As a small business owner, you’re competing with larger companies that have more manpower and budget to attract customers and make a profit. However, there are some advantages to being a small business owner, primarily because with a small team you can make changes quickly and easily that will improve your revenue.
In this article, we’ll be sharing some tips for increasing revenue for small business owners.
1. Add additional services to your business to supplement your revenue
These days, more and more high street businesses are adding ancillary services to generate extra revenue sources. For example, companies such as Stasher and Spacer work with small businesses including shops and hotels to monetize empty space as a secure storage service. This means that people can pay to leave their bags in your keeping, and you earn a commission with every item stored. Offering this service through companies like Stasher and Spacer has several advantages over setting up on your own, as they take care of customer support, insurance, and other administrative aspects, making this an easy revenue source for small businesses in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If you’re not currently making use of your store or office space, companies like Parkhound are even offering programs to lease this space out as parking to local commuters in your area.
2. Offer discounts and coupons to encourage sales
The phrase ‘spend money to earn money applies to small businesses as much as to everyone else. Attracting customers, especially first-time customers, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. Offering a discount code or coupon incentivises customers to try out your products and services. Once they’ve seen how good they are, they’re bound to come back time and time again. You can also offer seasonal promotions and sales to help boost revenue at certain times of the year.
3. Use email marketing to retain customers
People lead busy lives and are likely to shop at dozens of different shops every week. It’s almost impossible that they will remember every single one. You can use email marketing to help your brand stick in people’s minds as one to return to. Email marketing can include news, updates, and discounts, alerting them to when you will be holding a sale, or sending them exclusive content. This will make your customers feel valued, and in turn, they’ll be more likely to spend their money on your products and services.
4. Find your USP and shout about it!
What makes your small business different from your competitors? Whether it’s your opening hours, your expertise, or your friendly team, identify your USP (unique selling point) and then make sure everyone knows about it. List it on your website or signpost it clearly on your premises, so customers know what value you add when they shop with you. This will also help your brand stick in people’s minds, which as we discussed before is important for retaining customers.
5. Maximise your sales with e-commerce
Even though approximately 51% of shopping takes place online these days, 46% of small businesses still don’t have a website. E-commerce opens up huge opportunities for additional revenue as you can reach people all over the world. There are plenty of simple tools to help you set up a website or e-commerce platform, or you can choose to list your products or services on a larger platform. Don’t forget to take account of delivery costs if you’re sending products abroad, as this may add to the cost, either for you or the customer or both.
6. Create a social media presence for your business
It’s no secret that everyone’s on social media these days. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, the list of platforms is extensive, and each one has a different user demographic. Work out who your target audience is and then choose the social media platform that best corresponds to that group. On most of these platforms you can set up an account for free, and then you can start building a community. This means getting followers and interacting with other users on the platform. You may even find it a good source of inspiration for your brand. The number one rule with social media is to post regular, quality content, as you’ll quickly get forgotten about if you’re not on people’s feeds with posts that are nice to look at.
7. Don’t be afraid to go old school!
While technology and social media are really important, it’s also crucial to stand out from the crowd and try some out of the box ideas that your competitors might not have thought of. Whether it’s hosting a community event, doing a letterbox drop or holding a fun competition, distinguishing yourself from what everyone else in your industry is doing is going to help you build those raving fans.
Conclusion
There you have it. 7 top tips to increase revenue for small business owners. With these easy suggestions, you’ll quickly see your business revenue improving, attracting new customers and increased activity from existing ones.
