#SpringRefreshSeries | #3 Reach New Audiences

Business is what you do. It’s what you’ve always done. You have dedicated clients and customers. Your brand is known. You are satisfied with your progress. It is all good. But, you know what separates good companies from great companies?

Great companies constantly look for ways to be better.

This month, we profile 4 companies we know. We look at how revamping their business models – new dedication to customer service, expanding internet presence, new leadership and updating processes-- took them from good to great! This week, we continue our #SpringRefresh series, exploring Four Reasons to Consider a Business Revamp, by sharing a piece of our own story. This week we look at For Grace Enterprise.

I will keep this simple and straight to the point. The "i's" were always dotted and the "t's" were always crossed. We were official and we did good business. We had loyal customers, who spread the word to their friends and colleagues about our work. We were good. I was good with this. But, I made a big mistake along the way. I was content there. I never promoted, or invested in promotion, so there was no exposure. When I finally decided to bring on team members, I was too afraid to delegate tasks, so there was no sense of team. I was content with the client base we had, so there was no growth. There was no challenge in my way of business. There was no sense of pride in how this business was run.  For Grace Enterprise was my best kept secret.  Somehow, the business survived on the very little oxygen I gave it. I never talked about For Grace Enterprise or what I/we did. All anyone knew was that I was always busy, always working. I was so afraid that someone, anyone, would try to discourage me. Most of all, I didn't want to be that person that other people would avoid by all means because I was so annoying, talking about my business again. In all that, God still blessed us with clients and contracts. I would meet clients in the most random of ways. And after a few moments of speaking with me, they knew For Grace was the solution for them. Or, customers would spread the word about the service they received. Word of mouth worked in our favor for years. But, the business wasn't thriving, we were surviving. I was surviving. And, I was content.

But, contentment is an enemy of progress. It was time for a change.

I had to sit down and rethink our entire business model. Were we keeping up with the changing times? Were we stagnant? What did we have to offer to an expanding market of consumers? How would they know about us? Is it time to grow? The answer was yes. It was time to grow. And that meant I had to address my own fear of flying and how I had imposed that on my team. The first step was to take advantage of the internet and social media. The website needed to be redone to reflect a refined image. We had to post consistently and across platforms. We had to engage our audience. We had to plan and execute content and designs that would both attract views but also showcase our knowledge. After doing all of this, we have seen a significant rise in our subscribers and customers. Our online inquiries have more than doubled. Our readership has almost tripled. 

Two words changed our entire business: Engagement. Consistency. 

Our revamp has risen our audience by 200%. Take a page out of our book. Now is a good time to take a look – or bring an outside contractor in to take a look – at your processes and where you stand in an ever growing market. Complacency is an enemy of progress. Now is the time to ensure you continue to grow and stay the top of your game….and reach the audiences your business can best serve.