Stay Productive During the Slow Times

Seasonal slowdowns are a reality and all businesses go through peaks and troughs. Whether it’s the time of year when clients may not require your services or whether your customers are not in a position to purchase property due to COVID related issues, businesses often go through challenging times.

Here are our top tips that will help you stay productive and keep working towards success, even during the slow times.

Create a strategic plan
It’s easier to accomplish anything with a plan. A strategic plan covers all the things your business can do and narrows it down to things it is actually best at doing. Pinpoint your competitive advantage and start by stating what your business can do better than any other company. When you understand that your competitive advantage is critical for success, that’s when you work towards drawing customers to use your services instead of your competitors. Moreover, for being more profitable, examine your customers’ needs and how you can provide value to your customers.

Develop an audience persona
Without any doubt, your audience is the driving force and lifeline of your business. The best way to start is by seeing your website’s analytics. It will give you a lot of useful information like where your visitors came from (both geographical and referral sources), which types of articles they viewed the most, and how long they spend on a specific page. Another way to garner insights is by connecting with your audience on social media. Your strategy can be fed well by customer service interactions. Consider your team's feedback on the audience they're interacting with the most.

Conduct competitive research
Understanding your competitors is important for any business. Good competitor research is an essential tactic to figure out what your competitors are doing and what threat they may present to your firm. The first step is to identify your top ten competitors. There are various tools available online that can help you discover your top competitors. Look closely to see what they are doing differently – this may be their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts or social media campaigns. This may give you an idea of where in your business you should be spending more time and money.

Business needs maintenance
Every business needs constant up-to-date technology solutions. Luckily, it is easier than you think. All you have to do is regularly schedule to maintain each part of your business, from network monitoring to malware scans. Your business’s success largely depends on having access to innovative software and tools that are fully functional without any security gaps. You can avoid various issues by simply backing up important data regularly. Also have anti-malware measures installed because any network that connects to the internet is vulnerable to malware, which can eventually cause irreversible damage.

Market your business
Marketing your business online has become crucial as well as easy within the last decade. Try to socialize more and more on social media. Popular social media channels include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Snapchat. All of these social media platforms are unique and have unique ways of engagement. Rather than trying to master all at once, pick a few and master them first. Also, create valuable content through blogging, creating videos, or hosting podcasts. Know what your customer wants and be consistent everywhere your brand goes.

Increase sales leads
Define a clear value proposition. Describe your offerings clearly, why that offering is relevant to your business needs, and how the company will deliver its promise. Don’t just settle for good content, go for relevant content that engages and informs your potential customers. Remember that your website is your best lead generation channel; optimize all pages to convert various buyers.

Build a personal brand
A personal brand is who you are what you stand for, the values you embrace, and how you express those values. In order to build a personal brand that reflects your personal and professional identity, you must figure out who you are. Ask yourself a few questions like, what motivates you? In which areas you excel? Which roles drain your energy? Imitate successful people and then do better.

Check out this article by Shannon Hewlko of Hewlko Creative Direction + Design: How to build a personal brand.

Provide value to your customers
If you want your target audience to choose you before your competitors, then give them real value. Understand and meet your potential customer’s needs and comprehend what is valuable for them. Try to be innovative. Solve your customers’ problems in a completely new and different way through blogs, articles or sharing relevant news on your social media channels. Ask for their valuable feedback. This will help you understand what your users think of your brand, allowing you to improve and build good relations with customers.

Prioritize your personal development
Personal development can be achieved by taking the time to set and reach our goals. Setting life goals can enhance your career prospects, increase your self-confidence, and lead to a more fulfilling life. A goal without a plan is just a wish. Set a time to reevaluate your progress.
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