by Sue Young 4 years ago 
Nearly 90% of all businesses in operation today are small businesses. And, unfortunately, 50% of them won’t make it to their fifth year in operation. Running a business requires commitment, capital, and many long hours of work to get it off the ground. If your business is showing little or no profit, you may be on the wrong path. The good news is that there are ways to grow your business and beat the odds.
Customer Service
Whether you own a construction company or a luxury spa, customer service is often something that business owners overlook, while focusing on turning a profit. However, the two are connected. Without showing appreciation to your customers through excellent amenities, services, and supplies from places like, LivingEarthCrafts.com, you will likely lose as many of your existing base as you gain in sales. And, then slowly those once loyal to you will seek a new business and take many of your current customers with them. On the other hand, if your customers are satisfied with your business practices and products, they will remain loyal and often refer family and friends your way.
Marketing
For some owners marketing comes easy, while others remain clueless and end up wasting hard-earned money on ineffective methods. There are many ways to market your company’s products or services. Advertising the business is easy, but which methods do you choose. Today, most people are on some social media platform. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, the numbers are enormous. Even if you attract less than 1% of the traffic, you can gain thousands of viewers daily to your website or blog. Email is another great way to maximize your marketing budget.
Presence in the Community
With competition located around virtually every corner, it’s important to connect your business to the community. As one of them, you will acquire trust and a loyal following. Partake in community projects by donorship this can include a new little league baseball field, a summer music festival or the county fair. Many established small business owners give back to the community that made them successful by hosting an annual event for free.
Employees
Your employees are usually the first point of contact with your customers. And, as such, you rely on them to represent you in a positive way. If you take care of your employees they will, in turn, care deeply about their job and put every effort into making the business grow. However, if you leave them feeling overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated, you can expect that they will not provide their best services. One way to keep your staff happy is to offer incentives. Some, like healthcare and an annual bonus for sales, are monetary, while others, such as flexible work schedules, tells them that you care.
Stop Micromanaging
You are the business owner and you oversee every aspect of the business. However, when sales are barely turning a profit, you need to focus your efforts on a successful marketing campaign. This means that you have to learn to delegate responsibilities to your trusted employees and let them handle other areas of the business. These menial tasks that you perform daily or micromanage, are taking up valuable time that you can spend to grow the business.
Monthly Meetings
Meetings held once, at the start of each month, do many things to influence the business in a positive way. First, they bring all your employees together. Second, they allow you to talk about where you want the company to go in the future, your goals, and what you need to do to achieve it. It also keeps your employees in the loop, and makes them feel inspired and a part of the team.
There’s a lot of careful planning and hard work that goes into maintaining a successful small business. Thankfully, with a satisfied customer base, dedicated employees and a fantastic marketing campaign, you can defy the odds and remain productive.
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