Running a business is not as easy as some may like you to believe. There will always be spinning plates. From gaining new business, customers and clients, to working through an office space and managing employee expectations. It can be a minefield at times on a daily basis. There is no hiding from the fact that many startup businesses fail in the first year, and sometimes that can be down to a business leader feeling overwhelmed. In a modern world, there are so many new factors and changing trends, how do you keep up?

But one common goal for all of these people starting up is to move your business forward, each day chipping away to fulfill your ambitions. After all, the dream may have been to start up this business and to create something from nothing, and you have already done remarkable to get to the stage where you have taken that leap of faith. However, in some cases it is essential to modernise your business and revamp your strategy. With that in mind, here are some tips and ideas that you could start implementing straight away. 

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Digital approach

The digital approach is one area that all entrepreneurs need to get on board with. Gone are the days of old fashioned methods and people visiting their high street shops, in most cases people look online first when they have the initial urge to make a purchase or to order something. Essentially you just need to look at your own habits to realise the rru value of your digital presence. Most things start off with searching for something specific in a search engine, and then comes the browsing of websites. It could mean reading online reviews to help you get to the stage where you make a purchase. So for your business the trend and process is the same. So here are a few ways to improve your digital approach. 

Social media 

Social media has fast changed the way we do things in general. More people share online what they are up to, their recent purchases and even where they are or have been. Social media changes the way that you can do business, and it is one of the best marketing options to consider. Having a social media strategy is essential as with different algorithms to consider on various different platforms you will want to maximise your reach and the potential. A content strategy can help to ensure that you do all that you can to maximise the reach. You also need to consider your audience and building up an organic following. The only way to do this is through consistent content and also trying to be a little unique on social media and stand out from the crowd. With people being able to pick and choose what they see, you need to curate your profile to match your brand while also appealing to humour audience. 

The website

The website is also important when it comes to your business venture, and as things are more digitised these days, you do need to be in a position where your website is easy to use, informative and also quick and easy to load. With so much choice out there, people can get bored easily if the things they are searching for are not there. You also want to maximise your reach and to do that you may need to think about search engine optimisation. SEO is a great way for your website to rank higher in search results and the use of keywords relevant to potential search terms is the best way to do it. It is also important to link back to your website and a great way to do that is through a business blog. Which brings us to the next suggestion. 

Business blog

A business blog is a great way for you to ensure that you can help to attract customers to your website. It is a less formal way of sharing knowledge and also offers within your business and can be a great way for you to reach out to potential customers without it looking like a sales pitch. Linking back to your site can also help to direct traffic as well as show search engines that you are a reasonable website to showcase in search engine results. It might be worth having a separate domain for your business blog, and so that you have to websites working hard to showcase in results to attract potential new customers to your business. 

Instant customer service 

People and customers want instant answers these days and gone are the days where they will wait a while for a phone call back or an answer to their question. This is when AI incorporated into your website can really help improve customer service. You could consider things such as chatbots or interactive frequently asked questions pages so that your customers can always feel like they are informed and have the information that they require. 

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Modern Marketing

Marketing is such a great focus to have for your business as it can be an ideal way for you to do what you can to attract more customers in. Social media is an idea focus for marketing, but it isn’t your only option when it comes to trying to reach out to the mass market. There are two further things that you could consider to add to your marketing campaign and strategy. 

Be the local hero

A big trend we are seeing right now is an increase in people wanting to use local businesses. Keeping things within their local community and supporting smaller independent retailers. So this could be a huge step forward for you by ensuring your business is the local hero in your industry. This can create positive word of mouth advertising as well as local business. Which can be cost effective for you as a business. Allow your business to get involved in local events and even associate yourself with a local charity. This can be a solid partnership with benefits on both sides, advertising to you and much-needed sponsorship for them. 

Content strategy and business blogging

With your marketing it is also important for you to consider a content strategy and to involve not just things like social media and local advertising, but to also think about using it for the business blog that you may set up. The content you share is a key indicator of what your business is about, and these days people are more aware of when they are just constantly being sold to. This is when mixing up your content to include informative and topical posts can help to engage with your audience on a different level. People buy from people, that mantra will never change. 

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Customer Focused

Another approach that you may want to consider for your business is to think about making the customer the focus. There are a few different ways that you can value the customer, and ensure that you get this right for your business. 

CRM and generating leads 

It is important that as your business develops, that you consider things to do with the management of your customers, the leads and also remembering the little things. This is when features from websites like Copper to do with CRM and management can help you to stay on top of these things. A business will always need customers, but having  avalud system in place to remember things such as past orders or names can be a big tick for when a customer wants to deal with a business. 

The customer experience

The customer experience is also important when it comes to your business, and so that you may want to take the time to think about that. There are things that you need to consider in order to get this right. It isn’t always about getting the sale, it is the aftersale element that you need to focus on. From delivery and logistics to how the product or service presented. It is all of these factors that go into creating a great customer experience. 

The business approach

The business approach is key, and you need to ensure that you keep the employees you have working for you happy. Here are some of the things to think about. 

The office environment

The office environment these days is just as important as your digital presence. If anything for the people that work for you, but also the clients and customers that you still deal with over the phone and face to face. Your office needs to emulate what your business is all about, be tidy and presentable. It’s also valuable to you to invest in the equipment you and your employees use, after all, you expect a job to be done, so the right tools for it would be an added bonus. 

Keep the employees happy

Finally, it may sound a little strange but having happy people work for you can be a huge benefit to you as a business. Not only can it create a positive environment, but employees can also be advertising for you. Many people are in social situations where they were asked about their employment, it would be better for that conversation to be positive than a negative one. In some cases, those conversations can lead on to become prospects for your company. 

Let’s hope these tips and ideas help you boost your business.