The new year is an excellent opportunity for changes and resolutions. This doesn’t only apply to personal goals and vision but also businesses and professional careers. If you are a small business owner, now is the time to reflect on the performance of your business, not only when it comes to sales but also on other business aspects. Using data you have gathered over the past year or two, what changes can you finally squeeze in? What can you tweak or improve on?
2022 could be a refreshing year for everybody. Given that the two years leading to this year didn’t really provide a good opportunity to small businesses, it could be the time to finally zero in on the things you weren’t able to do.
At the same time, you can start planning how to make your business more resilient in case of global emergencies like a pandemic. One way to do this is to ensure that you have a well-trained remote team. That way, your business can function without face-to-face interactions. Level up your marketing game in 2022 using the following tactics.
1. Participate in events or host your own
Everybody was locked inside their homes when the virus hit. Since the new year comes with easier restrictions, networking will be so much easier than in the past two years. Interactions are no longer limited to screens. For example, joining a local trade fair in your community is an excellent opportunity to showcase your products to the locals.
Besides potential customers, you are also opening your doors to network with suppliers and manufacturers. You can build relationships with them that will help you lessen the production costs of your products. Lower production costs mean bigger profit margins.
Sometimes, in a highly saturated market, the only thing you can offer to customers is affordability. A lower price point can make people choose your brand over other existing ones. You can’t do this if you have high operational costs. Looking for the perfect supplier will be vital to pulling this off.
As early as now, look for future events that you can join. Take note that fairs charge you a fee for the exhibit space and participation. It’s a fairly small price to pay for the exposure and the potential network you can gain. Still, if you can’t afford to join, there are smaller community-based events you can participate in. Hosting your own event is a good idea, too.
2. Review the data you have on your customers
The thing about business is that there are rare instances when you have to guess. There is always data to represent how your business did. Or how you can improve your services.
So as the new year comes, take some time to go over the data you have. How has your target audience been? Is it still the same as when you first started? Can you include more people in your target audience? Or do you have to narrow it down to a specific group?
All your next steps should actually be based on your interpretation of the data you have. If you think that you can add more products, do it. If you feel you should change your marketing message, study what exactly you can change. In fact, every business decision that you make, big or small, has to be backed by data. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for failure. This doesn’t mean that success is guaranteed when you choose the data-backed path, but at least you have more guidance.
3. Offer new products
Business is all about creativity and continuous progress. You have to keep up with the ever-changing needs of the market. With the aid of up-to-date market research, come up with new products that address new or existing needs. Test the waters with new products in the first months of the year.
An expansion of product offerings means that a business is growing. It’s like telling your customers that you listen to them and that they don’t have to go anywhere else for their other needs. You are basically adding a new value to the lives of your customers. At the same time, no business out there ever succeeded without innovation.
Of course, just like when you first started out, you have to plan again. How will you position the new products? How will you market them? What are your pre-launch and post-launch strategies?
2022 can be an exciting year, depending on how you look at it. Just make sure to bring the lessons of the past two years to propel you forward to your bigger goals.
