4 Simple Steps to Help Your Business Become More Profitable

You may be noticing that business has been slow recently due to seasonal or industry changes. Or maybe your profits are plateauing when you’d hoped to see them increasing. Don’t fret! There are plenty of ways to stimulate sales and work to increase your company’s profitability.

Some of the most common tools for increasing your bottom line may upfront seem too expensive an investment for a your business, though. Let’s look instead at some alternative and lower-cost ways to focus on spurring growth without shelling out a ton of dough.  

1. Empower and Invest in Your Team

No man is an island, right? So it’s vital that you choose wisely in regards to the people you surround yourself with in business. Hiring smart, motivated, up-and-comers and nurturing their growth is a great way to ensure your business is profitable — not just in the short term, but also long-term. You want a sustainable business that continues to build itself up over time with a team that is both knowledgeable and passionate about their work.

In addition to paying your team fairly, you should focus on investing in their overall happiness. Offering special benefits and perks (within your abilities) is a great way to let employees know that they are valued as individuals. Not only does this lead to a more pleasant and healthy workplace, but you’ll see an increase in profits, too!

2. Focus on Value-Oriented Marketing

In today’s crowded business landscape, it’s harder than ever to capture the        attention of potential customers and separate yourself from the competition. One of the best ways to generate an uptick in profits is to prove to customers that your company has the knowledge, expertise, and skill to give them what none of your competitors can!

Rather than spending a ton of money on traditional advertising that potentially won’t reach your target audience, leverage your staff’s time and expertise to create valuable content that will connect with your customers. This could come in the form of blogs, exclusive videos, articles in trusted publications, and more. Give your fans a chance to see how fun and exciting it is behind the scenes and strive to create a culture around your brand that encourages engagement and, ultimately, drives brand-loyalty and repeat purchasing.

3. Perfect Your Pricing Strategy

One of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a business owner is setting prices for your products or services. If you’re finding that your profit margins aren’t growing as you had hoped, it may be time to reconsider your pricing.

Finding the right pricing structure can take work and includes in-depth evaluations of your company’s goals, your customers’ needs and desires, your competition’s strengths and weaknesses, and your industry’s future. It’s oftentimes not as simple as just dropping prices or finding a cheaper supplier in order to cut costs. But, once you get it right, you’re on the road to consistent profitability! If you’re lost on where to begin evaluating the efficacy of your pricing, check out this helpful pricing guide as a starting place.

4. Don’t Overdo it on Discounts and Sales

When your profits are stagnating, you may be tempted to slash prices in an attempt to increase sales swiftly. While this can provide a momentary boost, you don’t want to get into the habit of offering your products and services at a deep discount, as it can water down your brand and lead to a particular type of client expectation that can’t be reversed.

Consider, instead, adopting an innovative adaptive pricing method during especially slow times. Offering products with different incentives and in slightly different versions at varying price points can help you appeal to a wide range of customers. This will also protect your business from becoming associated with bargain pricing and will allow you to flex pricing back to a normal rate when markets improve.

In the end, there are a ton options for businesses looking to increase profitability, many of which can be executed without excess expense. Focusing on your business goals and strategies, your team, and your brand on the whole will help you identify areas of improvement and turn potential into profit!

Meredith Wood is the Editor-in-Chief at Fundera, an online marketplace for small business loans that matches business owners with the best funding providers for their business. Prior to Fundera, Meredith was the CCO at Funding Gates. Meredith is a resident Finance Advisor on American Express OPEN Forum and an avid business writer. Her advice consistently appears on such sites as Yahoo!, Fox Business, Amex OPEN, AllBusiness, and many more.