When you're launching a small business, the details matter. Even though you're starting out small, you still have to convince your customers that you're a big deal. Thankfully, there's a wealth of technology tools out there to help you look the part and better serve your customers.
Laurie McCabe, a partner in the SMB Group, which provides technology research for small and medium-sized businesses, offers five tech tips to help your small business grow:
1. Own Your Online Presence
Social media is a great way to share your story, although McCabe cautions that “you don't own social media."
“But you can own your Website," she said. A Web property is a crucial landing place for your business, where you turn visitors into customers.
If you don't have a Website, or the one you have looks dated, there are inexpensive ways to create a site from scratch. WIX is a free Website builder with a range of templates and tutorials—no coding skills required. But don't forget security.
Registering for a custom domain name is another inexpensive way to make your Web presence more professional, McCabe said. For a small fee you can have “YourNameHere.com" so your emails can look professional and you can dedicate your Gmail account to what it was meant for—your personal stuff.
To extend your reach, it's important to make sure your site works well on mobile devices, McCabe recommended.
“We want to do everything on our phones or tablets now, and that's never going to go back," she said. GoMobi is an inexpensive solution that takes your existing Website and automatically makes it look good on mobile devices, according to CMS Critic.
2. Increase Your Visibility
To become customers, people first need to find your business and get information about what you do.
One solution is Manta, an online directory that features small businesses, said McCabe. You can list your company for free, and customers can search by location or industry.
Manta also offers premium tips and tools to help you better promote your business online, such as a custom showcase page for your company.
There are plenty of other directories out there to help increase your visibility, such as Yahoo!, Bing and Merchant Circle, according to a list of top directories compiled by online marketer VerticalResponse.
Since such directories often create placeholder entries for companies automatically, McCabe urged owners to "take control of your company's listing, and make sure that your business is represented accurately."
3. Be Selective About Social
While you can't own social media, you can't ignore it either. The key is to be selective in choosing which platforms are the best fit.
“You don't need to boil the ocean if you're a small business," McCabe urged. "And you shouldn't try."
Think about which social media sites your customers use most, and concentrate your efforts, she said. A restaurant may want to focus on review sites such as Yelp or OpenTable, for example, while a business selling handmade crafts may be better served on Pinterest.
Take advantage of analytics as well, McCabe advised. Services such as SumAll provide a free social media dashboard to help you understand what's working and what's not.
4. Automate Your Marketing
As businesses expand, email marketing becomes an important tool for growth, McCabe said. Services such as ConstantContact can help small businesses hold their own against larger companies with automated email newsletters, surveys, events and online listings.
“Make sure that you follow best practices so you're not spamming customers, and that you're designing your emails with headers and subject lines that people are interested in opening," McCabe said.
As your company grows, consider how to integrate your marketing activities across all means of outreach—email, Website and social media, she said.
5. Make Customers The Priority
Customer support is a must for almost every small business. “Today, the customer is in the driver's seat no matter what business you're in," McCabe said. “The days when a business could control the message—and it was a one-way street out to the customer—are over."
Freshdesk and Zendesk offer cloud-based software to help you stay on top of customer requests and complaints—and build a knowledge base to help you resolve problems.
“Nobody can be perfect all the time," McCabe said. “But you want people to see that you are a company that cares and learns, and is there for customers to make things right."
Learn more about how to grow your small business with CenturyLink.
