Trading or running a business is one of the surest ways of surviving in an economically fluctuating society. That is why teaching you how to run a successful small business in order to help you keep your head high above all challenging waters of unemployment, brokenness, starvation, and many more is more than just the way out of this quagmire.
Your personal vision for success may be centered on growing revenue, increasing your physical footprint by opening a new location, or simply expanding your staff so you can redirect your energy and focus elsewhere. Knowing how to run a successful business starts with applying some tried and true strategies.
How to Run a Successful Small Business
Here are tips on the things to do to keep your small business successful and alive. Therefore, we have tried to outline some of the steps on how to run a successful small business:
Understand Your Competition
One of the steps on how to run a successful small business is getting closer to your competition. Competition breeds the best results. To be successful, you can’t be afraid to study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more money.
How you analyze competition will vary between sectors. If you’re a restaurant owner, you may simply be able to dine at your competition’s restaurants, ask other customers what they think, and gain information that way. However, you could be a company with much more limited access to your competitors, such as a chemicals company. In that case, you would work with a business professional and accountant to go over not just what the business presents to the world, but any financial information you may be able to get on the company as well.
Focus on Your Customers
Successful small businesses are customer-focused, which means they understand the needs of their current customer bases. Satisfied customers can drive profits through repeat business and referrals.
- Starting a loyalty program that rewards customers with discounts or other incentives
- Launching a referral program to encourage existing customers to spread the word about your business to friends and family
- Hosting exclusive events to engage with new and existing customers
- Asking customers to complete a survey to help you better understand their needs
- Training staff members on how to provide quality customer service
Be Organized
To achieve business success you need to be organized. It will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to be organized is to create a to-do list each day. As you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you’re not forgetting anything and completing all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business.
Understand the Risks and Rewards
The key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. A good question to ask is “What’s the downside?” If you can answer this question, then you know what the worst-case scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards.
Expand Marketing and Advertising
One of the most important aspects of how to run a successful business centers on marketing. Your advertising strategy can make or break you since it can determine how visible you are to your target audience and whether your business’s message is conveyed clearly.
- Running digital ads on social media platforms where your target audience is likely to spend time
- Partnering with social media influencers to leverage their following
- Developing partnerships and doing cross-promotion with complementary businesses
- Marketing to your email list (or starting an email list if you haven’t yet)
- Participating in highly visible promotions, such as Small Business Saturday
- Content marketing with a blog or website
- Offering free workshops or classes, if applicable to your business products and services
- Using nontraditional methods of advertising, such as vehicle wrapping
- Running giveaways or contests
Provide Great Service
There are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they’ll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.
In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, often the differentiating factor being successful and unsuccessful businesses is the level of service that the business provides. This is where the saying “undersell and overdeliver” comes in use, and savvy business owners would be wise to follow it.
Get Rid of Liabilities and Costs
Another common characteristic of successful small businesses lies in how they manage cash flow. To make your business thrive, you’ll need to stick to your budget, keep cash in reserve, and make sure your business only takes on good debt.
If you haven’t reviewed your business budget lately, consider what you can cut. Downsizing to a smaller space can be more drastic, but it could be a significant money-saver. Also, consider how you can improve your cash flow. For example, if you have customers who frequently pay late, you might consider imposing a late-payment penalty to encourage them to pay on time.
Be Tech Wise
Technology can save you time and money when trying to grow a successful small business. The more of your business operations you can streamline, the easier it becomes to focus on tasks that can promote growth.
You may also consider replacing outdated tech to improve the customer experience and potentially boost sales. Updating your point-of-sale systems, for example, could make the checkout process faster.
Employ the Right Connections
Having the right employees can make a difference to your success. A rude or poorly trained individual can turn off customers and give your business a bad reputation. But an employee who treats customers well and goes above and beyond to meet their needs can drive repeat business.
Finding the right employees starts with setting clear expectations for the role or roles you’re hiring for. Once you know what you’re looking for, you can create and promote job listings to attract talent that fits your list of ideals.
- Offer a competitive salary for your area and industry
- Offer paid time off or tuition assistance
- Make it clear what your business’s mission is and why someone would want to work for you
- If possible, post your job listing on job boards targeted at your industry
- Use social media to get job seekers’ attention and engage them
