The holidays are behind us, and it’s time to get back into the swing of things. The transition to a regular workweek can be a difficult one, so here’s a way to kick it all off for small business owners: making a list of realistic and specific New Year’s resolutions. These don’t have to be made public or trumpeted among the staff, but keeping a list close to you can serve as a reminder of your goals throughout the year. Here’s a look at five possible resolutions to aim for in 2015.
- Know your demo: Who is your target audience and how are you going about attracting them to your service or product? Marc Compeau wrote about this in a piece for Forbes, including an interesting note about young consumers and online versus in-store sales: “A recent study conducted by LIM College students and in conjunction with the National Retail Federation Student Association (NRFSA) showed that 68 percent of the hot 18-25 year-old market would rather shop in a brick-and-mortar stores than they would online. Surprised? Younger shoppers are tired of tech dependence and crave personal relationships. What can you do to take advantage of this trend? More importantly, what are you doing to spot the next change in your customer’s decision-making process?”
- Train your staff to become leaders: You’ve handpicked your support staff. Now teach them the skills they need to truly support you and your vision. This can mean letting go of some duties that you automatically assume to be yours, as Adam Heitzman writes in a piece for inc.com. “As an entrepreneur and the so-called head honcho, sometimes performing a task can be easier if you do it on your own,” he says. “It might get done in a shorter amount of time or more to your liking, so this can be a tough one to break, but the idea here is to think about the future of your company. You’re not always going to have the time to do everything yourself, and, in fact, you probably don’t have the time now (as much as you’d maybe like to). This is why you have employees and staff, and this is where encouragement comes into play. It doesn’t help your team grow and learn how they can do things on their own if you are constantly doing the work yourself.”
- Focus on customer retention: Bringing in new customers is a constant challenge, but don’t let existing ones drift from your priority list. In Compeau’s piece, he recommends setting goals and tracking progress. “Simple data collection tools can track repeat customer activity,” he says. “Set some internal goals that you monitor. The goal will lead to increased attention on key customer segments. Repeat customers spend more and are less expensive to service.”
- Enhance content marketing: Newspapers, magazines and other media have historically used editorial calendars to plot out special content, including coverage based on seasons, holidays, events (news, sports, education, entertainment) and projects. That is then used to entice advertisers to get on board with the specialized material. The same concept can help other businesses as well, as explored by Drew Hendricks in a story for Forbes. “Today, editorial calendars are used to plot social media posts, blogs, articles and website news updates,” he writes. “Often going under the name ‘content calendar,’ they can help a team plan a campaign around a big event. They can also be used to keep a team on track with its posting goals, serving as a regular reminder to keep a company’s online presence active.”
- Remember why you’re doing this: The day-to-day grind may take your eyes off the prize. Making it a goal to focus on the positives and on your ambitions can help to keep you and your business stay on the right path. “It’s easy to lose sight of why you started your business as more money and time gets involved, so you have to constantly remind yourself why you do what you do,” Heitzman writes. “If you’ve made it this far and you’re already thinking about resolutions for next year, chances are you started your business for the right reasons. Use that momentum to push you forward, and take it seriously. That person full of hope and ideas so many years ago knew what they were talking about.”
