Many small business owners make a mistake thinking small. If you don’t set your eye on big goals, you will remain content and simply float on the surface. If you think that you are going to get automatically rejected because you don’t have the turnover of millions, chances are that you are missing out on different opportunities.
You should set your eyes on big goals, behave as if you were ready for the challenge, and the rest will come. Below you will find a few tips on winning big contracts with a small business.
Your Image
The first thing you need to do is look at your company’s image. Does it shout “small business”, or are you looking professional and highly skilled? Even if you are running a one-man band, you should try to appeal to larger companies through your unique selling proposition.
If you are a breath of fresh air and can offer more value than larger companies, you can create business goals worthy of a multibillion dollar company. Get feedback and find out how your potential clients perceive your business.
Professional Brand
Branding is just as important as marketing, so you have to invest in a professional logo and creating a mission and vision statement. If you are working from home, it might be a good idea to get a professional physical address that will raise your profile.
You cannot make it obvious that you are running your operations from your spare bedroom. Trying to appear bigger than you are is not cheating; more like faking it until you make it.
Reputation
No matter how small your business is, you will need to monitor your reputation. There are several great ways of getting this done on an autopilot, so you don’t have to spend hours browsing the internet. Setting up alerts with your name or brand on Google or other platforms will help you manage your reputation.
If you are on various review sites or have registered in directories, you will need to manage your account, add updates, and respond to every rating and feedback professionally.
Communication
If you would like to sell yourself for more and attract more serious customers, you should make your internal and external communication look professional. This involves making sure that you have a browser extension that checks for accidental spelling and grammar mistakes, and you learn how to format official documents, invoices, and proposals.
With so many free templates available out there, you will easily be able to create the right document for every occasion. Your marketing messages should also show professionalism and consistency.
Digital Marketing Content
When it comes to a digital marketing strategy for small and medium sized businesses, you should always focus on your unique selling proposition and what makes you stand out from the competition. You might be a small fish in a big pond, but if you offer a better customer experience, or something that is closer to your clients’ expectations, you can win big contracts without having to confess that you don’t have a revenue that rivals your competition.
Automation
Automating some of your content creation and your social media might be a good way of saving time and having more resources allocated to creating a strategy. You should make the most out of your time and limited resources.
From scheduling your posts to making sure that you publish a new article on certain days, so your clients will get the updates and re-engage with your brand are all good ways of engaging with your target market and providing a lot of value that doesn’t cost you any money.
Adequate Research
Small business owners often neglect research, and this is a mistake that is hard to correct. You should make sure that you can stand out and offer more value or better experience than other companies.
If you don’t know what your potential customers are looking for, chances are that you are never going to meet their expectations. Implementing surveys in your sales funnels will create emotional connections and allow you to understand your market’s forces and behavior better.
There are plenty of ways small businesses can win big in the competitive market of contracts and tenders. You should start with creating a professional and consistent brand image and building and monitoring your reputation. You should also automate some of the processes and improve your communication to impress larger companies. Digital marketing and sales funnels can help you build a strong and attractive brand that talks the client’s language.
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