The COVID-19 pandemic has seen people around Australia face reduced hours, redundancy, and economic hardship. It comes as no surprise, then, that more and more people are turning to side hustles as a way of bringing in extra income and reducing the strain on their budgets.
As a small business owner, you do not have the privilege of being able to afford a large staff and an expert for every area of your operation. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take a leaf or two from the big business book, and start acting like the big guys.
For any side hustle to succeed, you need customers who know or can find that your product exists and who trust your business enough to buy your product. Marketing helps by looking at your business and adjusting how customers perceive you. Thankfully, three areas that were once the domain of big brand marketing are now easy for smaller players to take advantage of.
- Customer Relationship Management or CRM. As a business starts to grow, it is hard to keep track of sales opportunities and ensure anyone in the business can see exactly what is going on with each customer. It is good to know which customers have the greatest opportunity both in closing a sale and the value of that sale.
A CRM solution is a cloud-based software package that helps you sell. Because it is cloud-based, it means what traditionally only big businesses could afford to buy CRM software, now small businesses can have access to the same tools for less money.
- Digital marketing. Big business has always had the people and money to create marketing to reach people all over Australia, but digital marketing allows a small business to do the same through simple online portals offered by the likes of Google and Facebook.
The even better news is that some of that marketing, typically referred to as organic, will not cost you any money. If you do spend a few dollars to boost your posts, you will be able to reach a large audience of targeted potential customers.
- High-quality graphics and creative. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If you were going to the most important face to face meeting of your life, would you wear a dirty shirt, ¾ pants, and gumboots? No, because you would not be creating the best impression.
Similarly, you want your business to make the best impression, no matter if it is your logo, website, business card, brochure, Facebook post, presentation, or the sign on the building of your workplace.
Big businesses invest in their image, and often have in-house designers or an advertising agency to help them craft that image. Now, thanks to affordable computing and cloud-based software programs, anyone can become a designer and produce impressive results using templates. For those without confidence, outsourcing to designers on sites like Fiverr and Upwork lets small business get help at an affordable price. Right after that, you can start preparing to get your brand registered for a trademark license. It’s best to consult a trademark lawyer since they will also be the ones who will assist you throughout the whole process.
- Maintain connections. Being a business owner, even if it is a creative side hustle, can sometimes feel lonely. The time you once spent connecting with others is often now devoted to the business. And so much of the roles and responsibilities all now fall on you, and you alone. Make sure you surround yourself with supportive people, as well as fellow small business owners who will give you constructive, proven advice. While COVID-19 makes it even easier to feel isolated, make sure you make time and effort for connection.
About the author
Angus Jones is the founder of Small Business Answers, a business education site helping small businesses grow through guides, advice and answers to common questions. Angus Jones started his first small business in 1989 and has since gone on to have a successful career in marketing, most recently as the CMO of LG Electronics. SmallBusinessAnswers.com.au
In order to gain a better understanding of how marketing, CRM, digital marketing and graphics can help drive sales in your business, visit www.smallbusinessanswers.com.au.
