Small businesses all have to start somewhere, but once you feel relatively established and ready to take business to the next level, you’ll need to act on strategies that will help your business grow. There is never a one-size-fits-all strategy for business growth because every business is different and has varying goals. However, here are some common strategies you can use to help boost sales and revenue.
Create a Sales Funnel
Sales funnels are how you get a person from point A to point Z in their buying journey, point Z being the purchase of your product or service. Starting at point A, potential customers may have visited your store or browsed your website. Your goal is to follow strategic steps in order to funnel them down to a purchase. Ways you can do so include obtaining email addresses and sending nurturing email campaigns, providing discounts or promos for first-time customers, or engaging with them on social media. You want the potential customer to have multiple touch points with you to keep your brand top of mind and encourage engagement and eventually a sale.
Build Customer Loyalty
Retaining existing customers is far less expensive than acquiring new ones — in fact, studies show it can cost five to seven times more to get a new customer in the door. For this reason, building loyalty among your customers in paramount in growing your business. There are several ways to prioritize customer loyalty, including offering a customer loyalty program that rewards customers for their patronage, focusing on meaningful customer service, or using a customer relations management (CRM) tool that helps you manage relationships with customers based on how they interact with your brand.
Diversify Your Offerings
Once you’ve established a strong customer base with your existing product or service, it may be time to consider ways you can expand what you offer to increase revenue. Do some market research to determine how your market is evolving and take a look at what your competitors are doing. This will help you identify if there are additional accessories you can offer to accompany your product, or additional services that create more value-add for what you already offer. You can also diversify your offerings by providing discounts for bundling or signing on for a certain length of time.
Consider a Small Business Loan
Applying for a small business loan may not be the right choice out of the gate until you are well established, but once you are ready to expand your business in ways such as purchasing more inventory, investing in additional property, etc. a small business loan might be a good next step. Small business loans and lines of credit vary widely in repayment terms, interest rates, and loan amounts, so it’s important to do diligent research before applying. At Republic Bank, we offer competitive interest rates for our Express Business Loans that can get you up to $100,000 in 24 hours. You can easily apply online or call 800-526-9127 to speak with one of our bankers.
