Starting and growing a successful small retail business can be extremely difficult. You could have great products, but if you’re not taking the right steps, your company might stay at a standstill when it comes to profit and growth.

From setting goals to investing back in your company, you want to be doing everything you can to help your company grow. Here are 5 ways you can take your small business to the next level:

 

 1. Set concrete goals

When you own a small business retail company, you can’t just go in blind and hope for the best. In order to grow your business, you need to set goals that you can use to hold yourself accountable. When setting your goals, be sure to set both short and long term goals for yourself and your company.

When it comes to short term goals, focus on soliciting customer feedback to improve the quality and range of your products. Talking to your customers can help you better understand your company’s strengths and weaknesses. Having an open dialogue with your customers will also help build loyalty and trust.. When your customers know they can trust you, and they will keep coming back.

Long term goals are just as important as short term goals because they help give you something to work toward in the bigger picture. Opening a new store, or to double your revenue in the next three years are great long term goals to set. Make long term goals that are realistic, but that challenge you and your team in order to accomplish what you’re striving toward.

 

2. Invest in your business

When you make money from your business, it can be tempting to just revel in that success. Invest your profits back into your business to help ensure growth. Consider creating new products or improving your existing products to keep your brand fresh and exciting to your customers. Don’t be afraid to use small business financing to invest in your company as well, as spending a chunk of money on certain resources can help your business succeed in the long run.

If you’re an e-commerce brand, gather a crowd with a pop-up store so your customers can feel and see your products in person. While opening a pop-up for a week might cost a bit of money to sustain, the attention and business it will bring to your brand will be worth it in the long-run. Consider opening the pop-up in a popular city where there’s a lot of foot traffic, like New York or LA. Make your pop-up “Instagram worthy” so that the money you’re spending doubles as marketing for your brand.

You also want to invest in the right tools and products you need to propel your business forward. If you don’t feel like you have a professional website to highlight your business and inventory, it might be smart to pay for a designer to update your website and make it worthy of representing your business.

 

3. Continue to Learn

The worst thing that you could do as a small business owner is to assume you know everything. You might be an expert in your industry, but don’t be afraid to pull in other experts that can assist you in learning more about how to better your business.

Talk to advisors and consultants if need be. They probably will have some insight into what you can be doing differently for your company. Do research on your industry and on how you can continuously improve the quality of your products and how you can strive for the best.

 

4. Work with the right people

A great business always starts with great people. As your business grows, you’re not going to be able to do absolutely everything by yourself. You’re going to have to delegate tasks to your partners and employees in order to get things done.

The people you choose to work with can help you or hurt you, so choose wisely who you are going to hire and let handle the most important aspects of your business. Be thorough when hiring new people to be a part of your company, and also hold your current employees to high standards. Working with the right people is going to assist you in reaching your goals.

 

5. Use effective marketing

Even if you have great products, your company won’t be able to grow if no one knows about your business. It’s important to do what you can to get your brand out there in front of people.

In the age of the internet, you’ll want to use effective marketing to make sure consumers are aware of your company and what you offer. It’s important to be active daily on social media. Make sure to check your accounts multiple times a day. Adopting a social media calendar is a great way to ensure that your company has a steady stream of content. Show your products on your Instagram Stories to keep your customers excited. Announce new launches and pay for ads when necessary to make sure the right people are seeing your products.

Lastly, don’t stick to the same tactics all the time. Push yourself to come up with new and exciting ways to attract new customers and keep your existing customers coming back.

Growing your business is possible as long as you hold yourself accountable and provide yourself with the right tools and expertise. Keep challenging yourself and your company will grow into exactly what you aspire it to be.