When you start a company, you’re going to need to take some time developing it. You might think you have a solid business plan, but once you get things rolling, the enterprise may not go quite as planned. Expect some speedbumps as you move toward solvency.
We’ve got a few business development tips that should help you as you try to establish yourself within your chosen niche.
Make Sure to Stay on Top of Post-Purchase Communications
Seamless post-purchase communications are critical if you want customers to give you repeat business. Let’s say you have an eCommerce business model. That means you ship products to your customers. You may also have brick-and-mortar store locations, but you rely on the mail for at least some of your sales.
Communicating with the customer after they buy something from you lets them know you value them. You will want to send a follow-up email after you drop off the product. You can ask for feedback from the customer at that time.
You can use that customer feedback to continue developing and streamlining your business model. If you keep getting some of the same negative customer feedback about your products, the order process, or the delivery process, you can take that into account as you try to improve.
Create an Ideal Customer Profile
The ideal customer profile is something you’ll want to develop once you jump into a crowded marketplace. You know that you want to market to particular population segments. The ideal customer is a fictitious individual who you feel will most likely buy your products or request your services.
Creating an ideal customer profile is not the easiest thing, but you can do it if you get a little creative and use analytics. You might start by asking your first customers to engage in a focus group. You can pay them to be part of that group, or you can give them free products or gift cards instead.
You can hold that focus group in person or digitally. You’ll ask the individuals taking part a series of questions about what kind of products they like, as well as about themselves. You want to pay attention to their gender, age, race, income level, employment status, and anything else noteworthy.
Based on what you find out, you can create your first ideal customer model. If you know what kinds of people like or want your services or products, you will learn how to market to them.
Keep in mind your ideal customer profile is malleable rather than rigid. You might find that different groups want your products or services as time passes.
Invest in Your Company’s Website
Whether you have brick-and-mortar store locations, an eCommerce business model, or both, your website matters more than you may realize. Your site is the first thing a possible customer or investor sees when they look up your company’s name online.
When they go there, you’ll need to make sure they can find their way around easily. You will want to have an eye-catching color scheme and overall aesthetic that matches the mood you want the site to convey. You should have a landing page that immediately tells the visitor the business’s mission and purpose.
Your site must have easy-to-find product pages. It should have an email signup list. It should have social media icons the user can utilize to find you and follow you on social media. It needs to have an FAQ section, an “about” section that tells your story, and a way to contact you.
You may want to consider creating a company blog as well. You can feature articles there that talk about your products and services and also what’s happening with your company and within your industry.
The better the website experience, the more likely you can get conversions. People will buy from you, and potential investors will like what they see as well.
Cultivate Connections
You will want to establish any connections that can help your business as time passes. For instance, you might go to industry meetups. There, you can see if any companies want to collaborate with you.
You can go to local chamber of commerce meetings where you have your primary store location. There, you can introduce yourself to other local merchants.
You might help set up a charitable event or have a booth at a street fair. You can sponsor local events. You’re trying to establish yourself as a neighborhood presence.
Push Your Employees to Get Better
You always want to hire employees who you feel best fit the jobs you have available. However, you may also want to promote from within at some point if you have prominent managerial positions opening up.
Hiring from within helps companies because you’ve known a candidate longer, so they have a proven track record with you. You’ll know they’re a hard worker and you can depend on them.
To make sure your employees get better at their jobs, you can send them to seminars so they can add some additional skillsets to what they already know. You might want them to learn about the latest industry advancements. They can come back with some fresh ideas for how to generate more revenue and attract new customers.
To retain your employees, you can pay for them to take courses within your niche, but you can also offer them generous benefits. You should start a 401K program since not all companies have them.
You will also want to provide them with paid paternity and maternity leave if they ever become parents. Since not all companies offer that, they are more likely to stay with you for that reason.
You can offer them excellent healthcare as well. You might include a dental or vision plan. The better the benefits you offer, the more likely you can retain your people, which should help your business in the long run. You can grow as a family by encouraging company loyalty.
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