Business Tips for the New Year

Strategic Planning and Goal Setting
Running a successful business is a 24/7 practice. But there’s a wide variety of technology solutions that help take pressure off your operation, including:

QR codes. This tool makes it much easier for businesses to facilitate cross-channel activity and improve customer engagement. For example, adding a QR code to your packaging that customers can scan to access your Instagram will help to boost your follower count.

Real-time analytics. Up-to-the-minute data and insights are critical if you want to grow in today’s fast-moving world. For example, knowing where your inventory is stored and how many units you have is the key to providing customers with real-time insights that drive sales, such as providing updated stock levels at store locations.

Live chat. According to a recent Social Sprout survey nearly half of consumers (46%) now expect companies to respond to queries faster than 4 hours, brands need to be able to facilitate quicker, more seamless communications. Hosting a live chat on your site is an easy and approachable way for customers to get in touch.

ncorporate New Marketing Channels into Your Growth Plan

The world of marketing is always shifting as technology and innovations give birth to different ways of reaching new customers. That’s why it’s so important for businesses to keep a close watch on these developments and think about how they can incorporate them into their own marketing strategy and growth plan.

These two marketing channels are some of the top ones that will make waves in the coming year:

Social commerce. Selling directly via social media channels has grown in popularity as an increasing number of consumers use social media platforms to discover new brands and products. If you have a large Instagram or Facebook following, it’s worth adding this additional selling channel.

Video marketing. With many customers now preferring to learn about what a brand offers through video, it’s worth exploring how your business can take advantage of this medium. When video can be repurposed across so many different channels, this offers a massive boost to your content marketing strategy.

Find Ways to Grow Through Customer Referrals and Word Of Mouth

Thanks to the huge number of vendors that exist for every product or service, social proof is essential to winning over skeptical shoppers; 88% of customers trust online reviews just as much as they trust recommendations from people they know.
But you shouldn’t rest in the new year and assume that customers will talk about you; be proactive by offering incentives for them to refer your brand to others, such as:

• Offering customers a discount on their next order in exchange for leaving a review.
• Partnering with influencers to talk about your brand on social media.
• Giving customers the chance to feature on your feed by tagging you in their content.

Find Ways to Increase Your Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a measure of how much revenue your business generates from a customer throughout their relationship with you. The higher your CLV is, the more loyal they are.
Increasing CLV is a business growth strategy that requires your company to retain customers over multiple sales cycles. So, what steps can you take in the new year to entice your customer base and keep them returning to your business?

Answer: Focus on the customer experience.

Delivering a positive customer experience means paying attention to every touchpoint to ensure that customers feel supported during their shopping journey with you. It involves tactics like:

• Offering support across multiple channels — e.g. email, live chat, social media.
• Implementing a loyalty rewards program that incentivizes existing customers to come back
• Asking customers for regular feedback on their experience.
• Providing value-added content through your marketing channels.

Increase Sales by Being Present in Multiple Channels

Putting all your eggs in one basket isn’t the best way to build a steady revenue stream and cash flow. Brands have a growing number of online and offline selling channels to extend their reach and connect with potential customers, including:

• Setting up pop-up retail stores
• Selling products on online marketplaces (e.g. Amazon, Etsy)
• Selling through social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
• Engaging in “store-within-a-store” (SWAS) partnerships

However, this doesn’t mean you should start selling through every possible channel; they still need to be the right fit for your target audience.

For example, if you don’t have a large Instagram following, there isn’t much point in setting up an Instagram shop.

It’s a good idea to do some audience research to find out where your intended audience is spending their time.

Launch New Products

The new year is a great period for new product development.

The gifting season has likely extended your business’s reach to consumers who may not have encountered your brand before.

The blitz of holiday and gift merchandise during Q4 likely attracted new customers to your store. This makes the new year the perfect time to introduce some fresh product lines that re-ignite interest in your brand and help you win more business.

It’s also worth remembering that return rates after the holidays are at an all-time high. If a person is considering returning merchandise to your store, you want to make sure you can present them with a range of alternatives to prevent lost revenue.

It’s a good idea to analyze the current market and consult sales data from this period in previous years to help you curate relevant and engaging product offerings. You could also run polls and surveys on your social channels to get some insight into what old and new customers are interested in.

The apparel retailer Showpo does a great job here. The brand frequently polls its Instagram audience to get their thoughts on various looks and outfits. Aside from generating engagement, this tactic also gives Showpo insights into the preferences of its customers.