The primary objective of every business is to attract more customers by increasing customer satisfaction by offering a smooth purchase experience. It can be done in several ways, like an advertisement, promotion, consolidation of advertising, research, business plans, organising the business, and offering good quality products to customers. The service plays an important part in customer satisfaction.
Expansion can be considered a complex part of the business, which needs proper research and scale. This article will discuss various small business tips and advice that you can use to expand your general or fancy store business. These ideas are common to all the general/fancy stores. You can build on these basic business ideas as per your preferences and target market.
How to grow your business?
Let us read about the do’s and don'ts of a general/fancy store for the expansion of your business. The following steps will tell you how to expand business of a fancy/general store.
1. Create a business plan for expansion
Do Create a business plan. Want to know how to grow your small business, well, first and foremost, chalk out a business plan. A business plan is essential for the growth of a general store. It includes the size of the business, capital required, inventory cost, new product line, manufacturing costs, and other expansion-related costs. It is essential to make a business plan to streamline future decisions associated with fancy/general stores.
Don’t make the mistake of memorising the steps of business requirements like many store owners. It is significant to write down the steps. It might be a time-consuming process, but business plans are essential regardless of the business scale. A business plan is like a blueprint, a roadmap of your small business which gives you the right targets and correct estimates of expenditure involved in reaching that target. General store owners can hire experienced professionals to build their business plans.
2. Advertisement and Promotion
Do advertise your business. Advertisements help your business grow manifold by reaching out to your target audience. You can advertise in newspapers or circulate pamphlets of your fancy/general store, offering discounts to your customers.
These ideas will bring more customers to your shop. Many manufacturers might collaborate with your brand name and advertise for you. So, you can make good connections to get recognition. Generally, fancy/general store owners have reliable connections that they can ask for promotions or collaborations. It automatically contributes to the growth of the business. Other than that, you can advertise using online platforms, like LinkedIn, Facebook, and social media platforms.
Don’t just stick to pamphlets. Many general/fancy store owners try to save money on marketing because it seems like an unnecessary business investment. But in reality, marketing can help boost your sales and revenue. You can also hire experienced marketing professionals or freelancers to help promote your brand. These marketing freelancers create marketing campaigns at a big level using their social media reach. It is one of the best ways to promote your business and increase your store’s sales.
3. Take your business online
Do create a website to attract customers. If you don't have a website or don't sell your products online, it is high time to consider this option. The sales are comparatively higher on online platforms than in a physical store. Create a website for your fancy/general store and post all your grocery items and products online. You can link your business details and payment options for customers.
Don’t take a pause from social media platforms. Use them every day and stay connected with your clients and customers. You can provide additional discounts and coupons to customers who will make a payment online. It is a good way to lure more customers and increase your sales. Customers love when they are offered extra discounts or deals in online stores. It enhances the customer experience, and they tend to purchase more than required.
4. Keep up with the market trends
Do follow market trends. Another good idea to expand your business is to follow the market trends. For this, you have to be vigilant about what is going on in the market and how it can benefit you. You might ask yourself how to grow your small business and increase sales of your general/fancy store with market trends. Well, the answer is to do deep market research. You can research the latest market news and what type of products customers purchase from a general store.
You can also ask for customer referrals and feedback to find out their preferences. It will change your market tactics and attract the right audience.
Don’t neglect the market trends. They are essential for your store’s success. Many people go with the market trends and purchase stuff in high demand even when they don't need it. So, following the market trends is an excellent way to increase the profits and sales of your business. So, market trends are important.
5. Improve customer service
Do take measures to improve the customer service. Many general/fancy store owners think about how to grow business. The answer is to offer great customer service. Customers return to places where they feel comfortable and satisfied. So, customer experience and satisfaction level are essential for every business growth. When customers feel satisfied, they tell their friends who further tell their friends and so on. It generates a social chain and increases the business's profits tremendously.
There are many ways to increase customer satisfaction as a fancy/general store owner. You can offer them discounts, coupon codes for shopping for the first time, additional offers to returning customers, free home delivery, and other service benefits. It will help you stay at the top of your industry. It also helps to boost the company's sales and profits. To increase the customer experience, you can connect with them on social media and observe their preferences. It will help you adjust your marketing tactics to increase the customer experience.
Don’t underestimate your customers. They can help you with your business growth. Don’t be rude, dishonest, and money-minded. Instead, be polite, honest, and helpful. The majority of people purchase online from companies like Amazon. It is because of their customer service. The customer service of Amazon is considered the best service in the world. People like to purchase from these companies because of various discounts, offers, seasonal discounts, free delivery, high-quality products, etc. So, customer satisfaction can increase your sales by 20-30%.
Thus, to conclude, we can say that expansion is a multi-layered process of the business. You have to uncover every layer to grow your business. If you are wondering how to make your business grow, you can read the process above. It will help you streamline your priorities for the business. Once you do, you can expand your business. Expansion is a good idea to increase the goodwill in the market, revenue, and business sales. It will also help with the smooth running of the business.
Also Read:
1) Do's & Don'ts for a Dairy Business Owner
2) Do’s & Don’ts for an Anaaj Wholesale Business Owner
3) Do’s & Don’ts For an Internet Cafe Owner
4) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.
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FAQs
Q. How to make my business grow?
Ans. There are several ways to grow your business. Some of the ways to grow your business are as follows:
- Offer discounts and deals to the customers.
- Change your marketing tactics and promote systematically.
- Get attached emotionally with the customers.
- Offer good customer service, and increase customer experience and satisfaction.
- Market your business online.
- Change the items' locations so that customers will notice other products and purchase them.
- Be loyal, honest, and emotionally attached.
Q. Are fancy/general stores profitable?
Ans. Starting a general store is a profitable business idea. A general store owner earns between INR 30,000 to INR 50,000 in a day. The number of sales changes every day. On weekends, sales are up, and on workdays, sales are average. If your business is successful, the sales range between INR 50,000 to INR 80,000 in a day. However, a small general store earns around INR 10,000 to INR 20,000 in a day. The profits are dependent on the scale of the business.
Q. How to attract more customers to the store?
Ans. There are several ways to attract more customers to the store. Some of the ideas are as follows:
- Provide more detailed information about the products online.
- Offer discounts and deals to new buyers.
- Send promotional messages to customers.
- Optimise your website for local searches.
- Host events to attract customers.
- Market on social media channels.
- Launch a new range of products.