7 Tips for Boosting Your Small Business This Fall
Fall is the time of year when your clients and customers are easing back into their schedules, shifting their focus to the upcoming holidays, and settling into the change of seasons. But, just because Fall may seem like the coziest and slowest of seasons doesn’t mean your small business has to be at a standstill. In fact, Fall is the perfect time to improve your business and gain the interest of new and existing customers.
As a small business, consistent improvements are critical for its success and sustainability. For example, monitoring cash flow, utilizing social media for marketing, recognizing and using your strengths, and improving certain areas of your business can be major game-changers.
Here’s a list of 7 tips on how to boost your business this Fall season.
Start Working on Holiday Sales
Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, and if your business depends on either of these holidays, it’s time to get to work. Customers are already making plans for the holidays and you don’t want to be left behind in the dust. It’s time to start getting orders from suppliers, work on your holiday buys and merchandising, and up the ante on your marketing strategy. These next few months can prove critical to the survival of your company for the rest of the year and the coming year.
Keep Financial Score
If you’re unsure about your business’ daily, weekly, and monthly numbers, it’s time to keep financial score, especially concerning cash flow. If you lack the financial skills, then consider hiring an accountant, as long as you still stay in the loop. Staying involved and paying attention to your company’s financial trends will be highly beneficial to you—both in the short term and long term—because you’ll be able to adjust your business goals and strategies accordingly.
Set Goals and Have A Plan
Setting goals and objectives is an essential part of your business success. For example, try to increase traffic by a certain amount on your business website or blog. More web traffic can turn into added sales or customer loyalty. If Fall isn’t your busiest season, it’s a great time to plan for 2020. Get your staff out of the office and think strategically about ways to grow your business and the steps you need to take. Even if you work alone, create a simple plan, remind yourself of your long-term goals, and recommit to those goals.
Use High-Impact Marketing
Seek out high-impact marketing strategies to improve your small business. Test one or two new tactics and see which perform best before adding them to your marketing mix. Social media is an excellent low-cost and low-risk way to promote your business. Social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are a few good tools to build a social presence and attract attention to your business. You can even do season inspired promos and posts to get your audience more engaged online. Keeping everything relevant is key!
Monitor Trends
Believe it or not, current events and changes in the global landscape have an effect on your business. Stay current on trends and issues happening in your industry and local community. Even things that don't seem relevant on the surface might have an impact on what you do, so consider all possibilities and prepare for those possibilities.
Motivate Your Staff
Motivated staff members can really impact the business and help you rake in the big bucks. Learn what motivates your employees to higher levels of performance and keep them happy. When you show your staff that they are appreciated, they will want to work harder and better for you. Additionally, be open and willing to listen to input and insight from everyone on staff, regardless of position or seniority. Some of the best ideas come from those closest to certain problems.
Attend or Exhibit at Trade Shows
Trade shows bring together a lot of highly targeted customers in one place. Most of the people who attend conferences or trade shows are looking for new solutions and are open to hearing about your product or services. There’s a trade show for nearly every industry, so get out there and get on the ground floor with your target audience. You can visit this website of the Trade Show News Network to find trade shows near you.
Fall is the time to improve your business, inspire your staff, and move your company in a different, more successful direction. At the Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women, we help women who own and operate small businesses succeed by offering workshops,networking opportunities, and more. To find out more about our organization, you can contact us today!
