Starting a small business provides you with access to an additional income stream on your own terms. What many fail to realize, however, is that you have to spend money to make money, and you will certainly have to invest some of your personal funds into your small business. That said, there are some things that are necessary and some expenses that you can avoid. If you believe now is the right time to launch your product or service, here are four things you must spend money on as a new business.
1. Products to Help You Provide the Best Customer Experience
Customer satisfaction is at the top of the list of things that you need to focus on as a growing business. If you provide a better customer experience than your competitors, you will be rewarded with customer loyalty as a result. If you fail to deliver the proper customer support, however, you will be known for your poor customer experience, which will make it hard for you to grow your business to the next level. It is important you focus on high-quality customer interactions from day one. But what exactly does this look like?
- Every business should have a dedicated phone number for real-time customer support. Keep in mind that customer service will vary widely as you grow, however. In the beginning, you may only have an on-site call center where customers hop on phone calls with your employees. As you grow, however, you may need to set up a traditional call center in another location, equipped with virtual call center software, a VOIP connection, a call log, an intuitive interface with analytics, a predictive dialer, and other necessary features for your remote agents.
- You should not only have a contact center with call center agents but online contact methods as well. For example, customers should be able to live chat with you on an internet connection, message you on your website’s dashboard, contact you via SMS, and reach out to you on social media. Whether you are dealing with a caller, SMS messages, or online outreach, you should always be available to your customer base.
2. Organizational Tools for Improved Productivity
More often than not, the quality of your business relies on your organizational methods and overall productivity. If you are not paying attention to your workflow, using customer relationship management (CRM) software like Zendesk or Salesforce, or paying attention to agents productivity, it can be easy to lose track of your progress, which can make business continuity near impossible if you find yourself in a tough position. Make sure to invest in programs that track your overall productivity and help you stay organized in the process.
3. Marketing Materials (Online and Off)
While you need to provide customer support for the inbound calls that are in your queue, you will also need to put an equal effort into your marketing strategies to keep new customers coming. Whether this comes in the form of telemarketing efforts designed to promote outbound calls or voicemail drops, printing your vendor information on physical materials, or SEO strategies that help you receive the necessary exposure to thrive, make sure to pay the extra money to get your business out there or hire an expert like Mobinner.com to do it for you.
4. Accounting Software
While bigger businesses will often have dedicated financial departments, new businesses will have a gap during this growth period where they will need to handle their own finances. To make sure that you are correctly reporting your income and are tracking all of your transactions, consider downloading an accounting software that can automatically analyze your accounts and provide you with the relevant information. In business, your finances have to be in order.
Although many people want to start a business without spending money, all businesses require some type of investment along the way. Make sure you are building yours right by taking a look at the four items you must spend money on above.