Offer more

As you build your business, whether online or brick and mortar, you’ll start seeing similarities in how your customers or clients use your company. Watch for opportunities to offer more value. Think about what happens when your client brings your product home – what do they need to get full value from it, and what can you do to make that process easier?  

Some ideas to grow business:

• Add more options to your current lineup (like new features, sizes or colours)
• Add related products or services (stainless steel straws to go with your luxury smoothies or pressure washing for your landscaping business)
• Offer a subscription service for items that need to be replaced regularly 
• Offer a warranty to build trust and sell peace of mind
• Explore partnerships with complementary businesses (if you’re selling peanut butter, look for someone selling chocolate)

This article on HubSpot has some great information about solving your customers’ needs, including how to do a needs analysis. 

Hire the right people

There are only 168 hours in a week, and it’s not possible – or productive – to work all of them. To truly grow your business, you’ll need help running it. That might be anyone from administrative and customer service personnel to creative talent. Choose good people so you can focus on the parts of your business that you do best. Train them well so they know what to do when you’re not there. Compliment them when they’re doing a great job and guide them when they need a nudge in the right direction. 

Work with professionals

While you’re building your brand, watch for opportunities to develop relationships with local professionals. Look for people who know what they do and do it well. They’re the ones you can turn to when you have important questions about your business. Talk to your accountant about tax concerns, your marketing consultant for ways to bring more attention to your business, and your IT person to keep the hardware and software working smoothly. And for investing and lending advice, Kootenay Savings’ financial planners and small business advisors have you covered.

It might be tempting to do it all on your own, but you’ll get further, faster, by leaning on trusted professionals who bring their education, experience and wisdom to your business. And bonus – these professionals are often a great source of referrals because they know about you and the quality you deliver.  

Talk to one of our advisors to see how KSCU can help you grow your business 

Generate referrals

Your current clients offer a great opportunity to spread the word about the good work you do. Consider setting up a referral program to help you quickly build trust with their friends and contacts. Give it more power by offering an incentive for referrals, like a friends-and-family discount or a personal thank you with a gift certificate to another local business. Don’t forget to ask for reviews, too – they also help to build trust in your community.  

Join local businesses

Check out what the local associations can do to connect you with other business people in your community. The chamber of commerce usually offers excellent value – regular meetings to learn about other businesses, guest speakers to introduce new ideas and opportunities, and workshops to help you increase your efficiency and profitability. BNI (Business Network International) and similar groups hold weekly meetups for business owners to share their knowledge and successes. Their internal business-building program encouraging regular referrals between members can be a real boon to sales.

Borrowing for your business

If you need additional funds to help you grow your business, reach out to us to learn more about the flexible lending options Kootenay Savings offers – lines of credit, business loans, commercial mortgages and more.

Contac us to discuss financing options for your business! Call us at 1.800.665.5728.