Growing Your Business is Easier Than You Think!
Making your mark as a small business can be tough. When you face competition from both the established players in your industry as well as other ambitious upstarts, you need every advantage you can get. You may already have a great product or service to offer customers — here are four creative ways to translate that into long-term growth, development, and expansion for your business.
1. Recognize the Importance of First Impressions
It has been said many times that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. What’s often understated is just how important those first impressions are. No matter what industry you’re in, the image a potential customer forms in the first minute of contact with your team will play a large role in determining whether or not you win their business. Even a minor inconvenience, like having to wait on hold, or a simple technical error, like a dropped call, can create a strong sense of unprofessionalism.
2. Focus on Building Relationships
Once you’ve made the initial sale, your goal is now to parlay that goodwill into a long-term relationship. Instead of focusing on selling your customer a car once, for example, make it your goal to sell them five cars over the next 20 years. Don’t be afraid to check in with past clients from time-to-time — not necessarily to push a new product or service but simply to maintain a relationship and ensure you are first in their mind the next time they need your services.
3. Be Selective in the New Technologies You Embrace
Technology is everywhere, but for every killer app or genius innovation, there are an unlimited number of products that will do little more than waste your time and take your money. Ask yourself the following when considering whether or not a product or software is right for you:
- Does this solve an actual problem my business is facing?
- Is it something my staff will incorporate into their day-to-day routine?
- Can it be implemented without a major disruption to our operations?
- What will the training curve be like?
While there’s no benefit to remaining mired in the past, smart business owners are able to see beyond the hype and assess technology as a tool for improving the way they and their staff work.
4. Plan Well Into the Future
You’ve got the tools in place to work smarter, you’ve worked to create a strong impression and you’ve got the customer service chops to build meaningful long-term relationships. Congratulations! You’ve already put into place the building blocks necessary for growth. Now picture what the next logical step should be — a new product line, a second location, a move into new territories — and start working toward it. Whatever it is, there are things you can do today to make it happen.
If you start projecting the appearance of success — whether it’s with a new logo, a great website or simply an attitude adjustment — it’s easier to make a leap when you have the chance to expand and to convince customers you are worth taking a risk on.
How Can a Professional Phone System Help?
A professional phone system is more than just a tool for communication — it’s a key part of facilitating growth through proactive relationship-building. The right business phone system will let incoming callers know they are dealing with a professional organization that cares about their experience.
Features such as voicemail-to-text and automated messaging make staying in touch easy, while adding a toll-free number or local number in a new territory is the first logical step to moving your business beyond where it is today. Best of all, cloud-based business phone systems are easily scalable to facilitate growth when opportunities come up.
To learn more about how a business phone system can help grow, expand, and develop your business, contact AccessDirect today.
