3 Ways to Speed Up Your UK-Based SMEs Growth in 2018

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The Federation of Small Businesses indicates that, as of the last report in 2017, there were approximately 5.7 million private sector businesses within the UK. Furthermore, 99.9 percent of these are classified as small or medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs.

If you own one of these companies, you may be wondering what steps you can take to potentially speed up the growth of your UK-based SME in the year ahead. Here are three options to consider.

1. Increase Your Brand Recognition

When consumers see or hear your business’s name, do they immediately know who you are, what you do, and what you stand for? If not, you maybe growing at a slower rate solely because you’re a relative unknown.

One way to overcome this obstacle is to promote your brand so it becomes more widely recognized by the consumers most likely to interact with your company. If you don’t already have one, create a logo that you place on all of your marketing materials. Also, look for more opportunities to share your business’s story to further get your name out there.

You can also get others to promote your brand for you by becoming involved in charities and sponsoring local events as they’ll often provide advertising in return. This gives you access to individuals who care about the same things you do while also increasing their awareness that your business exists. The Charity Commission for England and Wales has a list of the top charities if you’re not sure which ones to support.

2. Update Your Social Media Strategies

According to a 2017 Sprout Social Survey, consumers have very clear ideas of what they do and do not like to see in the feeds of the businesses they follow. For instance, 75 percent like a brand that showcases a good sense of humor, whereas almost the same amount (71 percent) don’t like brands that use their social media pages to chime in on political matters.

This means learning what type of posts your target market likes and which ones may be a potential turn off. You can do this by regularly reviewing your social media strategies so you’re creating posts that are more inclined to create a positive response.

It also involves staying current on which strategies work best for the platforms you’re on, such as researching the best hacks for Instagram if you’re active on this site. If you’re on other platforms, look for tips and tricks for those sites to ensure that you’re maximizing their use.

3. Know Your Consumer’s Buying Habits

Owning a successful business involves knowing your consumer inside and out. Part of this knowledge includes familiarizing yourself with their buying habits so you can present your products and services in a more appealing manner.

For instance, PWC Global found that, while purchases made with personal computers initially declined between 2013 and 2106, they’ve actually started to rise again. Buys made with tablets and other mobile devices have been steadily inclining over the past five years as well.

Thus, if your business is positioned to provide buying options via these types of mediums, you may be able to corner more of the sales. Test your site’s functionality on a variety of devices to ensure that it offers a pleasant shopping experience on the ones your consumer is likely to use most.

Growing a business takes some time, but there are many things you can do to help speed up the process. Increasing your brand’s recognition, updating your social media strategies, and knowing your consumer’s buying habits are three ways to potentially kick your growth into higher gear.