Of course all business are interested in getting more customers and increasing profitability. This article explains some straightforward ways on how small to medium size businesses can focus on their area of expertise and hone in on their primary skill sets and at the same time find the resources needed to increase profitability.
How can a small- to-medium size business cost-effectively expand its market reach and market share to survive?
Here are the 5 ways businesses can Power-up their Sales:
1) Outsource Product Design
Do not let a superior idea or product be harmed by low market acceptance due to poor or unexciting product design.
The level of design outsourcing can range from ordinary kitchen gadget development to the more technically intensive hardware and software engineering designs for mobile technology components and applications.
Businesses now have a choice of design and engineering firms within the U.S. and overseas who can help them design the next “must have” product.
2) Outsource E-commerce Development, Site Improvements or SEO Consulting Strategies.
More and more customers are buying online but many small businesses delay engaging in e-commerce because of lack of capabilities and resources.
Outsourcing companies focusing on SMBs can rapidly deliver affordable e-commerce websites and improve the site’s stickiness by improving customer experience through more refined search features and interface design.
Web design companies often also double as SEO consulting companies and can greatly assist you in increasing traffic.
Most importantly, with outsourcing, I.T. teams of mid-size businesses can also focus their in house resources on strategic areas such as systems architecture and product development.
3) Outsource Customer Service
Delays in responding to complaints and poor handling of inquiries can negatively affect sales of SMBs. But since they cannot afford to increase their headcount, they can augment their customer service team by outsourcing during peak seasons. There are several customer service outsourcing companies that are also SMBs that are willing to take short-term projects.
Outsourcing customer service especially for SMBs with overworked and overstressed staff can be a great strategic technique to help with morale since patience and cheerfulness which are essential in dealing with customers may be at low-levels.
4) Outsource Marketing Activities for Specialized Execution & Management
By outsourcing their marketing, SMBs can acquire innovative ideas and reduce their overhead cost associated with permanently hiring more marketing staff.
SMBs can enter into multiple sourcing deals based on specialization on the following marketing functions: market research, market planning, sales leads generation, public relations, direct marketing, promotions, and internet marketing. Internet marketing involves several other activities which SMBs usually don’t want to do on their own: social media marketing, creation of free downloads for attraction marketing; blog posting; newsletter writing; e-mail and internet direct marketing; brand development; and etc.
5) Outsource for Additional Sales and Telemarketing Teams without the Headache
Sales outsourcing companies have produced billions of revenues for SMBs. Focus on managing your top or core sales force and working on a management and training process. Delegate the recruitment, training, and management of additional sales teams to an outsourcing company.
Some small businesses are only run by the owner and the latter are not generally comfortable with telemarketing. To grow their sales, they can outsource their needs to telemarketing companies who are also SMBs on a pay-per-performance scheme.
And aside from working with sales outsourcing companies, you can also develop an affiliate marketing program to enable your satisfied customers to help you sell your products!
In conclusion, by collaborating and building relationships with outsourcing partners in different sales and marketing areas, SMBs can develop their competitive leverage and power-up their sales.
Here are some resources of companies and lists to help you get started with finding these companies. In future posts, we will explain the best ways you can start your search for the most reliable companies to work with.
elance.com
guru.com
www.offshoreexperts.com
www.outsourcingprofessional.org
www.offshoringtimes.com/ofcompanies.html
LinkedIn.com is also a great way to search for resources.
Category: Globalization, Outsourcing Tips