5 Resolutions for Local Small Business Owners
5 Resolutions for Local Small Business Owners
Having a location on the most prominent street in town gives you a unique advantage as a business owner, but it also presents challenges. On one hand, you’re in a prime spot to bring in passing foot traffic. On the other, you’re competing for that traffic with all the surrounding businesses.
To stay ahead of the game this year, there are five important resolutions you should keep.
1.Focus on Great Customer Experiences
The customer experience is the most important part of modern business marketing. Today’s consumers are used to being in control of their choices, and you want to give them that sense of control when they walk into your physical location.
Create an inviting atmosphere with a layout that’s easy to navigate, and train your staff to be engaging and helpful.
Regular customer appreciation promotions, such as offering free products or exclusive discounts to loyal shoppers, generate positive responses that turn into free publicity when people share their experiences with friends.
2. Expand Your Online Presence
No matter how visible your brick-and-mortar store is, your business also needs to be visible online.
In addition to your website, maintain active profiles on the social media sites your customers use the most. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are all powerful tools for reaching out to a local customer base. Include social media handles and icons in all of your advertising so that people know they can follow you. Create an email list with signup options in your store and online. Use all of these outlets to announce special promotions to your local audience and beyond.
3. Market for Mobile
Mobile marketing helps ensure that people looking for your business type online can easily find information about you – including your phone number and address.
This requires a mobile version of your website that’s optimized for local keywords so that it appears as high as possible in local search results.
It also requires adding your business to location-based services such as Foursquare, Facebook Places and Google My Business to give mobile users a way to interact by “checking in,” sharing their location and possibly earning exclusive offers such as a free drink, dessert or appetizer.
4. Create a Schedule for Success
Start each week with a schedule clearly mapped out to help you stay on target with daily business tasks.
Planning for the entire week makes it easier to prioritize and provides some “wiggle room” in case something unexpected pops up. Use Google Calendar or a similar calendar app to keep track of everything. Share the schedule with your staff so that everyone understands their roles in keeping the business running.
5. Get Approved for a Business Line of Credit
Running a small business comes with its fair shares of ups and downs. The most successful business owners are nimble. They have a pre-approved business line of credit available to tap at any time opportunity comes knocking.
Here are just a few of the ways small business owners might use a line of credit:
- Buying inventory in bulk at a discount
- Starting / finishing a renovation project
- Launching a sure-fire marketing campaign
- Financing new equipment purchasing
The beauty of a line of credit is that it’s there for you when you need it, but it doesn’t cost you anything when you’re not using it. This means you can easily uphold the 5 resolutions for local small business owners with the funding you need when you need it.
If you’re ready to learn more about getting approved for a business line of credit without having to put any collateral down, get a free quote today!