9 Ways to Improve and Grow a Business this Year

Looking to grow a business in the coming year? These nine business improvement ideas can help business owners win more customers, be more productive, and increase their profits.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) face numerous challenges. While roughly 80% of SMBs make it to the first-year mark, only half survive to celebrate their five-year anniversaries. To beat the odds, business owners need to invest significant time and effort into ensuring their company continues to grow. Making improvements to avoid being stagnant is a great place to start.

This blog covers nine (relatively) easy ways for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

9 Ways to Grow a Business and Improve It

Today’s business scene can be tricky to navigate, but with the right tips and tricks, it doesn’t have to be a nightmare. These nine tips can help propel small business growth.

1. Encourage customers to provide reviews of the small business

Traditional advertising and marketing strategies only get a company so far. Lots of today’s customers hesitate before purchasing a product or service; first, they want to see what their peers think of the item they’re considering. In fact, a recent report shows that 92% of shoppers hesitate to buy products without online reviews.

Successful businesses stand out from the pack because they’ve got a history of solid customer reviews. Small business owners can take advantage of this, too. For example, business owners could encourage existing customers to post reviews online and give referrals by:

Asking for reviews on the company website and social media pages.
Inviting clients to submit video testimonials.
Offering incentives to customers who leave reviews.

Where are potential customers looking for these reviews? Product pages, Yelp, Facebook, and Google My Business are all popular sites. Many customers rely on Trustpilot because it’s a third-party platform, too.

2. Offer flexible scheduling

The best businesses have devoted teams composed of hard-working employees. Whether a business owner employs a dozen workers or just one or two, they might be able to boost business performance this year by changing the way they relate to their staff.

Even if it’s financially impossible to give top employees a much-deserved raise, it might be possible to increase their satisfaction and loyalty by offering more job flexibility. For example, an owner could let their employees work more convenient hours or enable them to log in from home. While companies are often hesitant about hiring remote workers, a recent Stanford study shows that telecommuters regularly put in a full day’s work (or more) and are less likely to be distracted than their in-office peers.

3. Look into automation

Small businesses are frequently forced to operate with limited teams. To that end, these companies are in a special position to benefit from automation technology. Referring to systems that operate with minimal human assistance, automation expedites a wide range of business tasks, including:

Accounting
Tax prep
Email marketing
Social media marketing and other digital marketing efforts
Customer service

As a result, founders have more time to invest in big-picture initiatives such as expanding their product lines and entering new markets. If an entrepreneur feels like they’re struggling to do it all on their own, automation could be the answer.

Social media marketing can be an especially effective thing to automate. After all, it’s often free or low-cost, and it’s a great way to build a brand and connect with customers. Unfortunately, many small business owners don’t use this resource to its fullest advantage.

However, it’s not enough to advertise the brand’s wares online. Business owners should also talk about their brand on social platforms, sharing mission statements, charitable efforts, and goals for the future. Business owners can establish their company as an expert in their field while presenting themselves as the type of business their target audience would feel good about frequenting.

Unfortunately, that can demand a lot of time. But on the plus side, it’s possible to automate posts to keep the time commitment to a minimum.

5. Attend an event — or host one to build strategic partnerships

Just because social media has made it possible to connect with customers and connections online doesn’t mean that business owners should stop trying to network in person. From town and city events to business seminars, networking events are a great way to build relationships with others in the field.

Some owners might even be able to partner with other business owners in related industries to cross-promote each other’s services. Even strategic partnerships with competitors in the same field can help with identifying opportunities to work together to serve customers better. For example, wedding photographers could host styled shoots with other photographers and team up to be second-shooters for each other’s events.

If an entrepreneur can’t find a local event to go to, they could even consider hosting their own, potentially on-site at their business.

6. Reward loyalty to boost small business growth

Fun fact: on average, it costs a business owner three times as much money to acquire a new customer compared to selling to an existing customer. That means that savvy owners need to keep customer loyalty as a top priority in their business plan. Customer loyalty programs might not create rapid growth, but for most businesses, they can help keep customers coming back (and ideally, recommending the brand to their friends).

For example, a business owner could offer a variety of perks to their VIPs. Maybe returning customers get a free product or service on their tenth visit, or maybe they get early access to sales and deals. Even small gestures can prompt customers to choose that brand instead of their competition.

7. Build out the company’s email list

Email marketing is one of the best and most affordable ways of growing a business. It’s a practical way to get started. Business owners can start by expanding their email marketing list — or building a new one from the ground up. Companies can find new subscribers by including email registration forms on their websites and social media pages.

The catch? The email needs to provide desirable, valuable content to the company’s target market. Good content marketing is key. If the brand’s emails are annoying or unhelpful, customers will hit that “unsubscribe” button really quickly…and not pay a dime for any of the brand’s services.

It could even be helpful for owners to segment their email list so the most relevant content is going to the appropriate part of the customer base. The business could even reward subscribers with perks like ebooks, coupons, and free shipping offers in exchange for signing up.

8. Listen to the brand’s customers

When a company owner has been in business for years, it’s easy for them to fall into the trap of believing they know what’s going to sell and how to market their products and services. But doing things the same way every time may not be right going forward.

For example, a business owner might realize that the products or services they sell may be on the downhill side of their product life cycle. Or there may be a significant number of customers they’re not reaching because the company’s marketing strategy isn’t reaching them (or isn’t reaching them at the right time). Perhaps they don’t have time to come into the shop in town.

To find out about issues like these, it’s essential to run some basic market research by asking customers and prospects for feedback. Ask what they like, what they don’t like, what else they need, and what would make it easier for them to buy from the business. Contact former customers and ask similar questions. The more an entrepreneur learns about customer needs and preferences, the more they’ll be able to foster their business’s success.

9. Consider the business’s structure

As their new business grows, many entrepreneurs get caught up in mastering their sales funnel and maximizing their cash flow. But business owners shouldn’t overlook whether their chosen business structure provides adequate protection and tax advantages. Many small owners find that creating an LLC offers the perfect balance of liability protection, flexibility, and tax benefits without the complexity of a corporation.

Avoid becoming stagnant and continue growing a business with the help of these nine tips.

Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. For specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.