How To Improve Your Business Game Plan
In the ever-changing business universe of the modern era, a step-up in your operation can put you at the very forefront of your industry. On the other hand, a single misstep can cause your business plummet and jeopardize your entire career, hence the need for proper strategic thinking and constant upgrading in terms of your game plan.
In case you’re new to the game, or you could just use a refresher course to savvy up your business, here are a few must-dos for any professional endeavour in the upcoming years that will serve you in building your brand’s reputation, increasing sales and staying on top of your game.
1. Think social
You wish to grow your business? Be more up-close and personal. And the best way to build and maintain regular customer engagement and a lifelike presence of your brand is to use the growing power of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Keep in mind that almost 66% of the Australian population alone are active Facebook users, which is an enormous pool of potential customers.
However, today it takes much more than to build a profile, chose a picture and post once a week. Your social efforts will need to be planned and targeted, and you need to get a conversation going around as many posts as possible, inspire action and invite people to feel as if they are active brand-builders. Be in the know of the latest trends such as relevant hashtags, events, and causes to support, visual images that get the best response and brief, punchy posts to inspire emotion.
2. Employ your soft side
It’s hard enough as it is to humanize your brand on a virtual plane and connect with your potential consumers via your online presence alone. And despite the clever and consistent usage of images, videos and your brand’s language, it takes much more to inspire a lasting emotional bond between your brand and your target audience.
Enter: emoticons. From the basic smiley face to the already well-developed reactions on Facebook, the World Wide Web has become a colourful palette of emotional expressions, and your business should make the most of it. Apparently, posts with emoticons inspire more reactions and better engagement, and long-term benefits will also abound.
3. Power up with the right software
If you devote your time to the complexities of your software operation, you will likely waste much of your precious time instead of focusing on those actions that bring in profit and make a difference. That’s why getting reliable IT support for your business will help you turn your attention to other tasks, while your software needs are taken care of – and they are vital to your success.
Protecting your sites from crashing, hacking and other security threats, obtaining proper licenses for your systems, keeping them up to date and managing your hardware needs is a full-time job, and in this competitive environment, it should be instrumental for you to get ahead of your competition and boost your growth.
4. Be the change
More often than not, the most successful businesses focus on how they can go above and beyond their existing service or product to accommodate their clientele. Thinking ahead, meeting their needs before they even express them, and finding the solutions to yet undefined problems on the market are all qualities of brands that last.
Build a mindset of a chess-player and think several steps ahead. Your strategy should include ways to get out of your comfort zone and test the waters by introducing something to shake things up, even if your brand already has an excellent track record. Look at Apple and their vision of a more intuitive digital experience across multiple devices – although they didn’t invent the computer per se, they surely have changed the way we experience them.
5. Listen to your customers
Surveys, reviews, questionnaires, you name it – perhaps you’re missing out on a vital opportunity simply by not doing the obvious. Perhaps your customers crave a quicker check-out on your online store, or they would like an instant chat option built-in on your page. Whatever it could be, you can adjust your service significantly simply by reaching out and asking the right questions.
Customer feedback, positive as well as negative, can change the way you run your business if you are open to implementing their suggestions. Instead of occasional efforts to hear your clients’ voices, you can use an ongoing strategy to monitor their behaviour and learn on the go – prompt them to give brief responses while visiting your site, when they give up shopping or unsubscribe from your newsletter, and use the data to tweak your performance.
Featured Image Credit: Hipster Mum/Unsplash
My name is Alex Williams. 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. Find me on Facebook and Twitter.