Growing your business is the aim of most and the hope of a few. Making sure our business not just thrives, but also flourishes is what everyone wishes for. While trying to set up the business for good, young entrepreneurs sometimes seem to miss some golden opportunities which could get them much ahead of the competition. Here are some tips to help you identify the opportunities for business growth.
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Talk to the Missed Leads
Many times you get leads and prospects who show interest in your product or service, but then end up not working with you. Talking to such people would give you valuable feedback. Maybe you quoted price not to their liking, or maybe your pitch didn’t strike the way you expected. There can be a lot of reasons why things did not work in your favor. Asking customers-that-were-not what they were expecting helps you tweak your handling to suit the needs of your customer. This also gives a positive impression and they’re much more likely to say yes the next time around.
2. Society’s Thought Process is Important
We live in a society and its norms keep changing every now and then. What was taboo 30 years ago can be a very much accepted, circulated and loved idea today. E.g. Wallpapers were a common sight a few decades ago but have become very rare today. We see plain painted walls with stickers more often.
Keeping your commerce at pace with the current trends is the way to go.
3. Competitor Analysis
Take a look at what your well-doing competitors are doing. A good business attracts good customers. See and observe what they are doing differently than you are; maybe their showcases are arranged differently. Maybe they pitch in a different manner. Knowing what a competitor is up to and finding out where they lack can be a very good opportunity to pick up for you. As they say, “One man’s loss can be another man’s gain.”
4. Keep Your Existing Customers Happy
When you gain a customer, try not to limit your relation to just transactions. As you build an intimate relationship with your clients/customers and treat them nicely, they would be more than happy to refer you and your business for more potential customers. You don’t even have to go out of your way to keep regular customers happy. This behaviour opens doors for many more opportunities going forward.
5. Can you do more with the same model?
Handing out additional services with your current ones is usually a good idea. Delve into what is it that you can provide with your current service or product. For example, if you have a smartphone shop where you sell phones and accessories, maybe you can try opening a repair/servicing counter as well where customers with damaged, broken phones can get their devices functional as well. When you offer add-ons and not just one particular model, you get more opportunities coming your way. Again, you don’t have to go ahead and start a new business altogether, just look for what you can do additional while still remaining relevant.
6. Social Media is an Ocean of Opportunities
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are hotspots for businesses that cater to end customers. For Business to Business models, LinkedIn is your best course of action. At times, just a simple search will yield a large number of requirements. E.g. If you have a hardware store, you just have to look for “hardware service required” or “Tiles Needed”. The results will present opportunities as a list in your town or city. This applies to other businesses as well and is not restricted to just shop owners.
Also Read: A complete guide to opening Facebook Shops
7. Find Ways to Improve Lead Conversion Rate
Some clever shop owners offer complimentary tea or sherbet to customers, irrespective of whether they make a purchase or not. This seemingly small gesture makes the customer who just walked in feel good about themselves. With a better mood, a customer is more likely to spend money. See if doing a similar thing is suitable in your own setup. This is an indirect opportunity a lot of shopkeepers tend to overlook or even miss. You can choose what add-on complimentary feel-good gesture you want to incorporate. Another example is that of a few jewelry shops; the attendants of such shops greet customers with a genial smile. Even that smile is often enough to improve the chances of a conversion drastically.
Of course, despite that, sometimes a customer will walk away. But then one can always go back to the customer to ask for feedback and what can be done to improve (see pt.1)
Starting a business and running it successfully is a test of patience, perseverance, passion, and potential. Keeping an open mind and a keen eye is vital to pulling ahead of the competition and even expanding one’s business to a large scale. Identifying hidden opportunities is a key aspect to do better and bigger.
If you are looking for the right solutions for your small or medium business, or even substantial and appropriate advice or mentorship, click here.
Also read: 6 ways which can make small business more data-driven
