Any small business owner will be acutely aware of the challenges in the first years of trading. Around 20% of all small businesses are estimated to fail in their first year of trading. There are a wide range of reasons for this but commonly include not having a thorough understanding of your target market and creating a product or service that does not enjoy the expected levels of demand from customers. Every year, the world of small business becomes more competitive.
Small firms may find they are competing with other companies in the same sector operating exclusively from the online environment via e-commerce. This can create a situation where small businesses experience international competition for the same product or service if foreign suppliers can deliver to the same target market in a reasonable period. However, if your small business has managed to successfully navigate the crucial first years of operations and is starting to generate meaningful profits, you may be seeking strategies to cultivate sustained and meaningful growth. This article will discuss three such strategies that can apply to a wide range of small firms.
Delight customers with fast product delivery
With the exponential growth of the E-commerce sector, a consumer culture has developed whereby customers are fully prepared to shop online, often from international traders. Millions of people regularly shop from sites that have competitively priced products instead of going to physical stores. However, one key drawback for customers shopping online is the timescales for the delivery of their products. For example, if a European customer is ordering competitively priced goods from an online site based in China, they may have to wait several weeks for the order to arrive.
Small businesses can gain a competitive advantage over E-commerce firms that rely on longer delivery schedules by offering their customers overnight delivery services. As the name suggests, this form of courier service guarantees the customer that they will receive their item during the next business day.
A complex delivery network is used to ensure that goods can be transported over potentially long distances in the shortest possible time. Put simply, such delivery options can help your business to stand out in the marketplace. Short delivery times can help to differentiate your firm from foreign competitors who cannot offer similar delivery timescales. In short, it can be a key way to delight your customers, cultivate repeat business, and allow your company to enjoy scalable growth.
Outsource new departments
As your business begins to enjoy improved sales and revenue streams, you will likely want to expand your operations. This may involve entering new markets or offering new products and services. You may need to increase the size of your teams or even create new departments to allow your firm to manage the additional workloads and undertake a wider range of tasks. It is important to recognize that these new staff do not need to be employed permanently.
One option is to consider outsourcing. In this model of staff acquisition, highly skilled workers, teams, or even full departments work for your company temporarily. For example, you could hire a dedicated project management team to help you undertake projects that will support business growth (such as moving your IT operations to the cloud or designing a new product). Outsourced teams and staff can be used for short to medium-term projects and tasks; once completed, they are no longer required. This allows small businesses to keep staff costs as low as possible, only paying for staff temporarily for specific tasks or functions.
Be prominent at trade shows
One of the key challenges to small businesses seeking meaningful growth is how to increase their visibility in the marketplace and boost their brand recognition. Smaller firms may not enjoy high levels of brand awareness, with consumers and other industry professionals being unaware of their products or services. A key way to boost the visibility of your small firm is by attending trade shows that are relevant to your line of business. Book a place at regional, national, or even international trade exhibitions and take samples of your products to showcase to the public and key industry stakeholders.
Ideally, you will want to spend this event networking with other companies in the same sector and demonstrating your products or services to your target market. Take some corporate merchandise with you (such as mouse mates, coffee mugs, or pens) that have your company’s contact details and web address on it. Handing these out to interested customers can help to cultivate new sales channels. In addition, networking with other industry professionals can help you to cultivate a network of contacts that may help your firm to find new business opportunities that promote long-term growth.