Seven Small Business Growth Strategies That Work In 2022

President of GMR Transcription Services, Inc., which provides highly accurate transcription and translation solutions.

In 2022, the majority of small business owners (over 54%) feel that the pandemic’s impact on their businesses is not over, according to data from Guidant Financial. But at the same time, they overwhelmingly (83.4%) feel that their businesses will survive the pandemic. There is change in the air, as 41% want to expand or remodel their businesses and 39.7% want to invest in digital marketing.

While managing a small business, I continually look for ways to grow and provide more value to our customers. Based on my experience, here are some tips I recommend to boost the growth of your small business.

1. Revamp your digital marketing strategy.

Social media, Google and search engine optimization (SEO) are musts for any business’s growth strategy in the post-pandemic era. While SEO is more important today than ever before, it is also the absolute minimum or basic requirement for success in the online market. It is time to be creative with your digital marketing strategy and explore other online sales channels or opportunities.

If you’re an online retailer, consider investing more resources on Amazon and other e-commerce channels to increase your complete product catalog sales. You can also identify specific products for greater exposure and promotion on your national retail sales channel.

At GMR Transcription, we noticed a surge in projects from legal businesses and have updated our SEO strategy to ensure more legal professionals are finding us on Google, Bing, etc. Reflect on your trends from 2021 and see where you can expand your reach.

2. Expand your online presence.

Online and mobile shopping is increasingly becoming the preferred way to buy products for consumers. Consider expanding your business’s digital footprint to expose your brand and products to the growing number of online shoppers.

Create a seller account on platforms such as Shopify or Etsy to maximize your online reach if you don’t have profiles there. If you’re a contractor or offering professional services, you can increase lead opportunities by listing your service or company on freelancing or contractor listing websites.

3. Leverage video SEO.

Video marketing has become particularly important because it’s the content format with the highest consumer engagement rates. You may have already witnessed the growing popularity of videos on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms.

It’s estimated that video will generate 82% of all consumer traffic in 2022 and, therefore, video SEO should be a top priority for your business. Our team is working on creating more videos to educate people on the benefits of transcription. I suggest publishing short-form videos and blog posts to help increase your website’s organic traffic and adding transcripts to your videos to enhance their reach, readability and searchability.

4. Form strategic marketing partnerships.

Brands can establish strategic partnerships in marketing to reach a wider audience. Offer a discount coupon to promote your partner’s complementary items or services for every product purchase. This mutually beneficial marketing approach can be profitable if you target the same client base. You can also grow your market reach and brand power by co-branding projects or products with a strategic partner.

5. Optimize workforce costs.

Freelancers and contractors are a legitimate source of affordable talent with the skills necessary for the sustainable growth of small businesses. In our organization, freelancers and independent contractors constitute a significant size of our current workforce. Using contractors helps us reduce the costs of hiring and training full-time employees while simultaneously retaining a skilled workforce.

6. Grow your reach with micro-influencers.

“Influencer marketing” helps brands efficiently market products to specific audiences and is not necessarily expensive. Small businesses can use it to expand their brands. You don’t even need to enlist high-end influencers to expand your business. Start with a few micro-influencers open to working with your business. They’re worth the investment if they can help drive engagement rates and increase brand awareness.

7. Establish the right company culture.

The pandemic changed many employees’ expectations about healthy work-life balance and ethical company culture. Many employees quit their jobs due to unmet expectations in their workplaces. Since employee priorities vary widely, I suggest surveying your team to establish expectations and create proper retention strategies. Are they satisfied with their roles and benefits? Happier employees allow businesses to thrive.

Before implementing these strategies, thoroughly analyze your business and industry. There are no one-size-fits-all strategies for a business to succeed, so you may not need all the strategies mentioned above. For best results, choose the strategies that suit your goals for the upcoming year.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?