Revenue is vital to the success of any small business. It can help cover expenses, show if business is growing or declining, and affect the chance of qualifying for a business loan.
As a business owner, it is important to set realistic revenue goals and determine what you can do to achieve them. Whether you want to increase your revenue to $100,000 or $1 million, here are 4 proven strategies you can use to hit your goal.
1) Talk to Your Current Customers
Your current customers are one of your best resources for increased revenue. In fact, studies have shown it can cost 5 to 25 times more to get a new customer than it is to keep one. By engaging your current customers you can get:
Ideas for New Products – If you build relationships with your customers then they are likely to share the current challenges they face. By listening, you can understand how you might be able to help them address these challenges by offering new products and services.
Referrals – Your current customers are a great source to get client referrals. If you’ve made a customer happy, ask them for the contact information of someone they know that might benefit from your business as well. Consider incentivizing them compensation for a referral such as a small discount on their next purchase.
Upsell opportunities – Many small businesses have found success by selling bundled products and services as a package rather than individual offerings. Customers equate a bundle of services with savings. Even if the savings are small, it makes it much more likely that the customer will buy more from you.
Reviews – Many people use review sites to decide whether or not to buy from a business. As a result, it’s important to establish your credibility online. You can do this by asking happy customers to share their experience on these sites. Consider even drafting them an example of what they could say so it won’t take much effort on their part.
2) Get the Word Out
If you want to boost your revenue, it’s time to revisit your marketing plan. Below are some marketing ideas you can use to boost sales.
Improve Your Online Presence – The internet is the first place consumers go to find a product or service, so it’s important that your business has a presence online. If you don’t have a website, you could start by getting your business listed on sites like Yelp and Google My Business. If you want a website, services such as Wix, Shopify and WordPress are great options to help you get started.
Additionally, to get people to your site consider online ads such as those offered by Facebook.
Run a Promotion – Running a promotion can be a great way to generate buzz. This could include holding a limited time discount for people who engage with your social media posts. You could even reward people that promote your business online by sharing photos and tagging your business.
Develop Cross-Promotion Partnerships – A cross-promotional campaign with another business that serves people similar to your customers can save you time and money while increasing your exposure. For example, you could use social media to promote each other’s products and services. You could also set up a display in each other’s location or include promotions and discounts for partners on your invoices.
3) Free Up Time to Grow Your Revenue
Many of your most time-consuming or repetitive activities can be automated, outsourced or digitized. Ways you can do this include:
Automating Your Social Media Posts – Instead of taking time each day to share a post, you can upload your posts in bulk and shared later. For example, Hootsuite is a great tool to automate you social media posts.
Hiring Freelances – There are many freelancers available online that can save you the frustration of trying to figure things out yourself. Upwork is a popular site to find freelancers skilled in web development, marketing, graphic design, and more.
Eliminating Paper Processes – Business owners can save time on administrative tasks that require a lot of paperwork by using software instead. For example, Quickbooks is an online accounting platform that can manage business payments, payroll and pay bills.
4) Evaluate Your Pricing
If your clients are price sensitive, pay special attention to your pricing strategies. Find out what your competition is charging and raise or lower your prices based on your goals.
Lowering your prices can increase the number of sales you make, thus making up for lower margins. On the other hand, raising your prices can create a higher perceived value in the minds of consumers, while you benefit from the higher margins.
Regardless of the strategy you choose, make sure to analyze the pros and cons of changing pricing in the short term and long term.
Moving Forward
Trying out a mix of these strategies should help you achieve your goal. As you start bringing in more revenue, it’s important to understand the flow of cash throughout your business. You can best manage this by making cash flow statements to know where your money is going.
Comments are closed here.