Small businesses took a big hit from the pandemic. Hospitality companies closed their doors for nearly a year while retail brands battled for online customers. Now lockdown has lifted, and restrictions have eased, small businesses can start to get on the feet again.
If you are a small business owner, you need to start looking towards your company’s future. It’s time to leave the past in the past and develop a plan to grow your company. You might want to expand your team, move to a new destination or launch a brand new product collection. Make 2022 the year of you and your business.
Here are a few ways you can grow your small business.
Utilise social media
Set up social media accounts for your business on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Post-high-quality content on all platforms regularly and engage with your customer base. You might find that Instagram attracts more followers and customers of your target demographic. After a few months of running multiple platforms, you can focus on one or two. Do some research into how your target market uses social media and how you can turn followers into customers.
Listen to the local community
If you are targeting your local area, you need to offer a service or product that is high in demand. Listen to the local community and look out for any common issues they are having. For example, people might be driving outside of town for a nail salon because there aren’t many beauty services in the local area. You could set up your own beauty salon with a wide range of colours and nail art available. Over time you can expand your skillset and begin to offer other services, like hairdressing. You can get yourself some professional hairdressing clippers and high-quality styling tools.
Host weekend events
Events can attract new customers and get them excited about your brand. You could join a local market and set up a stall with your products. Or, you could attend a business conference and introduce yourself to your competitors. Everyone starts somewhere, and you could learn a lot from others in the industry. Find a mentor to advise you on business management and making the hard decisions. You need to learn business skills to expand your business sustainably.
Get your name out there
Hand out posters, flyers and business cards around the local area to get your name out there. All of your advertising materials should have a consistent brand image across them. Use the same colours, graphics, font and copywriting style.
Make sure your business thrives to the best of its ability next year.
