Birmingham is a hub for business, be it startups or big companies. But it can be hard to be seen amongst so much hustle. Take a look at our guide to stand out in a city full of thriving businesses.
Set SMART goals
If you’re going to achieve any goals, they have to be SMART. SMART is an acronym of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. A SMART goal is the difference between saying “I want to make a profit” and saying, “I want to make 30% profit in this department by the end of this quarter”. It’s the difference between a vague and easily breakable resolution and something definite and tangible that you can work towards.
Run the list of attributes through your goals and edit as required. Are your goals specific, in that they give you something solid to hold onto? Do you have something measurable in there, like followers, profits, etc.? Are they realistic? There’s no point in aiming to launch a rocket from a Mom and Pop store this quarter. Are they relevant? A marketing department is more likely to care about views and followers for example, than profits. And set yourself a deadline, so that you have something pushing you to complete your goals.
There are plenty of vague directions you can go with your goals, but the best goals are ones that you can see yourself achieving, so be smart about how you approach them.
Nail your SEO
One of your goals to initiate growth should definitely involve SEO. If you have a business website designed to attract customers, clients, etc. it won’t matter how professional it looks, how enticing your products are, if no one sees it. SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, makes sure that your business website is seen whenever a user searches for anything relating to your business or industry.
For example, if a user were to look up “window washers in Birmingham”, and your window washing business is on the second page of results, the user isn’t likely to click on it or even note it. In fact, they might not even notice it if it takes more than one scroll to see it. This is why it’s important to read up on your keyword research, your backlinks, and other SEO strategies that get you to the top of any relevant Google search results. However, it is more involved than it appears at first, so if you’re not someone who can grasp jargon quickly, you might want to outsource it to a Birmingham SEO company.
Do some market research
Once you have established where you want to grow, you’ll need to justify why you want to grow there and how you can get there. This is where market research comes in. You will have to do research to understand if growth in that area is even possible. For example, a lot of tech industries like social media and streaming services are seeing that their original goal of “as many new users/customers as possible” isn’t working for them anymore. There is nowhere to go when everyone who wants to use you is using you, so you’ll need to look elsewhere. Researching the state of the industry you are in will determine if you are headed for a brick wall and where to steer into if you are.