The savvy business owner is always looking for tools he can use to his advantage in business. Free and low cost tools are even better, as they have minimal affect on the cost of doing business, and in turn can generate new business, increase effectiveness, or boost revenue in other ways. We have collected a few of our favorite free or low cost advantages you can give your business now, in order to start 2016 off right.
Free Phone Number
When you choose Halloo for your business phone needs, you get a valuable free phone number, that you can use as the primary number for your business or as a secondary number for call tracking to evaluate the effectiveness of your promotional efforts. While you get a free local number with the free introductory Halloo account; with the low-cost/high-benefit Biz plan, you can choose a phone number that is local or toll-free. While an 800 number may not seem important in today’s market, toll-free numbers can still have major benefits for your business such as opening up your geographic customer base greatly.
A Referral Program
The beauty of a referral program is that it only costs you when it is being used. All business owners know the value of word of mouth. A referral program allows you to harness that power. When new customers find you because of an existing customer’s recommendation, you reward the referring customer with a discount or freebie. Some companies even offer a reward to the new customer and the referrer. Simply decide on the reward you will offer and share it with all customers, both old and new.
Find A Mentor or Business Advisors
One of the most valuable things you can give your business is input from experienced advisors. Take the time to find a mentor or even a small group of business advisors who can provide unbiased feedback and advice on the different aspects of your business. In most parts of the country there are groups that exist solely to support the growth of small business. These types of organizations are a great place to start when looking for such individuals.
Establish Multiple Methods of Reaching Your Audience
A message needs to be repeated multiple times in order to make an impact on the audience. That means you need to be communicating in various ways with customers and potential customers. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts are free. Blogs using certain platforms can be free of charge too, with low cost upgrades available. Email marketing platforms like Constant Contact, iContact, and Mail Chimp also offer free trial plans and low cost packages for effective and easy email marketing and newsletter distribution. Use of these different media types can help you reach your clients in a variety of ways.
In your efforts to build your business, be ready to try new things. Focus on excellent customer service, continual improvement, and making it easy for new customers to find you. Doing so will pave your way for success.