Every business goes through highs and lows, and if your business is struggling and you’re stuck for ideas on what you should be doing differently, you’re in the right place. We’re here to introduce 4 things you can do if your business is plateauing, from addressing your products to branding and marketing. No matter your budget or the size of your business, these are really positive changes you can make to get your business back on it’s feet again. 

Release New Product Lines

The first thing you can do if your business is plateuing is to release new product lines. By doing this, not only are you providing something new and exciting to existing customers who may already have your products, but you are also massively increasing the potential scope when it comes to attracting new customers. 

So, think outside the box. Don’t go too far from what you know and what works for your business, as this may compromise the quality or push loyal customers away from the brand. But, doing something new and exciting within your expertise could be just what your business needs. Don’t rush this process, as you don’t want to bring something out on a whim and then it end up being a flop, as this could be even more dangerous for your business. So, take your time, invest your time into creating a product that you feel passionate about and then go from there. 

Invest In New Marketing Avenues

Another great way to retarget existing customers and to attract new ones is by looking into new marketing avenues. There are so many options out there, many you may never have heard of, so do your research and find out what could work for your business. Here are a few examples to get you started: 

Email Marketing

First up we have email marketing, a type of marketing that many people believe is no longer relevant, but that certainly isn’t the case when it’s done properly. Email marketing is a fantastic way to remind your customers that you’re there, to share relevant and engaging content with them, to offer them discounts and deals and to simply provide highly personalised content that will make them feel valued as a customer. So, if you have given up on email marketing, create a great template and pick it up again. You should also put on offers like 10% off if someone signs up to the mailing list, to bring new customers into your mailing list too. 

SEO

Whilst many people know what SEO is, many people still aren’t prioritising it as a marketing method, when they definitely should be. SEO is all about making sure that when someone searches for a term similar to what you offer on Google, your website is appearing. There are so many different ways to do this, and it is actually a very complex method of marketing, so it is always worth working with an agency. However, this is 100% something you should be investing in, as you are able to target people who are looking for exactly what you offer. 

Social Media Paid Advertising

Another fantastic method of reaching both new and existing audiences is paid social media advertising. Everyone is doing organic social media advertising, but using the paid services are highly effective in retargeting old audiences and also finding new ones. For example, you can set up custom audiences to target anyone who been on your website or social media channels in the last year. You might show sale adverts specifically to these audiences or new collections. 

You can then also run campaigns targeting people who are interested in other companies to your own. For example, if you own a luxury bag company, you might select to target people who are interested in Gucci, Saint Lauren, Miu Miu etc. You can also narrow audiences down to make the most of your budget, such as only targeting engaged shoppers who have made a purchase through a social media ad in the past. 

Targeting options are more limited after iOS 14, as privacy rules have changed, but when done correctly it continues to be a successful marketing platform for many businesses. 

Improve Your Website

If you are an e-commerce business, improving your website is an absolute must to keep up with your competitors. If your website is slow, it is difficult for people to use, the images are poor quality, it is cluttered, you have poor content and it isn’t responsive to users, they are very likely to look somewhere else. The world of e-commerce is so saturated and competitive, so if your website isn’t offering the user a good experience, they are highly likely to simply go and look elsewhere. 

So, go to a website developer and speak to them about the improvements you need to make. This can be costly, but spending lots of money on marketing to bring users to your website is useless if they simply leave as soon as they get there. 

As well as looking at traffic levels, it is vital that you also look carefully at your conversion rate, as this shows that the users coming to your website are actually interested in your products and have a good experience, so go on to make a purchase. If your conversion rate is low and your bounce rate is high, this is a strong indication that there are issues with your website that need to be addressed. 

Improve Your Branding

We never like to suggest that businesses jump into a rebrand, as it is a long and often expensive process. However, it can absolutely transform a business and is an essential practice every so often for businesses to remain competitive and relevant in their industry. We would always recommend working with a design agency Leeds or London based for some of the best talent in the country, as you want to make sure you get this right the first time around! If you have to keep rebranding, your customers will feel distanced, which will have a negative effect rather than a positive one. So, invest in getting this right and your business will reap the benefits.