Almost half of all full-time small businesses in the United States make less than $75,000 a year. If you’re part of this statistic, you may be disappointed at the amount of money you have to take home at the end of the week.
After all the hard work you put into your business and all the loans you took out to make it happen, you probably wanted to be raking in the big bucks by now, right?
Luckily, learning how to increase revenue doesn’t have to be so hard. By following a few easy steps, you can be well on your way to increasing your sales and coming home with more cash.
Do you want to know more? Keep reading to learn 10 methods to help your business earn more money.
1. Offer Sales, Discounts, and Coupons
“You want me to make money by selling my products for less?” Yes, this may seem a little counterintuitive at first, but it works in the long run!
It’s no secret that getting new customers is hard. But offering coupons does two main things.
First, it puts your name out there. Running your coupons in the local papers or mailing them out to people in your area exposes your company to a whole slew of people who may have never heard of you before.
Secondly, it gives them the motivation to give you a shot. They’ll be more likely to purchase from you when they have a coupon sitting at home to give them some money off.
Sales and discounts work in a similar fashion. Those who have shopped with you before or who know about your store may be more likely to buy something when you’re offering a great deal on it.
Once you get people shopping on your site or in your store, they’ll be more likely to buy additional things that aren’t on sale or buy from you again in the future.
2. Create a Referral Program
Word of mouth marketing is a powerful strategy and can get a lot of new customers through your doors. But it’s not always easy to get people talking about your business.
One of the best methods is to start a referral program. Tell existing customers they’ll get a small discount for everyone they refer who uses their special referral code.
Your customers will be more likely to tell their friends about you since they’ll get a discount, and their friends will be more likely to shop somewhere that was recommended to them.
3. Create a Communication Plan
Once you get a good base of customers, you want to find ways to keep them coming back for more. The easiest way to do this is by investing in email marketing.
Every time someone purchases something, ask for their email address. Then, be sure to email them about upcoming promotions and sales.
Even if your customers don’t open every email (and let’s face it—they probably won’t), the fact that your company’s name periodically pops up in their email means they’ll get repeated exposure to it. The next time they need something that you sell, they’ll be more likely to think about you and check out your website.
Of course, those who do open your emails can be persuaded to come back and check out your new seasonal products or shop with you again because you offered a discount code.
4. Touch Base with Old Customers
Do you sell something that will need to be replaced over time? Or maybe you’re always working on creating new and improved models of your products.
If that sounds familiar, consider personalizing your communication. You can email previous customers down the line and offer discounts or advertise products related to the one they purchased.
5. Modernize
It’s no secret that your company needs a website to succeed in today’s age. But not every website is helpful.
If your website, emails, or advertisements look cheap or out-of-date, you could be losing out on valuable customers. They may think that your products won’t be as high quality as some of your competitors or that you may even be running a scam.
A professional web design company can help you create a modern and effective website. If you sell products, you should consider offering online shopping through your website to make buying convenient for your customers and extend your pool of potential customers past your immediate brick and mortar location.
The same thing goes with your emails and other marketing materials. It’s important that everything you put in front of your customer’s eyes is well-done and modern. After all, it’s the first impression they have of your business.
6. Add Complimentary Products or Services
Does your company focus on something specific? If you only have one product or service it can be hard to increase your revenue.
However, by adding a product or service that compliments what you already offer, you can get more sales from your existing customers and potentially add new customers who want the complimentary service but may not have needed the original.
For example, if you’re a house cleaning service, consider adding lawn maintenance or gutter cleaning to your list of services. Those who want someone to maintain their entire home can now go to you for all their needs instead of hiring two or three different companies. At the same time, you’ll also be able to reach those who are fine cleaning the insides of their home but need someone to mow the lawn or rake the leaves.
7. Consider Bundling
Once you start to add complementary products and services, consider bundling them together for a discounted price to promote sales.
Let’s say you offer custom necklaces for $25 and bracelets for $15. Someone may not want to pay $40 to get one of each. But if you bundle them together and charge $30 or $35 for the set, the customer may be more inclined to buy it.
8. Partner with Related Companies
But what can you do if it’s too hard for you to offer a related product or service? Well, find someone who does and partner up with them!
There are a few ways you can go about this, but here’s one simple way that could work. Ask the complimentary company if they’d be willing to put out brochures or business cards for your company. In exchange, you’d also lay out their brochures in your store.
You can also create unique referral codes. Anyone you refer to each other who uses the code gets a discount, and you’ll be able to see just how beneficial the partnership is to your business.
9. Reevaluate Your Customer Service
Have you ever shopped somewhere with terrible customer service? If it happened before the purchase, you may have walked out without buying anything. If it happened after you bought something, you may have vowed never to shop there again.
You want to make sure you’re offering the best customer service you can. Ensure you or your employees are answering all messages in a timely manner and are doing their best to solve any problems that arise.
If you use a chatbot or phone tree system, make sure it’s not too confusing or frustrating for your customers to use. You also want to make sure you’re checking your social media pages and responding to any questions or concerns that appear on there.
The goal is to show your customers how much you appreciate them. Even customers who have a problem with your product will be more likely to buy from you again if you fixed the problem in a timely and polite manner.
10. Create Valuable Content
One of the best ways to get your name out is to start a blog on your website. But you don’t want to write whatever comes to mind and call it a day.
Utilizing SEO and creating personal, valuable content is the best way to get more customers and, in turn, increase your revenue. Implementing an SEO strategy on your website, social media pages, and blog will make your various pages appear higher when someone searches the internet for the products and services you sell.
But that valuable content is also serving another purpose. It’s framing you as an expert in the field. After reading your article, someone may decide they need what you sell.
And guess what? They’re already on your website! They also believe that you know what you’re talking about, and thus, you’d be a great person to buy from.
Learning How to Increase Revenue
Don’t settle for a low trickle of income. Just follow the above tips to learn how to increase revenue for your business, and watch the cash start to pour in! From offering coupons to creating valuable content, there are plenty of ways your business can earn more money.
Do you want more ideas on how you can market your business? Then check out the top 2019 marketing trends today!