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There’s no denying that today’s business environment is extremely opened to start-ups and fledgling entrepreneurs. And truly, the rise of online marketing and various fundraising platforms made the job of reaching out to wide masses of people that much easier. But, what happens to those businesses after they make the initial splash? In a huge variety of cases, they simply fall into obscurity. Their owners entered the race expecting to win a sprint, only to discover that they are racing a marathon.
Here are a couple of tips that should help you to overcome this issue and stay relevant in the merciless world of business even after the initial magic wears off.
Harness the power of inbound marketing
Inbound marketing is the marketing branch that utilizes some of the methods like SEO, blogs, content marketing, social media and events. Instead of attracting new customers through interruptive actions and asking for their attention, inbound marketing earns the attention through relevant and helpful content and makes businesses easier to find. If you start utilizing the inbound marketing methods, you won’t simply “rent” customers’ attention, but build long-term trust and reputation.
Establish relationships with influencers
According to recent research by Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust recommendation and word-of-mouth above all other forms of advertising. It should be obvious that, if you want to ensure staying power, you need to get close to opinion makers. Maintaining such a relationship has another benefit. Besides their ability to reach out to a large number of people, influencers usually have a finger on the pulse of everything happening in the industry, so you ought to stay in tune with all interesting developments.
Surround yourself with experienced professionals
Running a business is hard enough even on its own. You shouldn’t spread yourself too thin by engaging in the matters outside your field of expertise. For instance, if you are expanding to burbs, you can find an experienced lawyer from Parramatta or Darlington that will oversee the local legal issues. Same goes for marketing, human resourcing and bookkeeping. All these professionals are familiar with the latest developments within their branches. Hiring them will allow you to focus your attention where it matters the most.
Nurture a culture of learning
This advice applies both to you and your business. If you invest enough resources in providing proper training to your employees and give them an incentive to constantly improve their knowledge and skills, your establishment won’t have a problem keeping up with or, why not, even setting industry trends. Of course, as the leader of your company, you must be the embodiment of the values you are trying to promote, so you should constantly improve your knowledge.
Keep your ear to the ground
If you build a wall made out of managers and supervisors between yourself and your employees you are running a risk of turning your business into a huge, immobile organism where relevant information and valuable feedback often get lost in the army of middlemen. Get your hands dirty and spend as much time with your employees as your schedule allows you. You will be able to identify your business’ problems and react to them much faster.
Stay loyal to your values and identity
Pursuing new ideas and exploring new business grounds is great. Doing that at the expense of your business’s identity and core values – not so much. The reason why businesses like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Gillette managed to establish such amazing longevity is that, while they grew and broke new grounds, they constantly delivered their followers what they wanted and haven’t compromised their brand identity.
Attend industry conferences and webinars
Although such events sound like an enormous waste of time, money and energy, even the worst webinars and conferences offer the chance to get a couple of fresh insights. However, the greatest value of such events, regardless of whether they happen in person or online, is a chance to hear the opinions of the industry peers, engage in discussions and make new acquaintances.
Invest in sales enablement
To put it simply, all businesses are driven by money. Money is generated by sales. If you want to ensure staying power you need to invest a substantial amount of money in enabling sales. And if you are feeling that this term is too vague – it is. Generating sales covers a wide variety of tasks ranging from targeting valuable prospects to making sales calls. In order to survive, you have to address them all.
These eight tips should help you and your business stay relevant even after you lose the initial spark and newer players come into the game. Winning this race will require some serious legs. It’s time to start working on those muscles.
About the Author
My name is Alex Williams, born and raised in beautiful Sydney. I am a journalism graduate and a rookie blogger trying to find my luck. Blogs are the perfect opportunity for presenting yourself to a wider audience, getting the chance to showcase my expertise and receiving recognition. I am a regular contributor at BizzMark Blog.
