Does your small business seem to be stalling, but you have trouble pinpointing the reasons? Perhaps what you need is a dose of innovation. Fortunately, creative innovation takes many forms, and most of them cost nothing, or very little, to deploy. For many entrepreneurs, jumpstarting a lagging company is a simple, short-term matter. Others find that a combination of techniques works best. For example, many owners have found success by ramping up their mobile-device accessibility, zeroing in on one or two social media outlets, earning a degree while working, adding automation to their marketing efforts, offering multiple payment options on shopping carts, and more. Here's a summary of four techniques you can use to boost a drooping bottom line.
Dive into Mobile Functionality
If you're behind in the mobile revolution, get up to speed asap. Mobile devices have been steadily growing in popularity for the past decade, especially for functional tasks like shopping, paying bills, banking, and brokerage. Nowadays, any commercial seller whose website is not optimized for mobile is at an immediate disadvantage against competitors.
Earn a Relevant Degree
One of the long-term variations on this theme, earning a four-year degree can add credibility and expertise to your entire business reputation. However, getting a degree and paying for it are two different things. These days, even online college can cost quite a bit, and most startup owners have few financial resources for tuition expenses. That's why it makes good sense to get an education loan from a private lender and cover the entire cost of schooling all at once. You can finance your business degree while continuing to work without having to dip into resources needed to operate the company on a day-to-day basis. Majoring in a highly relevant field like marketing, management, finance, accounting, or business law can open many doors, both in terms of networking and new customers. It's a fact that prospective buyers often read bio sections on commercial websites and trust owners who are well educated.
Target Your Social Media Efforts
There used to be a theory about social media for businesses. It was a more is the better concept that, unfortunately, has turned out to be nonproductive. Particularly for small companies, spreading your marketing efforts too thin can be a very bad move. Instead, try to choose two avenues that are most used by your customers. For instance, if you have a mixture of young and old buyers, you might select Facebook and Twitter. That way, you're leveraging the power of two very large platforms that cater to older and younger demographics at the same time. Additionally, there's no need to try and track results from a half-dozen social media outlets when you focus on just two.