How to Grow a Business in Inland Southern California
Small Business Assistance Tool
Use this helpful online tool to find assistance for starting, growing and accelerating your business.
Are You Ready to Grow a Business?
Before you undertake an expansion, run a readiness checklist.
- Do you have the basics down?
- Is there a reliable market for your products or service offerings?
- Are your costs covered, or allowing you to make a profit?
- What about your operational processes like accounting, customer service, and supply chain?
If your systems aren’t solid and your sales are sporadic, the effort to grow will stress your business. Get connected to the help you need to grow using our small business assistance tool.
REVAMP YOUR MARKETING PLAN
Growing your small business means finding new customers.
Most likely, your marketing plan needs an update. Are you pursuing a different kind of customer? For example, you may have only provided services to homeowners, but you want to try selling business to business. This requires an entirely different marketing approach. You’ll have to consider the needs of the new market, your competition, and the environment that affects your customers and your ability to successfully sell to them. Another option is selling to government agencies. These contracts can be lucrative, but you need to invest the time to get in the system and expand your marketing to this unique customer base.
Manage your customer relations more efficiently.
If you are committed to growing your business, then keeping track of your customers and their buying habits is essential. A good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software helps you schedule follow up with prospects and target your advertising to segments of your market. Asking your existing customers for referrals is one of the fastest ways to grow your business.
Maximize your website, social media, and networking to drive sales.
It’s hard to imagine a business today not having a website. Customers go to the web to find what you are selling. The challenge is driving prospects to your site. Ways to generate traffic could include expanding your networking and public relations activities. Meeting with professional associations where your customers congregate, then networking, writing, and making presentations as an expert, and using social media to build relationships, are all ways to help you and your business stand out with a new target market. Most businesses find you need to coordinate your social media, website posts and networking so your prospects remember and contact you when they’re ready to buy.
If you’ve been successful with your marketing efforts, new business will flow your way. You might get the opportunity to bid on a large contract or you identify a market where there is little competition and perfect for expansion. If you’ve committed to pursuing new business, make sure your business has the funding for the infrastructure to deliver for your customers.
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