According to Oberlo, 29% of new businesses failed because of the lack of financial sources. Running out of cash is one of the most widespread reasons for failure. Even businesses with good long-term prospects face cash difficulties making further steps. Quite often, small businesses have to work hard to make a profit that can hardly cover all the costs. Risk and uncertainty are your best friends when you are developing your own business.

Numerous ways to improve and grow your business exist. Putting at risk all your business operations, marketing, and well-being is no longer necessary, as there are free of charge or low-cost ways to expand your business.

In this article, we break down several of the most efficient ways to grow your business on a tight budget.

Reconsider your marketing actions

The most obvious step to take is to reconsider your budget and cut the costs which proved to be inefficient. Try to use the available funds more effectively. Revise your marketing plan to take advantage of sources that are more efficient and less costly.

For sure, there hardly exists a one-fits-all solution while adopting your marketing actions to a tight budget. Start with choosing options that are not too risky and costly. We recommend having a look at your SEO strategy aimed at growing organic traffic. According to a HubSpot report, 49% of users use Google to find new products online, which means that investing is SEO is always a good marketing strategy

SEO methods may differ, of course, but you can focus on those that do not require too much investment and can be done even by one person if your business is a one-person show.

Build relationships with other businesses

Growing a small business is closely related to community engagement. Consider finding other small businesses and partner with them. Build partnerships with local businesses, promote each other, and share the experience. Developing relationships with other businesses can help you generate buzz, discover new potential customers, and increase revenue.

Here are some easy ways to build new effective partnerships at no cost:

●   contributing to other websites with high-quality content pieces;

●   accepting other websites’ contribution to your website (if you have a blog);

●  checking out HARO regularly and submitting pitches to relevant questions;

●  joining Facebook groups (marketing groups, local business groups, etc.);

●  visiting local and digital events (might be challenging due to COVID-19 and some extra costs, but if there is a chance - don’t miss it, it’s a great way to get noticed, tap into new markets and build new relationships).

Take advantage of time and cost-saving business apps

Software is not cheap. However, it can handle numerous tasks far more efficiently than employees. Nowadays, the variety of these tasks is enormous, from the communication process to accounting and back.

When growing your business on a tight budget, you are limited by both money and staff. Fortunately, you are not limited in your choice of app. Numerous opportunities to find perfect apps that help to do more with less exist.

Employ and outsource strategically

According to Guidant Financial, one of the most pressing challenges for businesses in 2020 is employee recruitment and retention.

Bringing a new employee to the business is always a challenging task for a small business owner or manager. As Adam Bryant (author at NYT) states, the major challenges of the hiring process for small businesses include:

●  lack of spare financial resources;

●  lack of hiring experience or total absence of the HR specialist (as we are talking about small businesses, at the start of their way);

●  smart hiring decisions (not those, made on the basis of perfectly polished resumes, references, and pre-planned answers).

Experienced businessmen, who have already crafted their approach to hiring process advice to avoid standard job interviews and choose more sophisticated ways to evaluate candidate's competency. To save time, effort, and money you are to find the insights you can trust.

Emphasize reviews and referrals

Referrals are the highest extent of appraisal and compliment a business can get from a customer. All in all, satisfied customers are the key goal of all your efforts and pains.

When competition on price is not an option for, focus on the quality of your customer experience. People are inclined to get back to businesses they have a personal connection with. Moreover, satisfied customers are quite active recommenders. Gather customer reviews and referrals to expand your customer base and tap into new markets.

Make sure to actually read and respond to the feedback you receive. Take time to thank your customers and to address negative feedback politely.

Conclusion

Nowadays, and old business practice to invest more money to get more money is no longer topical. Growing your business on a tight budget may set you up for long-term success.

Thinking strategically, planning accurately, cutting costs, and finding new ways to expand your business at no pain are precious skills, which will result in invaluable experience in the future.

Growth does not always mean success. Thus, you need to learn how to develop actionable plans and strategies. Find further reading on crafting the right growth strategy in the article 5 Great Tips to Develop the Right Growth Strategy for Your Small Business.