How To Make Business Growth Happen in 2021
2020 wasn’t an easy year for businesses, let’s take a look at how to make business growth work out for you as we move into 2021.
It was very difficult to grow a business in 2020, but plenty of brands managed to succeed.
As we move rapidly into 2021, CEOs and business owners are looking at the year ahead and thinking about how to ensure that their businesses grow.
The goal is to create opportunities rather than waiting for them, and there are some clear routes that are proven to make it easier to achieve business growth. Fortunately, the majority of these methods require very little in the way of financial investment. That means it will be your strategy that matters and not your capital. That’s great news for the smaller business owner, or for those entrepreneurs who saw their brands lose out in 2020.
If you’re hoping that 2021 is going to be the year of growth that you expected 2020 to be, here are some useful options to consider.
Create Better Content
Every marketer in the world has heard of the concept that ‘content is king’, but it can be hard to appreciate just how important it is. Your content lies at the heart of everything that your business does, and weak, unplanned content is only going to limit your potential to grow.
The problem with creating high-quality content is that it can take time, and you don’t get any immediate return on your investment either. That’s why so many bosses dismiss its value. When it comes to generating traffic, getting to the top of a search engine results page, or simply having something new to share with your social media followers, that content has never been more vital.
Start with blog posts, and then slowly work your way up to video content. Remember, the more high-quality content you have on your website, the more value you get from that content.
Content + SEO = Growth
Once you commit to creating high-quality content, you then have to invest in your search engine optimization. The combination of the two is a winner and will make it much easier for you to be found online. SEO is a complex subject when you start getting into the fine details, but as long as you have a basic understanding of how to optimize your content, your web design, and your technical SEO elements, you will be in a much stronger digital position. As you’ll be more highly visible, you will be able to generate more traffic to your site and introduce them to your sales funnel. That’s great news for your conversion rates.
Security
There are more threats facing a business than ever, and from online cybercriminals to burglars hoping to swipe your most valuable resources, you need to be secure. Don’t assume that because your business is small that it won’t be spotted by those with ill intent. Smaller businesses are particularly prone to criminals because they assume that security will not be as robust.
Your business will not be able to grow if you have an online or offline security breach, so make sure that your digital assets are as secure as your buildings. Use a tough Access Control System as protection for your physical workspace, because even cybercriminals have been known to break into offices and factories to find sneaky ways to get access to data, and burglars are always a concern too. If growth is the goal in 2021, then security is the priority.
Know Your Customers
The more that you know about your customers, the easier it will be to sell to them. This is one of the most important elements of business management to get right, and in 2021 it’s more important than ever. Businesses have access to a vast amount of data and should be using that data to not only glean more insights into their target audiences, but to segment them so that marketing messages can be more specifically targeted for maximum impact.
Look at the age of your most common customers, where they are based, and where they spend their time online. These three basics can be very useful when it comes to your content creation and the tone of voice that you use. After all, if your target audience is in their 60s then you will have to use a different message tone than when you aim at a teen market.
When data is so accessible, business owners that aren’t using that data to gain valuable insights into audience habits and pain points are missing out on one of the most valuable resources available to the modern entrepreneur.
A/B Testing
Your marketing messages are landing where they’re supposed to, but how do you know which of those messages works the best? Testing and measuring is the key to ensuring that you always have the most impactful marketing. Everything that you do in regards to your business should have a testing option.
For example, your email newsletter can be sent to different people using a different subject line. Using your analytics, you can see which subject line led to the most opened emails, and which led directly to a sale. A/B testing is extremely valuable when it comes to fine-tuning every element of your business management. Take the time to carry out testing and you’ll have a much clearer idea of how to improve it over the course of 2021.
Stay Tuned to Trends
Business growth trends come and go, and not every one of those trends will be relevant. Some will require technology that simply isn’t necessary for your sector, while others will be for attracting customers that are far outside of your target audience. However, following evolving trends means that you’ll be able to assess their value to you faster, and implement those that promise to be relevant to your brand. From new technologies like AI and automated software to new marketing methods, stay one step ahead of emerging trends by setting up Google Alerts, and subscribing to business management resources.
Business growth in 2021 is bound to face some unexpected threats. However, the more well-positioned you are the easier it will be to tackle whatever the year throws at you. Have a growth plan in place that utilizes the above methods, and your business could be a lot more secure by the time we get to the end of 2021.
