- Like
- Digg
- Del
- Tumblr
- VKontakte
- Buffer
- Love This
- Odnoklassniki
- Meneame
- Blogger
- Amazon
- Yahoo Mail
- Gmail
- AOL
- Newsvine
- HackerNews
- Evernote
- MySpace
- Mail.ru
- Viadeo
- Line
- Comments
- Yummly
- SMS
- Viber
- Telegram
- Subscribe
- Skype
- Facebook Messenger
- Kakao
- LiveJournal
- Yammer
- Edgar
- Fintel
- Mix
- Instapaper
- Copy Link
Last year, the US was home to 30.7 million small businesses, with that number continually growing year on year. What’s more 53% of start-ups are now run exclusively by women, meaning the market is becoming increasingly stronger and more diverse. One of the reasons for this growth is no doubt due to the global village we live in today in which almost every part of the world is connected to some kind of smart device. This means that business owners no longer have to rely on the local market but have the world at their fingertips as the international shipping, sales, and advertising have become easier than before.
However, while technology has made starting up a business much easier than before, there’s no doubt that it’s still a challenge. There’s funding to think about, the type of market you want to sell to, and perhaps most challenging of all, finding a product that’s unique in a highly saturated market. The benefits of startup up your own business can be life changing, from being your own boss, to choosing your working hours, being able to travel whenever you feel like it, a greater earning potential; the list goes on. However, without the right knowledge and strategy in place, the challenge can be too much, with over 50% of business with employees only surviving a maximum of five years.
However there’s hope! With so many resources available and an endless amount of advice at your fingertips, the opportunities are endless. Here are four top tips to get you started…
Pick your niche
Today’s market is incredibly saturated and as you’ve most likely experienced before, you can Google one of your most original ideas, only to find that it’s already been done. Finding your product or service and the perfect target market can be tough and is something that shouldn’t be rushed. This is something can will define your business and can’t be changed easily later down the line, so it’s worth getting it right now.
One of the best ways to find a product or service is to stay true to yourself. Consider something that you find hard to get hold off, whether that be a product or service, and begin to expand on that idea. You may go back and forth on this stage of your business multiple times, but in the end when you find your niche, it will be worth it.
Consider the customer journey
As the market is so saturated, the amount of competition out there is rife. This means that once you find you’re target market, you’re not only going to have to work hard to get customers, you’re going to have to fight hard to keep those customers loyal. One of the ways to do this is to carefully consider the customer journey and of their digital tough points as they move from the marketing funnel.
Consider the very first interaction they have with your brand. Will it be through social media? Or perhaps from a paid ad that sends the customer to a unique landing page. However, research shows that it now takes multiple engagements in order to land your customer and achieve conversion on your website. In order to do this, think about mapping out your customer journey on paper first, ensuring that there’s a clear path the customer can work through in order to get them to eventually purchase your product.
Create brand loyalty
One of the best ways to keep your customers loyal is by understanding what makes them tick. One of the best examples of creating and maintain brand loyalty is in the online casino industry. Whilst the online casino market is one of the most saturated markets out there, it’s also one of the most successful, in which many providers are coming up with competitive bonuses and player rewards such as free spins, no deposit play and risk-free play for 24 hours in order to maintain their customers.
One of the best examples can be seen at this NJ online casino, which considers the different customer touch points and the type of device the customer may be using, whether that be an app on a smart phone, a tablet or on the website via a desktop device. What’s more, one of the fist things you seen displayed above the fold when visiting this website is a unique offer of risk-free play for 24 hours. Today’s customers have a lot of choice and not much time, in which they are looking for an option that’s easy and hassle free, and this is exactly what Draft Kings are providing.
Creating brand loyalty is an essential factor and certainly not one that should be overlooked.
Stick to your budget
One of the best feelings of starting your own business is when you receive your first paycheck, and often it can seem like you’re suddenly way better off than you were before. However don’t fall into the trap of naivety by blowing all your money as soon as it reaches your wallet. Once you’ve built up a reserve for a rainy day, it’s important to focus on investing some of your income back into the business in order to ensure its growth.
By investing back into the business, we don’t mean splurging on a fancy new desk chair, we mean invest in hiring a designer for your website, hire a graphic designer to get your logo and marketing collateral just right, and perhaps set some aside for paid ads to ensure a continual flow of traffic to your website.
Following these four tips is sure to set you in the right direction, in which it’s definitely worth doing some more of your own research on these four key areas of starting up a business. What’s most important is that no matter what you do, you have a clear strategy and a plan for growth. And with that, the world’s your oyster!
- Like
- Digg
- Del
- Tumblr
- VKontakte
- Buffer
- Love This
- Odnoklassniki
- Meneame
- Blogger
- Amazon
- Yahoo Mail
- Gmail
- AOL
- Newsvine
- HackerNews
- Evernote
- MySpace
- Mail.ru
- Viadeo
- Line
- Comments
- Yummly
- SMS
- Viber
- Telegram
- Subscribe
- Skype
- Facebook Messenger
- Kakao
- LiveJournal
- Yammer
- Edgar
- Fintel
- Mix
- Instapaper
- Copy Link