How to Effectively Grow Your Small Business 

Small businesses form an extremely large and vital part of every economy. In the United States, it is estimated that 99% of all commerce is comprised of small businesses operating in all industry sectors. If you own a small business, you will fully understand that it can be challenging to remain competitive and profitable in the current economic climate. Products and packaging, such as that sourced from Impacked Packaging, should be innovative, yet inflation levels still remain high across most developed countries, which can increase the cost of raw materials and product components. Inevitably these costs will need to be passed on to the end consumer, which can have a detrimental effect on sales volumes. In addition, the world of small business takes place on an international scale in 2023. This is due to the exponential growth of the internet, which has allowed millions of companies to offer goods and services for sale in an online marketplace. Small businesses must therefore compete to a level that was not required only a decade ago. If you are a small business owner who has successfully navigated the first few years of trading, it is likely that you will be looking to foster growth in your business to secure its future. In this article, some key ways to achieve this will be explored.

Customer loyalty programs

One of the key ways to ensure growth and longevity in your small business is to retain existing customers and reduce customer churn. While it is valuable to attract new customers, it is also vital to encourage existing customers to make repeat purchases so that you can benefit from a regular stream of income that can drive improved growth. Retaining customers can be achieved by looking to instigate a range of customer loyalty programs. A common but effective method is to create a points based scheme for customers. Put simply, when a customer makes a purchase from your website or store, they will be credited with a number of points. Generally, the higher the value of the goods they purchase, the more points they will receive. These points can be accrued over a number of separate purchases before being used as a full or part payment of a subsequent purchase. This is motivating for the customer as they will choose to use your company for future purchases as they will enjoy being able to save credit to fund payment of a subsequent item.

Improve your IT with external assistance

Many small businesses have a small but dedicated team of IT staff. These workers will be able to manage the company website and set up IT systems and infrastructure for other staff members to use in their daily tasks. However, it is common that small businesses may lack suitably qualified and knowledgeable IT professionals that can focus on complex tasks such as migrating services to the cloud, improving cybersecurity, and allowing global trade to take place smoothly and efficiently. These tasks can be instrumental in allowing a business to achieve sustained growth but may not be able to be accomplished with your existing IT team. In these instances, it is beneficial to seek the expert help of an external IT specialist to make the necessary changes and IT improvements. In the UK, you can find a Cardiff IT company that will be able to accomplish these key tasks to improve your IT infrastructure and modernize your business systems. A key benefit of outsourcing this type of improvement work is that you only hire the staff until the job is completed, so wage costs remain low. In addition, you benefit from access to a team of highly trained specialists who are well-versed in complex IT improvements.

Use analytics for informed business planning

As a final example of key ways to achieve business growth, business analytics should be considered. In 2023, companies can utilize a wide range of software applications and business intelligence platforms to drive their decision-making. You can see some of the best analytics platforms here.Business intelligence and analytics applications can take high-volume data from a range of sources and combine it. Complex analysis is then performed on the data to gain meaningful information, statistics, and reports. For those looking for Strategic Management Made Simple, this data may then be presented in the form of a balance scorecard so that everyone can see and make sense of what has been found. This information can then be used to make decisions that shape the future direction and strategy of your small business. The key benefit of using analytics to drive business planning and decision-making is that real-world data from your company is used to provide the insights. This is proven to be a far more effective way to make informed decisions and can help a business achieve growth over the long term.