There is an estimated 44,500 electrical businesses in the UK. That is a great deal of competition to differentiate yourself from and compete against in order to grow. But growing a business is not always about doing more, there are other strategies for achieving growth too.
Want to know how to grow a small electrical business? At UK Growth Coach, we can help you and your electrical business grow successfully in this highly competitive marketplace.
To know how to grow your electrical company in the UK, follow our 3 important tips below.
1. Have robust and thorough marketing and sales plan
Firstly, it’s vital to have a systemised approach. To do this, you need to develop a marketing plan and include a range of different activities.
Brand & USP
Your brand and your unique selling point (USP) are important, as this is what sets you apart from your competitors, and answers the question of ‘why should potential customers use you and not others’.
Your brand and USP are critical parts of how to grow a small electrical business in a crowded marketplace.
It also defines who you are, what you stand for, what services you offer, what problems or needs they address, and how you want to present yourself.
The brand is the level of professionalism you present yourself with, from your logo, to your website, to your copywriting.
Findability
Once you have your brand, USP, and target audience figured out, potential customers need to be able to find you. You can use a mix of:
- Findability strategies such as a website, and your social media presence
- Visibility strategies such as signage, blogging, and networking
- Direct marketing such as flyers to local properties.
How to grow a small electrical business if your prospects can’t find you? The answer is you can’t!
Enable enquiries
Once a potential customer is after your services, you need to make sure the process from enquiry to purchasing is as smooth and efficient as possible.
You can help customers deal with you easily by using systems such as an online chat, WhatsApp, or another form of direct messaging. Using a simple CRM system like Pipedrive will also help you to track opportunities.
Grow client lifetime value
One sale is great, but multiple sales would be even better!
You can help existing customers use your services time and again by using reminder systems and ongoing marketing to stay in touch in an efficient manner.
Educating them on your range of electrical services is also vital, so they know what they can buy from you when the time comes.
Recommendations & referrals
Growing your business doesn’t just stop there. Recommendations and referrals are invaluable to your business.
To help customers recommend you, you will firstly (and obviously) need to provide them with great service. Then give them all of your contact details for Google, Facebook, and any other review sites, as well as guidance on how to review you.
We want to be able to capture good stories, and actively share them. Reading good online reviews on trusted websites will instill confidence in potential customers. The key here is to have a system for getting recommendations and referrals. Too often this is left to chance and the goodwill of the customer, rather than a proactive effort or system being in place. If you do create a system for recommendations and referrals, you will soon see the difference though in leads generated!
2. Understand your business profitability
Next on how to grow a small electrical business, you will need to use proper estimating tools and approaches to understand your business’ profitability.
Tracking time and costs is also very important. You should check reality versus estimates and you will learn fast if you were not right the first time.
Starting a business isn’t easy, and money can be tight, so charge extra where it is fair to do so! For example, could you move that plug socket or add another light fitting? If it isn’t in the original costs, get paid fairly for doing it.
3. Recruit with care, and induct team members properly
As a small business owner, it can be hard to make sure you get the right amount of team members, and also ones that are the right fit for the job.
To grow your electrical business in the most efficient way, don’t wait until you are overloaded with work to hire more staff.
Make sure you have official job contracts, and also manage performance by having weekly catch-ups, and monthly/yearly performance reviews.
Always treat your staff fairly and well, so that when it comes to attracting new colleagues, it will be easier. Employer reputation is just as important as business reputation!
How to grow a small electrical business - UK Growth Coach
Struggling with how to grow your small electrical business?
Why not book a complimentary 90-minute business strategy session with our Founder, Tim Rylatt? He has helped over 250 companies to date and you can hear the success he has helped achieve for this in our case studies.
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