Small business owners had a hard time in 2020 and 2021 but also learned some crucial and exciting lessons. Productivity tips for small business owners is entirely possible for a team working remotely to be as productive as when together in the office.
Software and technology have made this discovery possible in no small way. Many of these working methods and productivity tips for small business owners adopted during the pandemic continue to be in use today.
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7 Productivity Tips for Small Business Owners
If you are running a physical business or an eCommerce store, this article should give you some handy tips on keeping your productivity levels high. We are looking at technology and other business areas that can slightly improve your output by making a few alterations. We’ll start by looking at booking software, which has rapidly become one of the most popular tools for smaller businesses.
Improve Your Booking System
The popularity of small business booking software rocketed during 2020, and for a good reason. Businesses that operate on a one-to-one meeting basis – personal trainers, for example, or tutors – were forced to switch to digital video meeting software (more about that later) to keep their business alive. Booking systems of the traditional type – a physical diary is one – could not keep up. Instead, they began to use booking software that puts the onus on the client.
We’ve included a link above to ‘missed.com’ that is popular and effective, and typical of the breed. It allows the clients to access a calendar in the cloud to select the convenient slot. The business owner then gets a message when a user books a slot. This method saves a lot of time and allows the owner to dedicate more time to the areas that need attention.
Stick to Office Hours
Many offices and other staff who were suddenly forced to work from home made a discovery that keeping to standard office hours is the most productive working method. It’s tempting to work when you want, but in most cases, you require being in the office with everyone.
Keeping to the standard office hours also introduces discipline into your work, as you would if you were ‘at work’.
Improve Your Social Media Presence
commercial use of social media has a lot of emphases. Your presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts all need to be careful management to nurture the level of social trust your small business carries. When significant numbers of people like and follow your brand, it leads to the construction of social trust. The more people recommend you, the higher the level of trust among your potential and existing clients.
Keep your content fresh and relevant, use social media to make offers and invite people to flash sales, and generally keep on top of who is using which platform to follow you.
Optimize Your Website and Store for Mobile Use
The mobile smartphone is now the most commonly used device for searching and purchasing at online stores For this reason, mobile phone optimization is a necessity rather than an afterthought. your store may need full optimization for mobile use even if it is just 5 years old.
Also, bear this in mind: consumers are very likely to go somewhere else if your site or store takes more than three seconds to load! If it takes five seconds, you have almost certainly lost them. Get a professional to look at your site and make sure it has the correct optimization for mobile use, or you could be losing customers unconsciously.
Use Video Meetings Technology – Top 1 of productivity tips for small business owners
Holding meetings via video can be very productive and for several reasons. There is no need for either party – or parties if many people are involved- to travel to the meeting. Many meetings would be using split-screen technology which can be set up managed in seconds.
Furthermore, for training and education content, users can use video technology to record in advance for the client to watch when they can. This sort of software was among the most popular of all during 2020, with Zoom and other video-calling apps, undergoing a massive increase in demand.
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Create a Customer Database
Invite your customers to sign up for a newsletter or to create an account. Many do not like the latter, but most will sign up for regular communication about new products and offers. Recent research found that more than 50% of consumers want brands they use to send them offers.
Each of these methods allows you to build a database of customers. Retargeting those consumers who bought from you once or twice and have not contacted you for a long time is a useful way of increasing revenue. Analyze customer behaviour regularly and target those mentioned with a simple message, perhaps offering a discount if they come back. You may only get a few per cent, but every little bit of help.
See also: 4 Reasons For outsourcing Your IT Solutions (2021)
Communicate with Your Customers
Our final point is one we have already touched on: your customers want you to communicate with them. They want to hear about offers, new products, or other developments in the business.
They want to see updates to your social media pages that are of interest and relevant to them. Keeping in touch with your customers means giving them the attention they expect and deserve. This is one of the most critical building blocks in improving brand loyalty.
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Conclusion
We hope that these productivity tips for small business owners have given you some ideas about keeping the levels you need. These tips will help whether you are an online retailer, a tutor or trainer, or any business that operates remotely. Enjoy trying some of the hints we’ve given you and watch your productivity levels improve.
