So, you’re trying to take your small- or medium-sized business to the next level? Or maybe you’re just starting out with a great idea and want to scale as fast as possible. Whatever your situation or goals, there’s a lot of work ahead. Essentially, no one will tell you that building a successful enterprise is easy. And if someone does tell you that, don’t believe them. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. This is especially true in the business world, where everyone is trying to get their piece of the pie.
About 90 percent of startups fizzle out. A lot of these fledgling companies had great ideas that just didn’t quite have the necessary push to make them successful. On a broader scale, about 80 percent of all businesses are gone within 18 months. So how can you work to differentiate yourself from the pack? Here are some tips for starting on your business empire.
Your Brand Is Your Business
Before doing anything else, you need to understand your brand. If you don’t get it, how will anyone else? You need to consider its appearance, and what messages you’re trying to send to consumers. What should come to peoples’ minds when they think of you? These are the essential first questions to ask yourself when you’re ready to scale your organization. Without a clear vision of your brand, nobody will want to engage with your offerings.
Front End Sometimes Comes First
In order to successfully grow a business, you’ll need a great product or service. However, you’ll also need to get the word out about whatever it is that your company is offering people. To do this, you’ll need effective brand marketing.
The front end of your business (the customer-facing aspects) sometimes needs to be considered more important than the behind-the-scenes work. How well is your web hosting translating your branding? You can’t skimp on things such as your online presence. Doing so will hurt you in the long run. If you have a decent product that can be scaled quickly, get your marketing and digital channels working on all cylinders to attract new clients. This will push your SMB ahead of your competitors.
Hire and Promote Intelligently
Few things will derail your expansion efforts faster than bad hires. If you want to get things rolling, get the right people behind you. Sometimes this means hiring an outside big shot with experience building several companies. But don’t forget about your internal employees. These are people who are particularly loyal to your company, and have already invested a lot of time and effort. You want to promote people who you think will stick around, not just ones who want a quick paycheck before moving on to the next gig.
Get Social
There are many reasons why you need to be on social media in order to take your organization to the next level. For starters, it’s an extremely cost-effective way to stay constantly visible to your most loyal consumers.
Customer retention is key if you want to build up your brand. Getting new customers is one of the most expensive parts of growing your company. So keeping them around and building their trust in your services is absolutely essential.
Additionally, social media is the perfect way to up keep a dialogue with your customers. What are people liking or not liking about your products or services? Watching for mentions and messages on social media is one of the best ways to track the pulse of what people actually think about your brand.
Don’t Give Up
You will encounter a lot of bumps along the way when building your brand. If growing a successful business was easy, the failure rate would be much lower. It’s going to be hard. Don’t let roadblocks stop you from reaching your goals. You’ll regret it.
We live in an ever-changing business ecosystem. What were effective best practices 10 years ago might be largely obsolete today. Stay on top of trends and keep your eyes on the prize. If you take these tips into account when expanding your brand, you’ll be more likely to find success in the long run.