It takes a lot of effort to get a business off the ground. Take a moment to congratulate yourself if you’ve just started a business. It’s a heady feeling when a new business starts to grow quickly. Your self-assurance grows, and you may begin to feel unstoppable. I’m sure I did. For a full year, my subscription box business had been booming. All of my objectives were met and then exceeded. I was able to sell new subscription spots as quickly as I could open them. I didn’t know what I didn’t know until I didn’t know what I didn’t I had reached a stalemate in my subscription box business after a year. My subscriber numbers had plateaued, and (gulp) had even begun to decline.
I began to wonder if this was going to be the best it could get. If the amount of growth I’d seen was the maximum my company could achieve. I knew it wasn’t true in my heart. I knew I had a good product, and my subscribers were enthusiastic about it. But there was no denying that I had reached a stalemate and that something had to change if I was to break through and continue to progress.
It’s important to keep in mind that reaching a plateau is completely normal. You may not have had one yet, but you will almost certainly have one at some point. When are you going to do it? When your company’s growth has slowed, it’s time to devise a strategy for breaking through the plateau.
When my subscription box reached a stalemate, I realized I needed to shake things up. I needed to approach things differently than I had previously. I needed to rebrand my company as something new, exciting, and fun. Continue reading to learn how I overcame my plateau and how I help business owners do the same every day.
Here are my three suggestions for breaking through a stalemate.
1. Make a multi-channel marketing strategy
Gone are the days when all you had to do was post on Facebook and Instagram and you’d get a slew of new customers every month. It was possible four or five years ago. It was a lot easier to use social media back then. But what about these days? If you want your content to be seen, you must stay up to date on stories, reels, and constantly changing algorithms.
It’s also crucial to understand that your marketing strategy cannot rely solely on social media. You must invest in advertisements and understand how to properly set them up. You’ll also need to market to your email list on a regular basis. That group of people has already indicated that they want to hear from you. Make sure you’re nurturing them and presenting your offer when the time is right. Other channels to add to your overall marketing strategy include social media, paid ads, and email marketing.
A multi-channel marketing strategy will assist you in attracting new customers and keeping the top of your sales funnel occupied. Maintaining your business’s growth and avoiding the dreaded plateau requires consistent audience building.
2. Reach out to new audiences
It’s normal for new customers to arrive in waves when you’re first starting out in business. When those numbers begin to dwindle, however, it’s time to get in front of more people. And you want to do it in an engaging and genuine manner.
Getting creative and giving our social media platforms what they want is key to attracting new audiences. For the time being, that means video. Reach and engagement is increased with reels, short videos, and LIVES. Share your passion, the reason for your company’s existence, and get personal. You’ll find it nearly impossible to break through your plateau if you don’t establish connections with your audience.
Consider contacting podcasters whose listeners include your ideal customer to see how you can help them. I teach serving before selling in my Launch Your Box coaching membership. Some of the most successful subscription box entrepreneurs I know began with a desire to help others and continue to do so. When you can present yourself in a way that genuinely benefits a new audience, they’ll be drawn to you and your offerings.
Read 7 Steps to Starting a Business Without Any Money.
3. Pay close attention to customer retention
Let’s say you’ve had 90 percent of your customers return after a certain period of time. That’s an excellent retention rate. It is, however, an opportunity. What if you could increase your repeat customers by up to 95%? In my industry, it costs five times as much to acquire a new subscriber as it does to keep existing subscribers.
Investing in your current customers may be your best bet for breaking through a plateau.
Do you send out a customer survey to get feedback from your customers? This is a fantastic opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t. Consider rewarding loyal customers with an exclusive product or early access to a product or service before it is available to the general public. Everyone wants to be treated with respect, and rewarding your current customers will only increase their loyalty to you and your company.
It’s not time to panic if your company reaches a stalemate. Instead, it’s an opportunity to broaden your marketing strategies, find new ways to reach both existing and new audiences, and provide excellent service to your loyal customers to keep them coming back. A business plateau serves as a reminder that you must continue to learn and grow. In order to break through a plateau, you may need to change what you’ve been doing.
Learn more from business and read Leadership Development Tips for Future Business Owners.
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