At the end of the day, business owners need to earn a profit to sustain their operations and succeed. According to author Brian Tracy, “the key to business success has always been the same: find a need and fill it.” When your business fulfills a need faster and better than its competitors, your revenue will soar.
Profit occurs when a product or service that you provide is bought by a consumer in excess of its total production cost. Apart from ensuring you follow the essential principles of good business (e.g., quality products/services, good customer support, fiscal discipline, capturing a niche, creativity, flexibility, and hard work), you can also make your small business prosper further with these online and offline marketing tips that spell PROFIT:
Do Affiliate Marketing
Someone once said that “it’s not what you know, but who you know,” which can apply to your small business marketing efforts. In affiliate marketing, businesses reward partners or “affiliates” with a commission for promoting their products or services. You can offer up this program yourself or become an affiliate partner. As an affiliate, you can use a myriad of mediums such as banner ads, blogs and websites, streaming videos, eBooks, product reviews, coupons and more to grab attention and increase your sales with no upfront cost to you.
Get Referrals
On the same line as the “who you know” quote above, referrals by your current customers are a great way to grow your clientele and revenue without spending too much. Referrals can work both online and offline through word of mouth. Try to offer a freebie or discount to your patrons for every referral that comes your way. Just make sure to set up a secure referral tracking system to prohibit artificial gaming of your campaign.
Ads, Ads, and More Ads!
If your website is receiving a lot of traffic, you can partner with similar companies (which are not direct competitors, of course) for ad space on your site. For example, if you’re selling wine, why not partner with a company that sells cheese or wine glasses? These companies will pay for ad space to share the same amount of visibility as the products on your site.
Share Knowledge
Are you a renowned expert in your field? Are you well-regarded in your business circle for your years of experience, creative vision, or innovative management style? Then create a secondary source of revenue for your business by imparting your knowledge to a paying audience as a speaker, author, teacher, or influencer! Not only will you get paid for sharing something that you are passionate about, but you’ll also be able to promote your brand to interested individuals. Networking in events, handing out a flyer or business card, writing a book, or creating your own webinar are just a few examples of making contacts and earning additional income for sharing your valuable knowledge.
Rethink Your Pricing Strategies
One of the building blocks of marketing is price and, arguably, it has the most impact on improving profits. Is price a reason your sales are low? Is your price worthy of actual product demand? Are you using cost-plus pricing or competitor-based pricing? Study your production costs, pricing strategies, and buyer habits wisely. Decide whether the quality of your product compared to the competition merits an increased product markup that will translate to quality sales numbers or if lowering profit margins through friendlier prices will translate to more customers.
Add Value
As a business that satisfies a need for the consumer, it is important to ask how to add value to your product or service. Does it improve the life of the buyers? Does it consistently fulfill their needs? By constantly improving on your product and marketing efforts and keeping an ear on your customers’ concerns, needs, and wants, you’ll surely have your return of investment resulting from their trust and continued patronage of your business.
