Growing Your Small Business in 2021 — The Essential Guide

It’s fair to say everyone suffered in 2020 but small businesses were not left out of the fun. We are in 2021 now and it’s time to move forward, we have already seen the worst. I want to talk about growing your small business in 2021 because this year we are relying on different aspects. Sure, the internet was always useful but there has never been a bigger need for online options. Online options can be Facebook live auctions, opening up an online shop, marketing with social media, and more. Most shops can get away with not doing much of this, especially in a town that is supportive. But it’s time to expand your horizons when growing your business in 2021 because we have gotten even more digital with recent events.

Form good relationships with your customers

When you own a business you need to focus on the relationships you can form with your customers. If you create meaningful relationships those people will be lifelong customers. I learned this in my days of working at a bank, we were always asked to use customer’s names such as “Would you like a receipt, Mr. Jones?”. We also had to memorize these names so that the next time they came in we could know their name right away. It was part of our service standards we had to meet. Customers really enjoy being recognized, it brings them joy which means they come in more often. Find ways that you can spark up conversations with customers to get to know them better, maybe even on a first-name basis. Not only will they come in more often but they also will market your shop by word-of-mouth.

Find your core demographic

Marketing is all about knowing your audience, in 2021 be sure to know what that core demographic is. Learn everything that you can about your customers, you can do this by using the data you have. Your data can be all of your past social media posts, your emails, and anything else that you can get feedback on. Your social media analytics also hold a lot of information about your demographic. I know it is tempting to appeal to more audiences but it will be more beneficial to focus on your demographic. It may seem counterproductive to not appeal to other audiences but if you are planning on growing your small business in 2021 I highly recommend doing this.

Use social media correctly

The ways that people find out about a new product lately is through social media ads, TV ads, worth-of-mouth, and search engines. It’s worth it to invest in paid social ads especially if your audience is likely to be on social media. In addition, get people to promote your shop. Having a contest that involves sharing your shop’s name on an Instagram story or post can get new people interested. If a contest isn’t what you’re interested in right now, you can find ways to entice people to follow your social media. Post frequently to the customer’s benefit, such as sales, new arrivals, updates, and anything else that seems fitting. Ask yourself why should they follow your page?

Instagram stories are huge for promoting shops, I always see people posting contests on their story. Although, I haven’t seen anyone win one. I’ve personally followed a lot of brands through stories. For this to work, you have to be active on Instagram, if you are trying to promote your shop but your page isn’t active your followers won’t gain much. Find the social media pages of businesses that you like or are similar to your shop and get some ideas from their posts. Ask questions on stories, create polls, and do anything to encourage some interaction.

Connect with customers on social media

Have you ever had a brand respond to you on a comment? It’s a great feeling, isn’t it? This goes back to creating a good relationship that works because the customer feels special. This is also effective for algorithm purposes. For example, Facebook’s algorithm will prioritize your post if you get a lot of comments. Add comments of your own to increase action on your post. You might also direct message customers to create a relationship. Such as following up, giving them an update, or anything that feels fitting for your relationship with that customer.

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Paulette Squicimari