The state of the SMB industry is less than ideal given that many small and medium businesses are having a difficult time keeping up with all financial obligations that are upon them. Costs are getting higher and profits vary, depending on the business domain and type. Many outsourcing SMB’s are losing clients and therefore, their budget is decreasing, while others that have their own product may be doing just fine. Regardless, there are always reasons and ways to get better and everyone should seize the opportunity to do so. Here are a few tips to encourage this idea.
Consider customer segmentation
Having done your homework regarding selecting your target audience is a great place to start. However, there is a way to level up and divide your audience into groups with same or very similar interests. Depending on the nature of your business, this could be done in several ways. One suggestion on how to start is to write down all the qualities you considered when choosing your target audience. Once you list all the interests that fall under the category of your target, it’s time to think about a way to divide these into groups that make sense. It makes no difference how many groups you end up with. What matters most is that these groups are made in a smart way. Now you have the freedom and a task to incorporate these groups in your marketing strategy, newsletters and anything that relates to customer relations. After all the work is done, you should test yourself to see how you did. It will take a few months for the changes to kick in, but you should be able to compare the new conversion numbers with the old ones and, hopefully, see a positive difference.
Get rid of any sufficient content
Given how people are having less and less spare time in their lives, it only makes sense that their attention span is getting shorter every day. Also, the market is quite saturated and there are a whole bunch of businesses that offer the same things as yours, perhaps even at better prices. This is why your business needs to stand out from the crowd. Besides having to be noticeable, all the digital content must be short and to the point. it is not about the number of words or pages, it is, in fact, the opposite. Say everything that needs to be said in the smallest possible number of words. Instead of tedious texts, try an instructive schema with images. Short videos are also a great way to speak your mind concisely. Just make sure the images are high quality. Using 3D rendering is a great way to ensure your customers are satisfied with the quality of your images. Think about the very gist of your business and what people that visit your website would want to know. That should be the focus of your content, titles, short descriptions, clear instructions and links, that is all.
Have a control group
Many entrepreneurs feel that having a control group is a waste of resources, although they could not be more wrong. Pushing new features and abandoning old ones make sense only when tested. Otherwise, you might end up removing a feature customers liked and adding ones that the majority of people hate. However, a control group could indeed be useless in situations when the representatives of the group are poorly chosen. This is why you should only hire experienced psychologists that are up to the task of selecting a genuine sample of your target audience. Only if selected properly will these people be able to show you whether you should launch or kill a certain feature.
Make chatbots useful
Don’t be afraid to use all the resources that are out there. Many people lack trust in new technology or simply copy other businesses’ features. One example of this is the chatbot. Most businesses have the same kind of chatbot that almost does nothing useful. Your goal should be to bring all the boring and repetitive work to the chatbot. Anything that can be interpreted algorithmically should be one of the tasks your chatbot can handle. It makes sense to invest in the team that will customize your chatbot to fit all your needs. Perhaps this seems like too much money to waste, but if you think about all the time you will save once the chatbot is ready, you will realize it is worth it. The time you will save will enable you to take on a whole other workload and be much more efficient without hiring any more employees.
Pay special attention to your employees
Since we live in uncertain times, it is very important to show some appreciation to your employees and make them feel comfortable in their own company. There is no need for any luxurious investments, just a few friendly words in the office, coffee breaks and some small team buildings, perhaps, such as a drink after work or a happy hour on a Friday. This may seem a bit silly to some, but it definitely lifts people’s spirits and also increases productivity. People work better when they are in a safe environment. Moreover, these improvements will cost you next to nothing and it can affect your business in an enormous amount.
Ask for feedback
Last, but not least, make sure to ask for feedback. This is a bit old and many modern businesses have forsaken this habit. However, it is an important one as it gives you a lot of essential information worthy for the development of your business. Feedback is important in business and in life. Just try to keep the survey as short as possible, but focus on all the key points you want to know. Feedback should be asked from customers, but employees, too. The best way to know what people think is to just ask.
As you can see, there are ways to improve your business without spending a whole fortune. One needs to be inventive and creative and, most importantly, willing to do better.
