Brace yourself, visual acuity puns are coming…
In this article, we’ll explore how you can see clearly in 2020 (you were warned) and make it the best year yet for your small business.
For any small business to survive, it needs constant growth. And that doesn’t just apply to financial growth, it applies to growing your audience and customer base, and potentially growing your offering too. So, how does one grow? Setting goals help, sure. But if the graveyard of unused gym memberships has taught us anything, setting a goal without a plan to achieve it is a recipe for failure.
Plan ahead during the quieter months
For many industries, January is a quieter month. So, why not make hay while the sun shines? Use this slower period to plan for the busy year ahead.
Start by writing down your business and marketing goals, then map out how you will achieve them. For example, if you want to increase the amount of traffic to your website by 20%, what do you need to do to achieve it? You could update your website with SEO-driven copy or create a blog full of amazing content that will also help showcase yourself as a knowledge-leader in your space.
Whether it’s creating a blog, social media posts or simply updating your website, planning out your content for the year ahead will ensure a strategic alignment with your broader goals of growing your audience and your business.
Make the most of those raving fans
It can be easy to take your raving fans (those loyal customers who keep coming back time and time again) for granted. After all, why invest time into someone who you’ve already won over? Because they’re worth their weight in gold – that’s why.
People place a lot of faith in customer reviews. If a product or service has bad reviews, we’ll most likely shop elsewhere. This is precisely why you need to be asking your happy customers to leave a review, as they’re going to be your most powerful advocates. Whether it’s prompting your fans to leave a review on your business’ Google listing or gaining positive feedback to be used as a testimonial or your website, you should have a strategy in place. A few ways you can do this are:
- put a link to your Google listing in your email signature
- place signs in-store asking for reviews
- use promotional materials and prompts, such a receipts or a review card
- ask them in follow-up communications. If you don’t ask, you won’t receive.
Adding photos of happy customers with your products to your website or social media platforms is another great way to make the most of a raving fan. After all, you’ve put in the hard yards to provide a great experience for your customer, why not make the most of it?
Strategic planning and making the most of raving fans are two quick-win opportunities to set yourself up for a successful year in 2020. For many more, getting in touch with an expert can help. That’s where Shuttle Rocket comes in. As small business content marketing experts, we’re well placed to see opportunities that others do not. So, for all things content, get in touch with us today!