It takes sheer hard work, sufficient funding and a lot of sacrifice to get your small business off the ground. Once you have done it, you should work with even more planning and dedication to see it grow.

For new or small businesses, having a mentor around has its own benefits. However, even if you are on your own, it is worth knowing what it takes to make your business bankable. Be armed with a sound business plan, but leave room for flexibility in changing market conditions. Make sure you have a strong hold on your USP, know your competition well and have appropriate strategies in place to run your business activities diligently.

Here are some focal points to take care of to keep your small business strong.

1. Enhance your products/ services

Your business is going steady, just as you planned. But ask yourself – is it enough? Perhaps there are plenty of new players coming up in the market, each prepared to outdo the other! Find out how you can improve your offerings and work on it. Irrespective of the size of other market players, you should outsmart them to enjoy ongoing success. In fact, as a new or small business, you can adapt to new customer aspirations more easily!

Additionally, focus on adding more value to your products, rather than just playing with the pricing part. It is much about thinking out-of-the-box and being creative.

2. Go digital

For any business, having an online presence is not a matter of choice any more. It is elementary, with consumers taking the online route to find products and services they need. Simply having a website is not enough, do what it takes to leverage the benefits that the online space offers.

Whether it is educating your potential customers about your offerings, helping them make a purchase decision or resolving their queries; platforms such as social networks, your company website, online forums, etc. can be very useful.

3. Monitor budget

Running a business and generating ample profits is not easy. There are always some cost implications. Especially for new businesses there is little room for extravagancy. Keep note of how much is being spent, and on what. Monitoring your cash flow is important.

Spend first on necessities and think about luxuries only if you can justify the need. Maintain reasonable overheads and keep a close watch on business expenses.

Even if you need to rely on a business loan, do it when you should – appropriate funding at the right time counts a lot and Fintech lending can help you here.

4. Leverage marketing

Most new business owners think that by offering ‘cheap’ pricing and heavy discounts they can boost sales. A wise choice would be to say ‘No’ to discounts and ‘Yes’ to value. As discussed above, your customers will always appreciate valuable add-ons to your offerings.

Don’t underestimate the power of going digital for sales and marketing of your product.

5. Be flexible

As discussed above, small, new businesses can adapt easily. Be it your client needs or customer expectations, smaller ventures are more open to change as compared to larger businesses. This gives you an edge over bigger competitors, as customer needs can be met more easily.

One area where flexibility counts is payments. Allow your customers to choose how they pay you. Today more and more businesses are offering a variety of payment options such as Paypal, Paytm, Ezetap, RTGS or cash on delivery.  Also, you may align certain customers to a payment plan, i.e. if you can manage your cash flow well.

Further, customers expect businesses to be available round the clock. Can you serve your customers beyond your business hours? This is one benefit of going online. Be there for your customers when they need you.

These were some ideas to make your business more bankable. Don’t get demotivated seeing larger businesses in the same vertical. There is a lot you can do to maintain your strong hold of the market. To begin with, build your strategy around the above points. 

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