You need to understand that you can’t afford to ignore anything when it comes to running a profitable business, whether you’re a brick and mortar family business or provide remote IT services. There are many different channels which you should be using in order to get the most out of your efforts and make sure you don’t fritter away your profits because of lack of investment. With that in mind, below are 6 tips to grow your IT business.
1. Find the right market
The IT market is quite broad and finding your niche is one of the best ways to ensure sustainable growth. Some submarkets are more popular than others, but are also very competitive. Make sure you choose the right one for your needs by analysing the market beforehand. For example, if you’re a developer who wants to promote his own apps, then an app store may be the best choice, but it will take quite some time to build up momentum there. You’ll also need to consider the costs involved when choosing the right market(s).
Furthermore, make sure you find out how large the market is. For instance, Android app developers may want to target other Android developers first and foremost because their users are less likely to buy apps from other platforms due to compatibility issues. iOS often has more momentum in this area thanks to its popularity among consumers, which can be a problem if you’re developing for both platforms. In this case, it is a good idea to target web developers.
2. Create a business and marketing plan
Every company with a solid growth trajectory starts out with a business and marketing plan. Consider it the map that shows you not only where you want to go, but also how you will get there. Therefore, skip ahead of the developers and spend some time researching online how to do this best. There are plenty of examples of good business plans and how to execute on them.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Just take a look at what has been done before and try to understand why it worked – or didn’t work – for others so you can experience greater success with the right choices.
3. Build a team of experts
You are only ever as good as the people you have working for you. This is not a cliché; it’s a fact. You can have the best possible product on the market but unless you know how to sell it properly, it will never make a profit. Furthermore, if your clients are left waiting for support because you don’t have enough people working for you then they aren’t going to stay as paying customers very long.
On the other hand, if you have a team in place who knows how to both sell and support your product, then there is virtually no limit to what can be achieved. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s just about finding developers. There are all kinds of specialists out there you will need with different skill sets, so take the time to find them or develop them from your own employees.
4. Find the right marketing channels
The old school of thought might have been that you could manage all your marketing efforts yourself, but with so many competitors out there now, this is no longer a viable option even for the smallest startups. Furthermore, if you try to do it alone, then not only will it cost you more in the long run, but chances are you’re also not going to do a very good job when it comes to making it profitable.
Choose your channels wisely and always look for ways to automate as much of the process as possible by using tools that can take care of things like A/B testing or social media management. For instance, just setting up Facebook ads takes quite some time, and there are plenty of things you need to get right before you can even start measuring their effectiveness.
5. Develop your products and services
If you’re not constantly improving your products and services, then chances are others will. Therefore, don’t wait until it’s too late because by that time, all your hard work might have been in vain. Always be on the lookout for new trends and technologies to improve your productivity and offer your clients more benefits.
This doesn’t mean you should constantly reinvent the wheel. Just pay attention to what others are doing that you could learn from because there is no shame in taking inspiration where it’s due as long as you improve upon it.
6. Market your business online and offline
It is imperative to understand that you can’t just rely on one single marketing channel. If you do, chances are your competitors will outshine you in the other areas and maybe even manage to get a sizeable head start because they knew not to invest everything into just one area.
Similarly, it’s important not to be afraid of offline channels and to experiment with everything. This might sound difficult to do, but there are plenty of ways to automate offline processes as well by using tools that let you manage email marketing campaigns or design print ads online.
Conclusion
It’s not just about coming up with a brilliant plan that can yield significant results. You also need to take the time to execute on it properly and set everything up so you don’t have to worry unnecessarily. Keep the above steps and tips in mind and make your IT business a success.
