Thomas Griffin — December 28, 2018 — December 28, 2018
Starting a business isn’t easy, especially if you’re doing it all on your own. As a small business owner you have to wear many different hats; the salesperson hat, the accounting hat, the marketing hat and so on and so on. And you can’t be perfect at everything.
There are so many things to think about and strategies to consider that you might be making a few mistakes and missing out on opportunities to grow your business. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. With so much to do and so little time, many small business owners are just like you. But it’s not too late to reverse those mistakes.
Get your business back on the track to great success, check out these three common small business mistakes and how to fix them.
Undervaluing your products or services.
A lot of small business owners make the mistake of undervaluing their products or services. They may feel a lack of confidence in themselves or have a fear of failing so they price their products or services too low in hopes that more people will buy from them. Underpricing will either result in not making enough money to keep your business afloat or deter people from buying your products altogether because many consumers equate a low price with low quality.
Be sure to not let your doubts affect your pricing. Take a look at your competition’s prices and see how yours compare, if they’re much lower then you need to raise your prices to match. Furthermore, survey your ideal customers to find out how much they’re willing to pay and figure out what value your business can add to justify a higher price.
Don’t worry about driving customers away with high prices either. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, overpricing can actually stimulate curiosity. In an experiment, they discovered that students would be willing to pay a premium of 20 percent but when the products were at an 80 percent premium, they recalled nearly twice as much product information. The overpricing also evoked a more passionate response from people which led to a willingness to spend much more money than they intended.
Not blogging.
Blogging is one of the most effective and low-cost strategies to increase organic traffic to your small business website. People are constantly searching the web to find products and services to solve their needs. In fact, according to Adaptive Marketing, 97 percent of consumers in 2017 used the internet to find a local business. If you’re not blogging, you’re missing out on the opportunity to get found online by tons of consumers who’re searching the web for a business like yours.
So, start blogging for your business on a regular basis. Make sure that your blog posts are relevant to your business and the needs of your customers. For instance, if you’re a B2B accounting business, consider writing content about accounting tips for other small businesses. And be sure to include keywords that will help you rank higher in search engine results. Think about what your customers would be searching for on the web, like “small business accounting services Springfield (your city name)” or “accounting tips for small business” and sprinkle them throughout your posts. Providing useful content for readers that includes relevant keywords is what will help you get to the top of Google search results.
Not building an email list.
Building an email list gives you a direct line to your customers. Anytime you have something to say like announcing a sale, updating your customers on important company news or introducing a new product or service, you can get your message straight into the inboxes of your best customers. And the people on your email list are like your biggest fans and they’re the shoppers most likely to take your desired action.
Wondering how to build an email list? Start with an exit-intent popup on your website like Home Fabrics Online did to gain more email subscribers.
A good exit-intent popup will entice the users on your website into signing up for your email list. You can also check out a free email marketing software like MailChimp that will allow you to easily design beautiful emails that your subscribers will look forward to receiving.
Over to you.
Your small business doesn’t have to stay small in growth or in sales. Now that you’re aware of some of the most common small business mistakes and how to fix them, you’ll be able to take your business to the next level. Start fixing these mistakes now and watch your small business blossom!
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