When you’re ready for your small business to grow up, there are many different steps that you could take to get things rolling. It can be difficult to decide where to invest your limited capital so that you get the most bang for your buck. Here are four smart investments that you may want to make to help your business grow up.
1. CRM Software
One of the best investments that you can make for your small business is to put money into customer relationship management software. CRM software can be extremely helpful to your company and it can help you take things to a new level. This type of software makes it possible to keep track of all of the interactions that your company has with a customer. This way, every time a customer calls in or contacts you, you’ll know exactly where things were left. You can track calls, market to customers, and automate all kinds of information. A good example of a CRM program to use is automation software from aimcrm.com.
2. Outsourcing
Another investment that you may want to make is putting some money into outsourcing. Instead of hiring internally to handle everything, you can usually get the same thing by outsourcing. Through online programs like Elance, you can hire a profession to do what you need done on a job to job basis. Whether you need a bookkeeper, sales help, janitorial work, or practically anything else, you can most likely get it by outsourcing. This helps you pay for exactly what you need instead of having to pay for a lot of other stuff.
3. Marketing
While you may be doing alright at your current level, you’re going to need to up the publicity a little bit if you want to grow your business even further. You may want to have some kind of an event at your business that is promoted on all of the local media outlets. You could put extra money into television, radio, print, and Internet advertising to get more people to your business. You may have to make a substantial investment to get enough people in the door to grow things. Social media is an essential tool of modern marketing, with programs from Facebook to Pintrest being used by the most successful companies who know how to go to their market with a product instead of hoping they are stumbled upon. (no pun intended)
4. Technology
According to experts like Michael Myles, investing in the latest technology may be able to help you do things smarter and more efficiently. For example, many businesses invest in iPads or smartphones for their staff. This way, they can conduct business while on the go, process credit card payments, make phone calls, and answer emails anywhere. Face to face meetings can even be conducted via these devices through programs like Skype and Facetime.
With these investments, you might end up initially spending a large chunk of money, but it will make a big difference in the visibility and productivity of your company.
Jayla Barnsen is a freelance blogger from Eugene, Oregon. Jayla spends her spare time hiking in Oregon’s many National Parks. She frequents business tech blogs and also loves writing about food and wine.
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