Small businesses have never been more important. They’re the backbone of local communities, they’re a vital way for people to turn something they love into a career and lifestyle, and they account for 99.2% of the total business population. At the start of last year, there were 5.5 million small businesses in the UK – all battling a harsh, unforgiving economic environment. How do these organisations get their brand and products visible to as large an audience as possible? Running a business is so demanding, it can be difficult to find the time to effectively market yourself to raise vital awareness.
That’s the challenge the ‘Small Business Goes Big’ competition set out to address. Well, these days, a robust social media presence powered by strong visuals is a must for any business looking to compete for customers’ attention and loyalty. Get the edge with this free webinar that’ll equip you with everything you need to supercharge your marketing content! Learn how to create stunning branded graphics, web pages, and videos—in minutes—using Adobe Express‘s simple, fun platform.
Four reasons why you should choose Adobe Express:
Inspiration at your fingertips: Find a muse for every occasion. Select best-in-class layouts, photos, fonts, colors, and motion that you can easily personalize to make your own.
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Creating on the go: Can’t stop, won’t stop. Whether in the office or on the road, projects sync between your computer and iOS devices so you can create and share from wherever you are.
Leverage great photos: Quickly add the image that fits your message. Upload your own photos, search beautiful free stock, or use your Adobe Stock licenses.
Ways to grow your small business:
Make time to look at the bigger picture
As a start-up founder, you spend a lot of time firefighting emails that need instant responses. You are dealing with the immediate needs and there is no one to keep you accountable to the broader business growth strategy. Having a mentor to check in with monthly has been so valuable.
Build a Sales Funnel
Your sales funnel can help take business to the next level. Think of a sales funnel as a customer’s journey. When they enter your business or visit your website, they’re at the top of the funnel. When they buy something or sign up for a service, they’ve successfully gone through the funnel.
Extend value from current customers
It’s common when looking for growth opportunities to immediately try and attract new customers, but what about your current ones? You’ve built credibility with them meaning they’re more likely to purchase from you again or even pay more for additional services and new products. Explore opportunities to extend the value of your customers. Add a new product line that compliments previous purchases. Test increasing service prices in exchange for additional features, hands-on direction, or other additions that your customers find valuable.
Licensing deals
Doing licensing deals is a great way to grow your business without too much added effort. If you have a product that you can license to others and share a revenue of, that’s an ideal way to grow quickly. Taking a popular or successful product and bringing it to a company with a large footprint can help you achieve market saturation quicker.
A DIY mindset is great, but you can’t do it all yourself
In the early stages it is important to get to know every aspect of the business thoroughly – I wouldn’t advise outsourcing from the get-go as you can lose sight of certain aspects of the business. But, as you grow, you can look at ways to bring in support, as to succeed you can’t do it all yourself. I know from experience that it can be challenging relinquishing certain tasks – it’s always hard to let go.