1. Know your audience
Work out who your target audience is, and tailor your business to them. Conduct market research to find out how your audience is responding to your business, by asking their opinion. Make sure you provide what your customer needs, not just what you wish to sell. Listen to your target audience, and implement into your product or service what they are looking for. If you provide what people need, they will come. Don't forget to regularly re-evaluate and analyze your product or service,to keep on top of what your customer wants.
2. Know your competition
Analyze your competition to assess what you need to do differently or better. If you are up against a large business, make your business more personable and offer incentives. Before you can know what to provide to beat your competition, you first have to know who you are up against. Keep an eye on the competition regularly to see what incentives and promotions they offer and any edge they have on your business.
3. Consistently provide great service
A consistently great service will stand you in good stead with your customers. Make sure any staff you employ are trained well, and are pleasant and accommodating. Investing time and money into training your staff well will reflect back on your business. Ensure your business runs smoothly, and is efficient and organized. Consider creating a customer mailing list, to mail or email your customers with any upcoming promotions. Also, use the mailing list as a way to thank them for being your customer, on special occasions such as Christmas or New Year.
4. Ensure high profit margins
Make sure you generate high profit margins, which allows room for error and changing cost structures. Perform a cost analysis for every product or service you provide, and calculate the amount it costs to deliver the product or service to the customer.Break your analysis down to what your fundamental costs are such as materials and labor and what your secondary costs are such as delivery expenses and other overheads. This will give you a better idea of how to arrive at your selling cost and help you work out where, costs can be reduced. Consistently evaluate ways to increase your highest profit margin sale items, or services. This could be via special promotions and incentives, for example.
5. Enjoy your work
This may seem like a strange one to add in, but if your work makes you stressed and unhappy, you will not be very productive for very long. Not enjoying your work will reduce your quality of life, and this will, in time, reflect upon your business. If you enjoy your business, it will show. If your business is making you unhappy, consider selling it and moving on. There are a number of agencies which specialize in businesses for sale. They will conduct a business evaluation, and be your business broker, in order to sellthe business on your behalf.
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