Growing Your Business in 2020

A new year means new goals for your business. If you have big dreams to growing your business in 2020, but don’t know where to start, then think about these suggestions and how they can fit into your business. 

Create a Sales Funnel

Creating a sales funnel will take a little more work up front, but then once it is in place, the process will be much more automated. Have a great landing page on your website and offer your audience something they want. Then on the back end of that offer, make a sales pitch. This helps focus your audience and lead potential customers to you, eliminating a lot of the focus you would have to use to get the same results. 

Research the Competition

Knowing what other businesses in your field are doing and what is working for them is crucial. See what their ideas are and what is working for them and what is not. Learn from their mistakes. If they have something that is working well for them, figure out why it is working and see if you can generate those same results with something different in your business. Remaining original is important, but there is still much to be learned by seeing what other companies are doing. 

Customer Loyalty Plans or Memberships

Creating a customer loyalty plan for your customers does a couple of different things First, it creates a sense of belonging which encourages them to keep returning to your business. Secondly, it offers incentives for them to make purchases frequently. Even if the savings are small, people will usually go out of their way to utilize those savings. 

Membership programs are the same way. If you offer incentives, then some people will pay a membership to access those savings or extra services. This just depends on your business and target demographics. 

Demographic Studies and New Opportunities

Understanding your target demographic is the key to success in business. You need to be able to access your audience in a meaningful way. Understanding what they want, what is important to them, and how they think will allow you to provide them with products or services that they can’t resist. It can also clue you into other products or services that might fit into your business that you can provide. 

Learning about other demographics can also be beneficial. You can see if there are ways to expand your audience without losing your current customers. Or you may see new opportunities in the form of new lines of products that can grow your business in exciting ways. 

Society is always changing, so don’t expect to do this research once and then be done. This is ever-changing data, and to be successful, you need to be current with your research. 

Email Lists

You might think that email lists are outdated, but that is where you are wrong. A majority of people still actively check their email accounts and subscribe to companies that they frequent. Offering discounts, insider information, or early information on products or sales are all great incentives for people to sign up for an email list. 

Once you have built an email list, this becomes an essential part of your sales funnel that was mentioned earlier. A good email or newsletter sent out to your subscribers can draw customers into your website, and your sales funnel. 

Brand Partnerships

Partnering up with other businesses can be mutually beneficial. This is not for competitors, but for companies that offer different products or services to the same demographic. Offering packages of several linked products or other incentives can encourage buyers to choose you over your competition. 

Another way to collaborate and form partnerships is to host a giveaway together. Donating products to be given away, spreads the word about your business. Combining this with products from other companies boosts your visibility. Rules for entry into the competition can include things like following your account on social media or signing up for your email list. All of this increases your sales funnel, which increases your customer base. 

Diversify

If you have hit a wall with progression for your business, then you might want to consider diversifying. This can mean expanding what you offer to your existing customer base. It can also mean trying to tap into a new audience. Just be careful that when you diversify that you don’t alienate the customers, you already have coming to your business. You want them to feel like they still belong while also welcoming new people into your audience. 

SEO for Your Website

In an ever-expanding business world, the competition is ever-expanding as well. That means that it is harder and harder to be seen online. The best way to counteract that is by stepping up your SEO game. SEO can get complicated, but you can take small steps to improve your rating like improving website speed, linking to other websites, backlinking to your website, adding alternative text to photos, and using keywords in your posts. 

Even if you are already doing some of these things, the massive amount of competition can still make it hard to be seen. An SEO company can help you if you get stuck. You might be saying, “How do I find an SEO company that will work well with my situation?” Here are some ideas on how to select the right SEO agency. 

• Understand their fees and service plans before hiring
• Find a company who has experience in your field of business
• Check online reviews with past customers
• Reach out to a representative to get a feel for how effectively they communicate

Create a Community

If it is appropriate for your business, create a sense of community for your customers. Customers who feel like they are a part of your business will remain your customers. Using social media is a great way to keep engagement with your demographic consistent. It is also a great way to stay accessible to your audience. Having that interaction happening on your pages will also help you to get an accurate feel for your demographic and how to improve the customer experience.