Growth is important for any business, especially over these past couple of years. Expanding your client base, business partners, and even your internal staff base has never been more important for business growth. And with 2021 coming to a close, who knows what will be around the corner in the coming year.
So, what should you look for in 2022? There are many ways to implement effective business growth, but with the current times changing, these strategies must also change to overcome new challenges. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
Networking – E-Meet and E-Greet
The lockdowns and social restrictions have been a big hindrance to a lot of businesses, especially those with direct face-to-face customer and partner interactions. While in the past going to networking events, business fairs and trade meetings would have been a breeze, things are a little different in current times, and social interactions aren’t as simple to organize anymore.
Many businesses have dealt with this by simply running everything through email systems and phone calls, and while this technique works for running things day today, when it comes to meeting new clients, proposing ideas with prospective business partners, and networking with local businesses, this isn’t as effective and lacks the personal attention of an in-person meeting.
Virtual meetings and group video calls have blazed a trail in businesses over the past couple of years and opened new avenues for companies both large and small that otherwise would not have been possible. Especially in the case of businesses under the restrictions of working from home, the ability to hop into a video conference with clients, business partners, and workmates for project collaborations has provided a simple yet effective solution for an otherwise substantial business problem.
Keeping this functionality available for all employees is highly important moving forward into the new year; while the restrictions may be lifting, and in-person meetings are starting to become a possibility once again, as long as the systems are in place and properly maintained, online meetings and networking will hold a key position in introductions, ease of organization, and simple direct-client interaction, supplementing face-to-face meetings drastically.
Software Growth
For a small business, having an affordable, economical, and easy-to-use system in place for day-to-day work and operations is important. There wouldn’t be much use paying through the nose for a system designed for a multinational corporation if it’s only going to be used by two people!
However, as your business grows and develops, so too must the tools and equipment that you work with. It’s worth putting a good amount of time to research and look around for good, relevant, and feature-packed software for your business that is easy to use and will provide an excellent service. The more tuned-up your software is to your business, the more efficient your staff can become at utilizing it to its full potential. And of course, higher efficiency means higher productivity, and higher productivity means the better and faster product or service output!
Another thing to keep in mind is the option of expandable software. While in most cases it can be a little more expensive than run-of-the-mill software, the providers can add features, modules and extras to your software package as your business continues to grow and develop. Additional extras such as online or cloud-based user interface systems, such as Sage Intacct, can also help you to access work-related data outside of the office, making those out-of-hours phone calls with clients much easier.
Website Design
When you want to check out a service or a product, your first port of call is to check out their website to get a bit of a taste of what the business is about, and that is the same for your clients! A well mapped, structured, aesthetic, and easy-to-use website will drive traffic from simply glancing, to making a purchase. Additionally, the converse is also true; if your website is badly structured and outdated, potential clients are much less likely to do business with you.
Readability is important – how easy the information on your website is to be interpreted by the reader. The easier it is to find and read the information relevant to your services or products, the better informed your visitors will be, and the more likely it is that they will engage in your CTA’s (Call-To-Actions). Make sure that your product and information pages are informative, clear, concise, and easy to find; your clients will thank you for it.
A blocky, Wordart-styled, animated image-filled website might have been cool and funky back in 2005, but as with anything, styles and designs have changed a lot since then, and visitors to your website will have noticed this too. It may seem unimportant but having a modern design template for your site will tell your audience that you are in line with the times.
Keeping your website up to date and fresh can provide a big boost to your online revenue and potential client introductions. Whether it’s simply changing the dates and updating some information, or a full overhaul with an entirely new look, make sure your site looks good and is easily accessible to visitors, and it will more than pay for itself in the long term.
While there are a lot of business growth strategies out there, tailoring a personal plan to your business can really help with growth and expansion over the coming year. Particularly with current events, restrictions, and lockdowns, a lot of the normal techniques will be much more difficult. We hope these tips will offer a good starting point for you to work from, and help you to put such a plan in place.
