Large companies looking to expand have a luxury of being able to throw money at certain problems when growing. A smaller home-based business usually cannot do this due to cash flow and the need for a cost-efficient expansion. The good news is that expanding can be done with very little spending if done in a clever manner. The advantage a smaller company has is there are not multiple approvals that need to be received before starting out on a growth project. As the founder of your home business you can grow as quickly or slowly as you deem necessary with regards to the business’ health. Below are tactics that will help keep costs low when expanding so cash flow of the business is not decimated.
Create Content Daily
Creating content daily for social media accounts, the company blog, and offsite publications is important. Being able to rank higher on the search engines can be something that increases leads and sales immensely. If you are running some sort of drop shipping business then you understand how important online marketing is to generate sales.
On social media you should be promoting content that is created as well as engage with followers. Not only engage with followers but also related social media accounts as this can generate followers in the company’s target demographic. Replying to customers about comments or complaints can also be quite useful. Salvaging a customer simply by acknowledging they might not have been happy with a product or service is at times enough.
The company blog should be used to educate website visitors as well as be used as a resource by others in the industry. This can also host content like that of podcast, video, or a piece of interactive media. This is not the place to write up clickbait type articles as it is just a waste of time and money if you are paying a writer.
Offsite publications can be a great way to increase brand awareness and showcase the knowledge of the company in an article. This is going to take outreach for a publication to accept a topic that you will write. Most publications are willing to give you a link in the article or in the author bio. Increasing your search engine presence as a company will end up helping with growth immensely.
Sales Materials Mailed Can Increase ROI
Getting sales materials into the hands of a client with a custom proposal is important to say the least. Your company could be in competition with others that might be able to meet the client in person due to their proximity. To even the playing field getting sales materials to the client and trying to close a deal quickly can help salvage a sale that could have been lost to a competitor. Mailing 5X7 envelopes to “invite” the potential client to work with your company can be a touch that helps close the sale. Small details can make all of the difference so investing in print sales materials and the right custom envelopes will deliver on ROI. A sales prospect receiving sales materials the next day after a call will also feel like their business is valued which can be positive for your business. This type of diligence will have a potential client thinking that even if you do run a small company, the company will deliver high quality work.
Ask Your Current Customers For Referrals
Incentivizing customers to refer your business to others can prove quite fruitful as far as sales go. Those that are proficient at sales just need an introduction from the right person to instantly have rapport with the sales prospect. If you feel uncomfortable asking current customers then asking former colleagues or reaching out to a former client that has moved on in their career can be effective. Reaching out on LinkedIn is a wise approach but not everyone monitors this platform so an email or direct call will get the job done in a faster fashion.
Have Other Companies White Label Your Services
The chances are that if you run a home based business is that your prices are lower than larger competitors due to having little to no overhead costs. Having a company sell your services as their own or white labeling them will not have an impact on your margins. Larger companies will set prices on your services to make sure they are earning without having to do any work besides sell the services. Hitting deadlines is far more important in these cases as the company selling your services has to worry about their reputation if a deadline is missed.
Growing your small home based online business can be done without a large financial expenditure on your part. Track the ROI on all money spent as you might find putting money into a certain area yields great results. Grow your business without impacting your quality of product or service as this healthy growth ensures future success.
