could on their own. If you want to see how you and your company can benefit from business coaching schedule a free strategy session with us and discover the power of coach.