Now, more than ever, many small businesses may feel a pinch. Adding to the current world circumstances of closures, limited personnel or shoppers, and work-from-home mandates, small business owners struggle to stay visible and relevant to their customers. Consider these action steps you can take today to boost your bottom line:

 

1. Focus on what you provide to the client. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” It’s vital as a business owner to remind the client what you offer that is more important, unique, valuable, etc., than the competition. 

2. What makes you special? Regardless of the business you own, there’s likely another similar business out there. What makes you special? What makes yours stand out compared to the others? Knowing your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) will help you better target your products or services or advise you to develop a new USP to gain a more significant foothold.

3. Show me the emotion! Using emotion to connect with your customers will always win in ad wars and inbox metrics. Using statistics is nice, sure, but showing your clients you understand their pain and can provide them relief from said pain will always win over statistics and fancy graphics. 

4. Understand the difference between your features and benefits. The features are what your product or service does, while the benefits explain how those features impact your customers. Any communications and ads should be focused on your benefits. Showcasing the value your products or services provide to your clients and how you can solve annoying and painful problems for them make your business more valuable.

5. Reduce any risks associated with working with you. For smaller businesses competing with other larger and more established companies in the marketplace, it’s essential to know what a potential client would see as a risk of working with you over the competition. Get creative and offer ways to reduce those risk factors. A simple way to begin comes from referrals, positive reviews on your website, and a written guarantee.

6. Revamp your business card. Business cards are your cheapest form of advertisement. Look at your card from the perspective of a potential client. Does your card showcase who you are, what you do, and does it leave a lasting impression? If you aren’t sure, ask current clients what they remember about your business card. This can give you valuable insight into potential changes. 

7. Boost your online presence. If you can’t easily be found online, you’re shooting your business in the foot. There are simple to use website design tools that cost very little to have an online presence. You can even find web design students willing to work for lower wages to design something perfect for your business. 

 

These simple steps can help improve your business exposure at any time and therefore improve your bottom line. Every small business can see big results from making small changes to the way they present themselves to their customers.