Five Simple Steps to Help the Small Business Owner Create Success

Written byDarryl L Montague and   Sponsored by: EasyMakeWebsites.com

Okay, you’ve done it! So, what’s next?  You’ve implemented the hard task of getting your business opened, up and running, but now you need to create some revenue to keep the business alive.  In this reading, I’m going to provide some fundamental but simple strategies to help you to market and grow your business. However, the first thing I want you to do is to understand that these strategies are predicated on one common understanding, and without agreeing to this understanding this information will become useless for you. We must agree that no business can grow or succeed without having, “CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICES!” Everything about your business’ success is related to who wants your product and service and whether or not the consumer knows that you have a business to satisfy their need. Far too often small business owners are deceived into believing, just because they’ve built a business that customers will come rushing through the doors. This fallacy has left many first time business owners with the Grand Opening and Grand Closing Strategy.

I call it the grand opening and grand closing strategy because most small business fail within the first year, not because they don’t have a good product or service that matches the needs of consumers, but because they fail to know that their business is competing against hundreds if not thousands of other businesses who are hoping to capture the same dollar. It doesn’t matter whether you are restaurant, dentist, doctor, lawyer, politician, auto mechanic, retail shop, engineer, or business consultant. Your business will always have a competitor that is fighting for the same market share.  Therefore, the goal of any business is to relay to the consumer why choose us over the competition.  This brings us to our first step.

Step One:

Establish a Selling Support Group

Obtaining sells is your number one priority in growing your business. Without consistent cash flow your business will fail. It doesn’t matter how great your idea, if you don’t have products or services being sold- you have no business at all. Sounds simple, right! You would think. However, I can’t share with you how many times I’ve watched the demise of small businesses because they fail to understand this simple concept. Okay, then what is the answer to this dilemma you want to know. You must create a Selling Support Group.  A Selling Support Group, is a collection of friends, family, and colleagues to whom you’ve shared your business idea, and is willing to help drive business for you.  As a small business owner you are already wearing multiple hats in keeping the business operational. On most occasions your daily activities have nothing to do with getting customers to come to you.  You’re focused on everything but sales.  This being the case, it is necessary that you incorporate the efforts of others to help you accomplish your first priority of selling. Identify five to ten people who see and understand what you are trying to accomplish and want to support your business.  Get a firm commitment from them to share your business with three to four people a week. Of course it will be hard for you to pay for the work they do; therefore, reward them with small gestures of thank you. Such as a gift card, a thank you note and/or something that shows your appreciation for their support.  Most people don’t have a problem helping if they know you are full with gratitude for their service.  Even more important than help you to make sells- these individuals will become the same group that encourages you when you feel like giving up on the business. Because they have brought into your vision they will become the confidants you need for sharing your successes and failures.  Establishing your Selling Support Group is crucial to your business, and should not be taken lightly. Even before you create a logo, letterhead, business cards, or anything else- this group should become your first consideration.

Step Two:

Develop Your Uniqueness

Most business consultants will advise you to develop a market niche for your business.  However, I say leave the niche for the large corporations. In truth a niche is only a business strategy that is specifically targeted to make customers feel a specific business product or services is suited for their need.  For the small business owner, I advise you to create uniqueness about your business.  Uniqueness is a brand strategy that empowers your business based on your personal attributes. It is a personal and welcoming strategy built on an honest characteristics centered on the customer needs. The difference between the two strategies is that niche strategy serves the business needs, where as the uniqueness strategy is empowered by a mutual relationship from both the seller and the purchasers.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a sole proprietor or multi-partnership. The uniqueness of the business should mimic some quality traits that match who you are and appeal to consumers. With a uniqueness strategy you release a living, and breathing organism for your business. It curtails to the customer so that whenever they think of purchasing a product or service that you offer- they think of your business because you welcome them through an authentic relationship which respects the dollars that the consumer brings to your business.  

 Step Three:

Sell to the Customer That Want To Purchase from You

As a business owner it is your responsibility to know your customers. You must know what they want, what they think, and how they make decisions on purchasing your product or service. You should know as much demographic about them as you can. Where do they live? How much income do they have? What are their ages? What’s their lifestyle?   This information is essential as it will help you to communicate your message to them about your business. If you don’t know who you are selling to; you will find yourself with a ready, then fire, than aim, business operational strategy that has no focus on capturing targeted revenue. Not to mention you end up spinning your wheels on how to get a customer through your doors. Everyone is not your customer, and you should not operate your business as such. Utilizing this type of method burns unnecessary resources that could be allocated to the customer that has a genuine need for your business.  Therefore, whenever you have an opportunity to talk with a customer who is buying from you- you should probe them about who they are, and why they chose to purchase from your business.  The responses you will receive will become very useful information as it will help you to decide on how to best communicate to other potential customer.  

Step Four

Develop a Brand That is Remembered

Contrary to belief, branding isn’t limited to large businesses.  A brand is an idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers identify when making a decision to purchase. The brand can be a slogan, a statement, or an image that represents your business.  Your brand is essential in keeping your business in front of customers before they decide to make a purchase, so that when they do decide to make a purchase they think of you first.  As more and more people decide on business ownership, it is critical that you establish your business footing through your branding.  To fully understand how important branding your business is; think of the hundreds of commercials you hear and see daily through radio, television, internet, and paper print that are consistently presenting themselves to the buying market. As a small business owner you shouldn’t think any differently.  Just as those companies fight to make a presence- you should do the same.  When deciding your brand, don’t leave this task only up to you.  Solicit the help of your Selling Support Group, and ask them what they think. Once you’ve narrowed it down, write and sketch out your idea, and then employ the help of a professional designer to bring your brand to life. Place your brand on everything.  Remember you are selling your idea so consumers must know you exist.  Don’t do the minimum like: business cards, letterheads, and/ or only on your websites. Place your brand on your clothing, your car, in your email signature line, water bottles, and any other place you think is appropriate. You must be conscious in sharing your business brand to the buying public. Think the unimaginable, and then make it possible.

Step Five

Spend Money on Promoting, Marketing & Advertising

In the beginning of this article, I explained that we must agree that no business can grow or succeed without having, “CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICES!” Outside of having a good product or service that meets the needs of consumers, promoting, marketing and advertising is the key ingredient for your business success. In fact it is so important, that if you ignored this concept, your business will surely fail within three to five months from the day you opened the doors.  Don’t believe it when business owners say that they don’t do any marketing, promoting or advertising to get customers.  If you do know of a business that makes this claim, especially a small business, I can show you a business owner who is operating a job verses running a successful business. Your business should become the vehicle that changes your lifestyle, and provides you with some freedom that you wouldn’t receive from a traditional job.  Your business should become a constant evolving organization that continues to expand. The only way this can happen is by building a business that is frequently used by customers that ultimately results in business growth. Without marketing, promoting, and advertising this becomes impossible. Your marketing, promoting, and advertising should be established as your number one monthly expense.  I employ you to not think of your marketing, promoting and advertising as a useless expense because you are not seeing an immediate return on your investment.  This mindset is the first mistake of the small business owner.  The intention of your marketing, promoting, and advertising strategy is to consistently solicit to your buying audience. The more you spend on delivering your message to consumers, the more success you will have.