word of mouth

Think about the last few pairs of shoes you bought. Or think about the latest holiday recipe you tried. What about the new Mom and Pop restaurant in town you ate dinner at... Many of the new things we try come from those we trust and respect most in the form of word of mouth.

Believe it or not, word of mouth is still a fantastic way to grow your small business, mainly because our handmade business can niche down into our community. Word of mouth, paired with the internet and social media, has a lot of power.

Friends and family can share about your product or business, which will reach their audience and send them back to you. Tee Parties are designed and created to cater to this mechanism to grow your business. Tee Parties are held online in a Facebook group where your friend/family member can join to shop while they earn store credit.

Talk about providing a platform and vessel for growing by word of mouth! I have done most of the work for you by creating Tee Party Planners.

consistency

How many times have you Googled...

• "How to lose weight fast?"
• "Easy ways to work out."
• "Quick, easy work-outs where I don't sweat and can eat three donuts a day."

We try to take anything we can do to shortcut our ideal fitness shape. It doesn't take long to realize that shortcuts don't work. We have to go back to the basics and show up consistently. Compound interest is earnings earned on what you invested plus the interest you made on the principal. It continues to snowball from there for the better. The small actions we take add up. 

How does this relate to a small business?

Consistency will grow your business over time. Even when you don't "feel" like it, showing up will show your customers you are here to stay. You can't be upset that your customers aren't consistently engaging or ordering when you aren't either. 

• Do you drop your new products on the same day every week?
• Do you close on the same day every week?
• Do you offer a shop clean-out sale on the last day of every month?
• Do you ask them to share their weekend plans every Saturday?
• Do you produce orders within your TAT?

Want to know a little secret about being consistent? Scheduled posts! Scheduling posts allows you to batch posts all in one sitting. For example, let's say you always ask for your group's birthdays the last week of the month for the upcoming month. This would require 12 posts a year. What if you sat down and scheduled all 12 posts at once vs. scrambling to post on the fly each month? Wah-la, you are now showing up consistently for your group. 

But it doesn't stop with posting....

Engagement

By simply scheduling your posts isn't where growing your business ends. Now you need to follow up by engaging your audience. The posts you schedule should always have a call to action. A call to action is a verb describing what you want your audience to do next. For example, do you want them to comment, like, share, drop a GIF, or post a photo? 

Once your audience has engaged with your scheduled content, you will need to follow up with either a reaction or a comment. Social media will promote accounts known to generate content that keeps members engaged and on their platform. What better way to do this than by generating conversations? 

Engaging and generating content should not be a mystery but should come naturally as you don't have to be anyone but yourself! That is what your audience is there to witness. If you want content plans built and done for you, that is where I can help. Check out my Content Calendars. 

Handwritten notes

Writing a piece of encouragement and adding it to a customer's order because you know she has had a rough month goes a long way. 

Ask for birthdays at the beginning of the month and mail out birthday cards for the cost of a stamp. 

Connecting with your customer after their first order is crucial to ensure they return to order again. A customer who has bought from you is more likely to buy again compared to a new customer. A stranger shopping for the first time takes more commitment and convincing prior to handing over their hard-earned cash. Give your repeat customers the same kind of care and attention (if not more) than you gave them when you first tried to win over their business.

so what

Growing your small business is not a mystery, nor should it be complicated. The riches are in the niches. It would be best to do the small things well, such as utilizing your inside circle to share about your business, showing up consistently, engaging with your audience, and taking just a few minutes to personalize their orders.

What overlooked strategy will you focus on first? comment below and let me know!