How to accelerate the development of a small business? 

Some companies develop on their own, but most of it is the result of a conscious decision and the right strategy. It may seem improbable, but after implementing the steps below, you may find that small business growth has accelerated up to tenfold over a period of several months.

The development of a small company in a market filled with large corporations is a challenge. According to research conducted in 2020 by PARP, as many as 1/3 of new companies from the SME sector fail in the first year of their operation. Therefore, an entrepreneur who wants to be successful must fight for customers. How? A helpful tool in running a successful business is the Internet! How to use the Internet to develop a small business?

It is easier to keep a customer than to win

Small businesses have their limitations. One of them is that the owners of such enterprises are often so focused on the constant pursuit of new clients that they do not have time to take care of the existing ones. Meanwhile, according to Marketing Metrics the chance that the former customer will buy something again is 60-70 percent. Meanwhile, the chance that the interested person will buy it is only 5-20 percent, and sales efficiency from cold mailing it is already 1-2 percent. 

Interestingly, it does not matter if the customer was satisfied with the service! Research proves that the chance of a repeated purchase naturally decreases with customers who submit complaints or complaints. However, once the matter is dealt with efficiently (compensation, apologies), the chance for a purchase increases again, but to a point higher than the starting point.

Whole volumes can be written about the development of a small company by acquiring an existing client. Here are just a few ideas:

• if you're not sending out newsletters, start sending them to existing and past customers. Perhaps some of them will remember about your company.
• On the occasion of Christmas and important events, propose a special offer to your existing customers.
• Introduce loyalty cards that encourage regular purchases.
• Directly to each of your former clients that you are open to new orders.

Many people don't, for fear of being ridiculed. Meanwhile, every marketer confirms that this is the easiest and fastest way to recruit a customer.

More follow from the above ideas for activities that may even several times accelerate the development of the company. First of all, save customer data, and if there are many of them, reach for a CRM system. You will be able to see clearly, when a customer runs out of a product or subscription, how often they shop and what interests them. This will allow you to segment the message in social media or newsletters even better, creating, for example, offers for the most dedicated customers, for people interested in only one segment of the offer, etc.

How to Accelerate the Organic Growth of a Small Business?

You can wait for customers to start recommending the company's offer or posting positive opinions online. However, this is a very slow process. It can be accelerated by asking for opinions and recommendations. You don't have to do it personally, overcoming your embarrassments and fears each time. Use ready-made e-mail forms and templates. For example, you can send them with a summary after each finalized service. This is what all companies that use the online booking system do - hairdressers, restaurants and doctors. A short questionnaire filled by even a few customers is a mine of valuable information for you to improve sales, as well as a source of potential opinions on the store's website.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about recycling of content. You can use the same customer opinion for internal market research, as testimonials on the website and inspiration for a social media post. What counts today for online customers is the so-called social proof, i.e. social proof that a given company is really worth entrusting with your money. It can't be obtained any easier than asking for the opinions of your clients. Start with regular users who are certainly already convinced of you. You can easily persuade them to share their impressions. Recommendations in social media or Google opinions - customers more and more often make purchasing decisions solely on this basis! Take care of lead marketing, i.e. generating leads from search engines and purchase generators, ordering the collection of customer opinions beforehand.

Automation in the development of a small business

The issue of automation in the process of small business development partially overlaps with the previous paragraphs. However, you can use it much more widely - not only to collect opinions and send newsletters. In the past, automation software was expensive, complicated, and actually only available to large company owners. Today, they can also help in the development of a small business. For example e-mail retrieval program allows you to automatically find e-mail addresses of everyone from a given company or all fair participants. You can create later quote template and automatically send it to each of these addresses. Something that would take you weeks can now be done in a day - or you can outsource it to a contractor to do it for you. 

Another example is payment handling and other ongoing processes. For example, if an invoice is not paid on time, set up an automatic payment reminder. If the customer does not send you the necessary materials within a few days of ordering, he will receive an automatic message with a reminder. How does this relate to the development of a small business? Such activities relieve you and allow you to gain even a few free hours a week. Moreover, they are more effective than actions taken randomly, from case to case. Order marketing auditand then use automation as well for communication and content planning. You can, for example, schedule social media posts, blog posts, launch promotions in the store.

Short- and long-term strategy and the development of a small company

We already wrote on the Commplace website that communication strategy whether a business operation may range from a few months to many years. 

These two orders should not be confused. You need both a long-term vision and specific day-to-day actions against which you can hold yourself and your team accountable. After implementing the strategy, many of our clients finally gained a framework that allows them to plan both the smallest and the big steps. This frees up mental space that you can use to come up with new concepts or plan promotions.

Development of a small business on the Internet

There is a huge marketing potential in the Internet. Thanks to it, even small enterprises have a chance to reach a wide audience and permanently enroll in their minds. The main thing is to skillfully use internet tools.

The basic tool is the website. The website is a specific showcase of the company. Therefore, it must be legible, visually attractive and consistent with the visual identification of the brand. The website should be optimized for SEO. Thanks to this, it will be displayed high in search engine results, which will allow the brand to reach a wider group of potential customers. It is also worth taking advantage of Google Ads campaigns - thanks to this, the development of a small company will additionally accelerate!

Social media are an inseparable element of the functioning of the brand on the Internet. Social media is a marketing power. Thanks to them, you can not only reach many recipients. You can also easily and quickly communicate with them and build long-term relationships based on trust and loyalty. The development of a small business on the Internet is primarily about building a positive image in social media. The process of shaping the image should begin with the preparation of an aesthetic profile in line with the brand's vision. On the profile, it is worth putting the logo and name of the company, a brief description of its activities and the values that guide it. There are also interesting photos and high-quality graphics that will make the website more attractive.

To build a positive image in social media, you need to regularly publish engaging content, cultivate relationships with recipients (provide them with feedback, engage them in the development of the company), be authentic and open.

There are many ways to help your small business grow on the Internet. Some of them are:

• paid ads on industry websites,
• sponsored cooperation with internet creators,
• recommendation marketing,
• advertising campaigns in social media.

Or maybe passive income?

The last step worth considering in order to accelerate the development of your small business is the introduction of passive income. This could mean different things for each industry. Typically, businesses rely on selling goods or services, and this requires ongoing support and commitment. Passive income would mean, for example, selling an e-book or an online course, which no longer requires any ongoing maintenance.

Another type of this type of income is subscription - customers pay for access to materials, but you do not have to handle the sale every time, because the payment is made automatically in a cyclical manner. These types of activities can greatly accelerate the growth of a small business as the percentage of passive services in income increases. Then you gain additional hours to develop your business.

If you need assistance in any of the areas listed here, please contact us and request a free quote.