1. Online Marketing
It is no longer just not enough to take an ad out in the phone book. In the same way that a potential customer may just hang up and go elsewhere if they’re not able to get through to an actual person on the phone, these days a lack of online presence certainly means loss of potential customers.
A simple, well-laid-out website and a social media page have now become indispensable means to attracting new customers for businesses of every size. There are a great many to choose from (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, to name but a few of the biggest!) but don’t feel you have to join them all – just picking one or two and keeping them updated is better than spreading your efforts too thinly.
Facebook has the advantage of being very popular among a huge variety of people, meaning that a cross-section of your customers will almost definitely use it. Care should be taken, however, to make sure you are always giving the right impression for your business – consider keeping your personal and business accounts separate if you like to post about your weekend shenanigans!
Twitter also has a huge following and some clever local Essex residents have recently set up a fantastic free marketing idea called Essex Hour (@essexhourtweet), where Essex businesses are able to advertise their services, and these will be retweeted to followers.
2. Local Networking Groups
While online efforts are becoming increasingly important, networking in person is still just as key to business growth. Meeting people in person is always more memorable and makes a much more lasting impression, and the fact that you have physically shown up somewhere shows that you are serious about your business and care about perception of it, and making the right connections. Joining in with local networking groups requires a membership fee, but often you can go to one or two meetings before becoming a member so be sure to check out a few before deciding which one is right for you. Some examples to check out are 4N, BNI and EBN, but an internet search for Essex Networking Groups will give lots more options.
3. Give yourself the gift of time!
Growing your business is great but if the added pressures and tasks mean that you don’t have the time to provide your service to any extra customers, then what do you do? One option would be to take on additional staff, which while potentially a great move definitely takes lot of time and effort to get someone trained to your satisfaction, to the point where you feel confident allowing them to work in your name.
Another option is to consider outsourcing some of the more time-consuming tasks associated with running your business. Relieving yourself of these tasks frees you up to focus on what you do best, which is servicing your customers in your own unique way.
Your Virtual Office employs experts in a variety of tasks including bookkeeping, accountancy, call-answering, who can not only take these pressures away from you, but take care of them quickly and professionally, giving you all-round peace of mind.
To find out how the team at Your Virtual Office could help your business grow, call our friendly team on 01268 411269 today!