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Many small business owners struggle with scaling because not all of them are attuned to the specific indicators dictating the necessity of scaling. Usually, this is due to small business owners being deep in the weeds of their business, unable to see the entire forest. However, keeping these situations in mind will help a small business owner understand the time to scale may be upon them.

A recent New York Times article pointed out Millennial and Gen Z workers prefer the remote option while Gen X workers are keen to get back into the office. For a small business, it seems like the in-person option is the only option for employees, but that’s not the case. Whether it’s working with outsourced vendors or providing the employees freedom to work from home, remote collaboration is here to stay. Therefore, it’s wise to make working remotely work for everyone.

Marketing is imperative for attracting customers, but if customers aren’t retained then it’s difficult to keep the rate of new customers high enough for the small business to be solvent. Therefore, a small business must give reasons for customers to keep coming back. Marketing need not be incredibly creative here, but it should be effective. These practices are effective ways to use marketing for customer retention.

It’s ubiquitous to use loyalty programs when shopping at chain restaurants. The rationale is simple – give people a reason to come to a business, and they’ll keep returning. Whether it’s purchasing 5 subs to get the 6th sub free or amassing points to get a free cup of coffee, customers may not be loyal to the company, but the value of the program keeps them coming back. Fortunately, small businesses can capitalize on customer loyalty programs for building their businesses.

Keeping tabs on money is simple today, all that needs to be done is bringing up the checking account balance. Many small business owners have tax situations where they get pass through income and will keep their personal checking account to double as their business checking account. Instead, it’s a wise idea for a small business owner to open a business checking account. These accounts are often free if a certain balance threshold is maintained, and provide lots of benefits.

The advantage of being a small business is building deep connections with customers and earning their trust. The world is changing, and in a digital world it’s not as easy to build those connections. Millennial and Gen Z customers interact virtually with businesses. So, while the handshake agreement is something many yearn for, it’s not realistic in a world where people do less business in person. Therefore, the smart small businesses have adapted while retaining their commitment to building connections.

There are plenty of ecommerce benefits for small business owners, especially a low entry cost. Building an ecommerce business requires many similar principles as a typical brick and mortar establishment. There are several considerations making ecommerce different, yet at the end of the day customer service and a selection of products people love helps the business succeed.

Every small business must have not just a web presence but a social media presence as well. However, finding the right content to put on a site or social media posts is not the forte of most small businesses. Outsourcing is a cost-effective way of getting the best content out to customers. Instead of trial and error, outsourcing brings consistency to content which is something all customers appreciate.

The CRM/PM system is essential for small businesses to deliver customer satisfaction. These systems underpin the activities small businesses take to deliver products and services to customers. Whether it’s building the system or simply managing it, there’s much to do. Outsourcing these systems to experts is the wise move because outsourcing cuts down on the number of issues crippling these systems and how long they could be offline, among other benefits.