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Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘you need to spend money to make money’? A lot of people seem to be under the impression that this isn’t true, but nine times out of ten, it is. We know that many of you have heard the stories about businesses that were started with no more than five dollars in the pocket of the owner, but this isn’t going to be the case for you. This is extremely rare and is the exception rather than the rule. You need to plan as though you are the rule, and in this article, we’re going to show you how to do this. Keep reading if you would like to find out more about this topic.

Hire Professional Help

The first thing that we’re going to recommend is that you hire some professional help. There are plenty of professionals that you could use across your business, from warehouse consultants to IT experts, and you might just need them all. It’s all well and good having people who have some kind of idea what they’re doing filling these roles, but having professionals is always going to be better. We understand that this is going to be quite a big spend for your company, depending on how many people you’re going to need, but you need to see it as an investment into your future. 

You need to keep in mind that anything that you purchase for the business, and that includes people, is a long-term business investment. Even when it seems like you’re spending too much, think about how much profit you’re going to make from having someone who knows exactly how to do their job and do it well on your team.

Invest In The Right Equipment

Something else that you’re going to have to do is invest in the right equipment. The people that work for you are not going to be able to do their job effectively if you aren’t providing them with the right equipment. Now, you should know what your employees need to do the best job possible, but if for some reason you don’t, the simple solution is to ask them. Talk to them about what they feel they need to make their life easier and their job simpler. At the end of the day, the happier the employee, the better, and ensuring they’ve got what they need will make them happy.

Some Spare 

Finally, it would be great if you can keep some money aside for when things look like they are about to go wrong. We aren’t suggesting that this is done to abandon ship, but rather to put into the area that needs it the most. If you want to see your business grow, you always need to have a plan B in case plan A doesn’t work out, and this is going to be your plan B.

We hope that you have found this article helpful and now have a better understanding as to some of the things that you’re going to need to help your business grow. Spending money might not be something that you want to do, but it’s going to be necessary if you want your business to soar. Good luck, and we hope that you find the success that you’re looking for.

Whether you’re a tiny startup or a business that’s been functioning successfully for years, boosting awareness of your business is never a bad thing. Especially during this difficult time, it’s important to have a number of tools in your armory to help you keep your business in contention. Getting your business to stand out in a crowd isn’t always easy, but putting time and effort in now will pay off in the long run. Hopefully, these tips and tricks will help you to increase awareness of your brand or business. 

1. Utilise social media 

If your brand doesn’t already have social media accounts, now’s the time to set them up! Having a social media presence is essential for businesses. It can help raise awareness, facilitate sales and generally help the public take an interest in your brand. You can also advertise through social media accounts, so it can be helpful for making sales (particularly in the run-up to Christmas). Facebook is brilliant for advertising products and boosting awareness. Twitter is a helpful platform for communicating with customers, and LinkedIn is a perfect networking tool. 

2. Branding and logo 

Make sure your logo and branding are working hard for you. You want to ensure that your brand is instantly recognizable, so take a look at your current assets and see if they need a refresh. You could hire a branding agency to help you or work with an individual freelance designer, which would be much cheaper. When your logo is clear and distinctive, you can build the rest of your publicity on it. 

3. Call in the experts 

Learning the distinction between what you can do yourself and what you can’t is key to running a successful business. For some, doing their own accounts is easy; for others, it’s impossible. The same goes for website design. There are websites that will help you to build your own, but for slick, user-interface-optimized websites, there are website design and build services for you to choose from. 

4. Research SEO 

Search Engine Optimization is a powerful tool to help you build brand awareness. Many consumers don’t look past the first page of search results, so if you’re not there, you could miss out on many, many potential customers. So, how do you get there? 

Taking the time to research SEO strategies (there are different, effective strategies for different types of business) that could help you will pay off in the long run. Check out how you can get your webpage to sit on the first page of results, and see how you can intercept consumers along their path to purchase. 

5. Ask for reviews 

Online reviews can make the difference between a purchase or no purchase. People are far more likely to visit a website after reading positive reviews, as it feels like a personal recommendation for someone. This can help to boost awareness of your brand and increase sales. So, make sure you’re signed up to a couple of review websites and get going!

For entrepreneurs just starting out with their small businesses, one of the biggest challenges is boosting your awareness. You need to get more eyes on your brand and attract customers to your website. But how do you do this when your company is unknown, and there’s so much competition out there?

Of course, if you had the budget, you could hire a printing company to make posters and branded merchandise or splash out on paid ads to go directly to your target audience. But businesses that are just starting out rarely have this money to spend.

Fortunately, there are several ways of promoting a small business that are not only effective, but are completely free as well. To help you boost your brand awareness while protecting your business budget, here are five free ways to promote your company.

Social media

Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last decade or so, the concept of using social media for business won’t be new to you. But it’s staggering how many businesses get it wrong. An excellent social media presence will work wonders to draw in fans and potential customers. But make sure not to be overly salesy and promotional about your business, or people will lose interest. You need to entice followers with educational, informative, and entertaining content. 

SEO

Suppose your business is a pet grooming company. When people type search queries into Google, such as “how to wash my dog,” you ideally want to be right there at the top of the listings. And the way to do this is by being good at search engine optimization (SEO). This means that your website content is optimized for Google’s algorithms to rank it highly so more people see it. There are so many ways to boost your website’s SEO, but you can start by doing some keyword research, improving your site speed, and regularly posting new and original content.

Word of mouth

An excellent way to raise interest in your small business is to spread the word to people in your community. Ask your friends and family to talk up your business to anyone who will listen, and put up signs around your local area. Offer people you know discounted rates or freebies in exchange for telling others about your product or service, and before long, you will see the customers start to trickle in.

Relevant online communities

Whatever industry you are in, you will be able to find a wealth of online communities dedicated to this area of interest. Look for Facebook groups, Twitter hashtags, and forums dedicated to your field of expertise. The more specific, the better. Become actively engaged with these communities and again refrain from being overly self-promotional. Answer questions, help people solve problems, and establish yourself as an industry thought leader before getting your salesperson hat on.

Press releases

If your small business has a story behind it that will resonate with people, there might be an opportunity to get into the press. Contact your local newspaper or industry publications to find out whether they’d be interested in publishing your story as a press release to their readership base.