As any UK company owner will tell you, starting a small company is far easier than consistently growing one.
In an age of perpetual growth like the one we are in now, a company that stagnates has it’s days numbered. Anything other than growth is becoming more and more unacceptable.
English entrepreneurs are no stranger to this reality. Juggling the needs of a business is a constant game of give and take but almost every task circles back to growth of the future.
It goes without saying that a company’s priority is profit. No growth is never a good omen for projected profits.
So how does a busy English entrepreneur juggle their time without stagnating their business?
It is an important skill for all entrepreneurs and small business owners to be able to discern what is worth their time from what is not. Luckily we have done the research for you!
Below is our list of 7 steps to grow your small company today. We have listed our favourite tried and proven methods you can get started on right now which will guarantee more upward trajectory for your business.
Step 1. Review What Works And What Doesn’t
When deciding the best way to go froward it is important to take note as to where you are now. After all, we can’t know where we are going until we know where we have been.
This can be especially useful by looking at what has worked up until now and what has not. You may find that some streams have proved to be way more beneficial than others.
For example, as an English entrepreneur you should be no stranger to advertising streams. So you will know many streams are way better suited to some niches over others.
Spending across multiple ad networks like Google Adwords or Facebook adverts may have been prudent to find your market initially. If that market has now been found though then it may be time to focus your efforts.
It is of course important to not put all of your eggs in one basket but maximising the areas that work whilst scaling back or stopping those that don’t is key to company growth.
This concept should be applied business-wide on an annual basis as a minimum. Quarterly ideally. Many small business owners find themselves dwelling on the highs of the previous period and this complacency can cause negative knock-on effects. Reviewing regularly is key.
Scrapping something that isn’t working is just as important as ramping up what does work. Balancing both is the difference between a company that earns you a living and one that will earn your grandkids a fortune.
Step 2. Check What Your Customers Have Said
If you have completed step 1 above thoroughly then step 2 shouldn’t come with any nasty surprises.
Feedback is something that every business owner needs, few can take onboard and most avoid out of vanity. It is impossible to know how to improve if you don’t actively seek out feedback, good and bad.
Let’s be honest for a second: Most customers haven’t really got a clue what they actually want.
For example, ask a website developer how many sites they are commissioned to make that end up being exactly what the customer first described. The answer will be less than 5% because people mostly think they know what they want when they don’t.
Now don’t get confused because whilst most don’t know what they want, they absolutely 100% know what they like. More importantly, what they like may rarely line up with what they need or what you think they’d like.
This is where seeing what your customers are saying is fundamental.
Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have made this the easiest task imaginable in 2020 and beyond. With open profiles and public messages it can be as simple as running a quick search using your company or brand name to see all the times you were mentioned.
Take time to read as many as possible. This is your company and these people are your paying customers. Keep an open mind and really take on board any criticisms that may come your way.
It can put the best of us on the back foot making us defensive when somebody criticise something we have worked so hard on. A company is like a baby to the entrepreneur and maternal instincts sometimes take over. It’s important to stay open to anything.
This shouldn’t take away from the fact that it is your company, your product and your brainchild. The buck stops with you on how it will change moving forward.
You will get a lot of bad suggestions too. Like seriously a lot. Objectively deciding which is which without involving emotions will start the journey to the next level.
Step 3. Look After Existing Customers
Pick any entrepreneurial speaker or business book and you will hear the trusted mantra that new customers cost 5 times as much as keeping old customers.
This is true and certainly not something to be overlooked. But there are scarier and more important knock-on metrics that you should also be aware of.
According to a leading customer experience consultants research, they found that existing customers are:
- FIVE TIMES more likely to purchase from you.
- FIVE TIMES more likely to forgive for any mistakes or failings.
- SEVEN TIMES more likely to purchase new products you introduce.
If you are looking to grow your company the answer may very well lay with your existing customers.
Taking care of customers can be something as simple as offering a voucher or checking in with them some time after their purchase. A simple follow up email can go a long way with the average customer.
Regardless of what niche you find yourself in, customer service is a universal language. Everyone wants to feel special and appreciated, your customers are no different. Showing them that you appreciate their business is quite possibly the greatest foundation for growth imaginable.
Step 4. Review And Redefine Your Customer Service
Following on from step 3 above is to now improvise, adapt and overcome your customer service challenges.
Automation and process is the best friend of every time-sensitive entrepreneur. After-all, If you aren’t time-sensitive then are you even really an entrepreneur?
Whether it’s collecting customer emails, regular newsletters/vouchers or just replying to contacts, these tasks can bite away valuable hours that could be spent elsewhere.
Hiring a virtual assistant to complete these tasks could free up those hours. This will in turn help your company grow in both efficiency and profits.
Automating the process is an even better solution. Mailing lists like Mailchimp help with out of the box solutions or a custom script built specifically to your needs is a scaleable solution that will last the test of time.
It is important to value your time and how much per hour your time is worth. If the cost of a custom solution is £500 and you spend 2 hours a day currently on the task then it will pay for itself in pretty quick time depending on your hourly rate you pay yourself.
Step 5. Be Social
Step 5 is the one that nicely ties up these initial 5 steps to grow your business.
Social media, love it or hate it, is the be all and end all of customer service for the vast majority of companies in 2020. We all know customer service is paramount in terms of growth whether that be new or existing customers.
Staying active on your personal and company social media is an aspect that English entrepreneurs have all been guilty of failing at some point. It can be hard to prioritise and monitor social media but slacking in this department will be at your own demise.
If you have social profiles then you need to stay on top of the conversation. The smallest of issues have been know to blow up on twitter causing a full on PR disaster solely down to unresponsive company social media.
Showing your customers that you are actively involved in the niche you represent not only builds trust and credibility but it will also set the right impressions towards any potential customers sitting in the stands reading.
78% of UK customers reportedly research a new company on social media before committing to a product over £40. This huge chunk of business is profit that your company is missing out on by not being active.
Depending on your niche it can be difficult with coming up with what to post and when to post it. This situation is no different than any other. Balancing your time/cost with outsourcing to a virtual assistant or specialist social media company is something you will need to weigh a decision on.
Take a look around social media at how the big brands do it across all industries and niches. Contests, giveaways and general banter with your social media following could turn any company into a brand that has a cult following.
Step 6. Research the competition
No amount of market research will ever tell you more than you can find out by simply researching your competition.
Take a look around at the other companies that occupy space in your niche and take a look at how they operate. Where do they advertise? How do they communicate on social media? How do they deal with their customers?
You can guarantee your competitors have made this assessment of you already.
This will also tell you a lot about what probably works and what you can use to grow your own business. Many companies, especially those that were around before you, have had the luxury of years within your niche.
Whatever they are doing now that works will probably work for you too.
Some of the greatest entrepreneurs have the ability to look at what is being done elsewhere and adapting it into their own business ventures.
Step 7. Attend Networking Events
The final step is the dreaded networking events.
Whether you are an introvert or just your average entrepreneur on the tight timescale, you might be rolling your eyes at this one.
But that really shouldn’t be the case, although we do understand. Many networking events are an endless list of nameless faces trying to sell their products.
Whilst you may feel that your time could be better spent elsewhere it is important to not be rash.
Networking events can be a needed lifeline for small companies. Many small businesses are willing to trade services meaning that you may be able to get cheap or free marketing, printing or products by simply offering your services in exchange.
Many small companies are also more than willing to refer customers too so picking up leads is a common result from these events.
Don’t be shy, get your name out there. Who knows your next major client could come from these events and even if it doesn’t you will still make great local business connections.
Running a company in the UK is going to require these connections at some point whether you like it or not so get out there.
