By Allison Turner
Business, Marketing & Sales Consultant
As we enter a new year, many business owners simply continue to go with the flow instead of taking a moment to pause, review 2015, and set strategies to move their business forward in the New Year. Naming your failures as well as your successes is imperative for you and your business to grow. Let's talk about potential strategies to take your business to the next level.
1) Know how to reach your ideal client:
This may seem simplistic but take a moment to review your ideal client and list all of the ways that you can reach them.
2) Marketing:
List all of the ways that you marketed your business in 2015 and define which ones were successful and which ones failed. Be really clear on why you chose those strategies to begin with because creating a marketing strategy is combining a group of strategies to not only build your business but to also brand your company and keep your company's name in front of your ideal client. Did you use any of the following?
a. Advertising: Is this an effective way to market for your industry? Many companies use it as a branding tool to keep their name in front of their ideal client. While it may or may not directly get them the initial phone call, but it will get a potential client to think twice when they start seeing and hearing your company's name over and over again.
b. Public Relations: PR is one of the most overlooked strategies. Highlighting your company or the company owner's personal successes helps brand your business and you.
c. Social Media: While social media many times does not solidify a client, it can help your company turn up earlier in the Google listings.
d. Direct Mail: This is not for all businesses but for certain businesses, it is still very effective.
e. Updating your website with blogs / SEO: Getting leads from your website is very important. Adding new content peppered with essential keywords will help draw new traffic to your site. Depending on your industry, spending additional money on adding quality backlinks and other SEO may be money well spent. You must always weigh the cost vs. the ROI.
3) Networking
Is networking a good fit to get in front of your ideal client? Again be really clear on what your intentions are when you go to a networking event. Is it to gain immediate business? Is it to brand your company? Is it to stay in front of previous clients or potential clients? If you are in a service-oriented business, networking can be a great way to have your clients experience and really get to know you. In this day and age, people and other companies do business with who they know, like and trust.
4) Fulfilling the business
Sometimes I have worked with clients who are one-person companies but they want to expand. When you ask them how much more business they can take on, they say that they personally can't take on more yet they have no plans to either bring on an employee or some type of contractor to grow their business. Know what your company's limits and plan accordingly. If you want to grow, then do the math and know what it will take to bring on an employee or another person into your business.
Success doesn't generally just happen; it is planned. Be honest with yourself on how your business grew in 2015. What did you do and how effective was your strategy. Did you stick with your strategy or quit before it could really take effect. You need to know what the next step is in the growth of your company. Reviewing 2015 and setting goals and creating strategies for 2016 are essential for your success! Good luck!
Allison Turner is CEO and cofounder of Business Consultants of South Florida, ( B C o S F, Inc.) located at 301 W Atlantic Avenue, Suite 05. She is a resident of Delray Beach as well as active member of the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce. BCoSF is passionate about helping their clients either start or grow a sustainable and profitable business. For more information visit www.BCoSF.com or call 561-276-4422.
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