In the last decade, small businesses have been growing at a rapid pace. Technology and innovation have removed the barriers to entry for starting a business, and increasing numbers of people want to be their own boss.
But one thing that’s never changed about running a small business is the need for innovation in order to stay competitive. Every day, we see it: new start-ups are popping up all over while existing companies scramble to keep up with the new competition and changing customer demands or face extinction. So how can you make your business stand out from the rest? How do you plan on staying ahead of these changes?
Here are eight tips for boosting your small business in 2021.
1. Modernise Your Logo
The only real difference between a small business and a global enterprise is branding. You’d be amazed how many “global companies” are still run out of a spare bedroom in someone’s house, but customers think of them as big and powerful because they recognise their brand.
With that in mind, the first element of any brand is a stylish, modern logo. If your logo design looks dated or was made using a terrible old font (hello, Comic Sans!), it’s definitely time for an overhaul.
Here are some tips for a refreshed look:
1. Switch from black-and-white logos to colour images or use gradients that allow for more colours in one image
2. Clean up logos by removing superfluous details like extraneous words or squiggly lines (serif fonts are okay!)
3. Adjust typeface size, so it’s not too small and hard to read on small screens; consider whether upper case or lower-case letters work better depending on how formal/informal you want things to appear
The good news is, there any hundreds of quality graphic designers on sites like Fiverr and Upwork that will make you a unique new logo at a great price. If artistic endeavours aren’t really your thing, be smart and leave it in the hands of a professional!
2. Update Your Stationery
That new logo will require some new stationery to go along with your rebranding. We sometimes forget in the digital age, but customers definitely associate the quality of your business with the physical medium communications they receive from you. If you use any type of print, letterhead, or even packaging in your business, you definitely don’t want to skimp on your stationery.
When you’re redesigning your stationery, don’t forget to include:
1. Your new logo as a brand identifier on every piece of stationery and marketing materials sent out from your business. Your updated brand should stand out in everything your customers see! This means creating new letterhead with the updated design included and cards or envelopes for thank-you or follow-up correspondence.
2. Contact details – including full address, email address, phone number (including international codes), and hours of operation to make it easy for customers who want to get in touch directly.
3. Social media handles that are appropriate for professional use can also help build brand awareness across platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to encourage people to like and follow you on those accounts.
123Print offers professionally printed, high-quality business stationery at a price that won’t break the bank. Choose from hundreds of templates or create your own designs from scratch with our easy-to-use editing tool.
3. Use Quality Printing for All Your Marketing Materials
Gone are the days when you had to choose between affordable marketing materials and high-quality ones. Advancements in printing capabilities and small-batch production mean that it’s not only possible but profitable to invest in high-quality printing for your marketing materials.
Most small business owners know the value of a good flyer or brochure, which can be an easy and cost-effective way to get information about your company out into the world quickly. Just be sure that the image you’re projecting builds trust in your potential customers. After all, if your marketing materials look low-quality, doesn’t that imply your products or services are the same?
4. Modernise Your Business Cards
Despite all of the fancy technology we interact with every day, the good old-fashioned business card is still the best way to tell people about your business in person. If you’re still using cheap business cards with just a company logo and contact details on the front, it’s time to move into the 21st century!
Make sure your business card has:
1. Your modernised logo or at least an updated version of an old one. This will help customers remember who you are when they see that brand in the future.
2. A scannable QR code that allows customers to go directly to your site from the card itself.
QR codes are really taking off after years of people resisting using them. Adding one to your business card itself creates the perfect blend of old and new technology that everyone can use.
With 123Print, you can edit one of our fully customisable business card templates and upload your own logos and artwork with the click of a button. Or, if you’re feeling creative, create your own design from scratch!
5. Go Big on Social Media
It’s incredible how many companies still fail to take advantage of the reach of social media. If you have a small business and are not using social media for marketing purposes yet, now is the time to begin.
Start by making sure that your business profile on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – or any other mediums of choice – has all the contact information necessary for customers to reach you about buying services or products.
Next, sit down and make a 30-day plan for posting consistently about your business or services. The more you post, and the more times your small business is in a customer’s news feed per week (especially on their mobile device), the higher chance they’ll buy from you.
If you’re too busy to post on social media consistently, consider hiring a company or a freelancer to make daily posts to your accounts. For less than the proverbial cost of a cup of coffee per day, they’ll manage all of your business’s social media marketing for you. The key is consistency, so if you can’t do it yourself or delegate it to an employee, definitely consider using outside help.
Don’t Forget Google My Business
Many business owners don’t realise that they can also use their Google My Business (sometimes called the Google Maps page) to make posts, the same as Facebook or other social media platforms. Not only can you make posts on Google My Business, but you can also upload videos and make offers and promotions directly from there. And since Google loves its own products, those posts have a good chance of being seen locally when people are searching.
Don’t Forget Pinterest Either
Poor Pinterest – it sometimes seems like they went by the wayside in the face of overwhelming competition from giants like Facebook and Instagram. But here’s a staggering stat: Pinterest has 460 MILLION active and dedicated users. That’s more than the entire population of Russia!
And here’s a little life hack about Pinterest: Unlike most social media posts, theirs rank in Google search. That means your Pinterest post about your awesome carpet cleaning business has a great chance of appearing in Google when someone searches for it nearby, just like the Google My Business posts we talked about earlier.
So, small business owners: it might be time to start showing some love to Pinterest. When you post on Pinterest, make sure that everything is in a vertical format and links back to your website.
Wait, you do have a website, don’t you?
If not…
6. Get a Website for Your Business
It’s come into vogue in recent years, but there are still many people who believe that they don’t need a site if they’re only running a small business. That couldn’t be further from the truth! A blog is one thing, but you really should have an actual domain that reflects your name and location if you want to get taken seriously by customers.
7. Get a Business Email Address
Customers will subconsciously assume what type of business experience they’ll have if they see a small business sending out social media messages with an email address that says @gmail.com or something similar. It’s easy to get a dedicated domain email address through sites like Google or your web hosting company. Make an effort to appear professional, and your customers will assume you are.
8. Invest in Small Business Video Content
You’ve been hearing it for years…you HAVE to have a presence on YouTube if you want small business success. And the truth is, many prospective customers will go to YouTube before they search for your particular services on Google. In fact, YouTube is the #2 search engine by volume globally, second only to its parent company Google.
I bet you thought it was Bing, huh?
Nope. Google holds the number two slot for searches and is showing no signs of slowing down. What scares most people about becoming active on YouTube is the idea of having to create videos, or worse yet, appear in them. The great news is there are gigs on sites such as Fiverr that can get you high-quality videos made to show off your fantastic business at prices that are small business friendly. So, take advantage of the second largest search engine on earth to get some new exposure for your brand.
Make 2021 the Year You Go Big!
The time has never been better for small business owners to take advantage of the power of branding and internet marketing. As we move out of the Covid-19 pandemic, now is the perfect time to boost your small business and grow your sale and customer base.
From getting a website to using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram effectively, we hope you find these tips helpful as you work on increasing your sales and visibility online. And if you’re looking for quality printing and business stationery, visit 123Print and let us show you how affordable we can make it for your business!