Welcome to Bizcap’s Small Business Tips mini-list for 2022! We’ve spoken to our clients and industry experts and have collated the top 6 best insights to get your business going in the right direction for the rest of 2022 and beyond.
1. Plan around seasonal events – people act well ahead of the rush!
According to Google, 40% of US shoppers are preparing to shop much earlier for major seasonal events (Source: Jan 2022, Google) . Google’s research shows people are beginning their shop up to 6 months prior for events such as Christmas.
Even if your business does not increase sales around Christmas, there are other events in the calendar that may affect your sales demand. Some examples include:
- End of financial year for tax specialists and accountants,
- July/August for businesses “saving” budget for the new financial year
- Major sports events for hotels, restaurants etc
Google trends is a great tool to investigate seasonality of terms. Eg pandemic notwithstanding, “best restaurant” has clearly peaked at the end of July and Christmas/new years every year for last 5 years Google Trends
2. Have formal, consistent documentation
Developing a set template for regularly used documents such as client briefs, proposal documents, invoices, pricing lists, contracts etc will be a time and quality life saver. Spend lots of time getting these standardised and correct from the start. From there you will be able to handle new customers/prospects quickly and confidently before they move off to your competitors.
You can find a list of google doc proposal templates here: https://www.superside.com/blog/google-docs-templates#project-proposal
We also recommend Canva which has a whole plethora of document templates for various document types: https://www.canva.com/templates/
3. Keep track of your Google reviews, deal with bad ones appropriately and promptly
Ensure you are keeping track of your online reviews, whether positive or negative reviews, always reply in a timely and professional manner. Ensure you can resolve any negative reviews that will in turn have a positive impact for the business, as well as the client.
You can use both positive and negative feedback from customers to improve your business, so always review their feedback and take action accordingly.
4. Have an up to date database of subscribers
Keep regular contact with these clients, personalised messages, as well as on every special occasion such as their birthday, holiday seasons, exclusive sales/deals etc.
Consider a newsletter – where you can update on latest projects, company specific news or interesting articles you have produced. Include discount offers for this subscriber list. Renewing old customers is much less expensive than acquiring new ones.
5. Ensure you have an active presence on social media
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn potentially TikTok (depending on your business) are the hottest social media platforms at the moment.
Being active on these platforms will ensure you reach potential new customers, as well as continue to engage and have a positive relationship with current customers/clients.
It is well known that many clients/customers feel more at ease when they can check to see an organisations socials. It gives them a feeling of security and confidence in regards to understanding your business’ quality, being able to get in contact, as well as see the latest news, deals, etc.
Knowing how to post on each platform is crucial. With Facebook and Instagram you can have a bit more fun with your content, whereas it is best to keep it more on the professional side for LinkedIn. TikTok on the hand doesn’t work for all organisations but is a great way to get creative and reach the younger demographic.
6. Don’t be afraid of loans
Traditionally, loans can be considered quite intimidating due to the repercussions of not being able to pay them back on time or at all, however, they are an excellent way to boost your cash flow. In the long run, the cost to your business for not seizing an opportunity that presents itself now, due to lack of cash flow, is greater than the cost of securing a loan. With Bizcap, loans are made easy. We can get you funded with up to $2 million in under 3 hours.
Source by geekinsider.com
