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Grow Your Dental Practice with Grants | Small Business Advice
Too many small businesses proceed to go on a downward trajectory almost from the instant that they open up shop. To give you a better idea of how many companies are destined for failure early, research shows that 20 percent of small businesses call it quits after year one, while 50 percent will follow suit by the fifth year. To help tip the scales back in your favor, our team at Dr. Marketing has underlined some of the typical challenges that small business owners encounter and provided resolutions that will give you a fighting chance to continuously prosper.
What are Small Businesses?
Resisting the temptation to state the obvious and proclaim that small businesses, with a self-explanatory title, are just that, we will discuss what makes up a company of this sort. A small business is a privately owned corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that employs fewer staff members and earns less annual revenue than a corporation or regular-sized company.
Although small businesses are generally capable of incorporating identical quality management systems that the larger outfits depend on, they do experience unique challenges throughout the process. These smaller businesses, for example, often have fewer human resources and less up-front capital to invest in their professional endeavors. Dental practices are viewed as small businesses and they can more than relate to the numerous obstacles that are to be surmounted.
Challenges that a Small Business Owner Might Encounter
⦁ Managing time: both you and your team must be spending their hours prudently, with tools and processes that ensure excellent time management. You have to, in a balanced approach, concentrate on the business and see to it that all of your employees have the resources required for their particular tasks. As your small business grows, this issue can be exacerbated, which is why you should have time management maximized from the outset.
⦁ Branding: one of the growing pains that any small business owner will quickly realize is the need to develop a distinct brand and effectively introduce it to the public. According to statistics, 70 percent of brand managers insist that building an audience is more vital than direct sales. Easier said than done, but brand awareness serves to generate trust with your audience (dental patients), establish a connection with your brand and the products or service offered, and build a loyal base of consumers that will propel revenue.
⦁ Representing a 'jack of all trades': in today's market, all companies are almost expected to portray a multifaceted organization. Whatever the concern, complaint, or product/service/promise is lacking, a small business has to adapt and demonstrate that it can be resolved. If not, you risk losing a sizeable portion of consumers, and they are likely to take their business elsewhere, i.e., your direct competition. Keep an eye on what your consumers are unsatisfied with and do your utmost to address the issue(s).
⦁ Expanding & attracting new consumers: like all companies, small business owners will struggle to attain new customers, especially since their brand isn't well-known at the time of first opening. Acquisition costs are largely high and small businesses have less spending power than their larger counterparts. Identify who your ideal consumer is and develop a template that reveals their demographic, occupation, and online tendencies. Once that is finalized, and you've come to terms with who the target audience is, then you create content that is catered to them.
⦁ Putting together an email list: when you are seeking to convert prospects into consumers, or dental patients, the key is to build trust and provide value. Email marketing continues to be a useful marketing channel, offering a potential whopping return on your initial investment when executed properly. However, building the email list itself is time-consuming, so find creative ways to maintain that list, adding new contacts constantly.
⦁ Hiring talented staff: labor quality, or a lack thereof, is a dominant factor that plagues many small business owners. A solid company's foundation is the employees who oversee the day-to-day responsibilities. If your staff is comprised of incompetent, incapable individuals, your business's decline will only hasten and you might not even stand to see that first-year checkmark. Be sure to hire all of your staff members with a mindset that considers long-term ambitions.
⦁ Financial strategizing: small businesses will, more often than not, operate with certain budget restraints or limitations. Resources are necessary to improve the company's efficiency, quality, and overall capabilities. Lacking the capital to fully access these resources, small businesses can easily flounder early on and never recover.
⦁ Mental fatigue: the mental wear and tear that small business owners frequently experience can certainly be classified as a challenge. Hours dedicated to the job, combined with the unshakeable pressure to deliver resounding results, are enough to burn out any individual. Mental exhaustion from this degree can lead to hasty decision-making on your part. Settle on a pace of performance that will have the business functioning and moving forward steadily, because overdoing it is quite counterproductive.
⦁ Mastering the balancing act: your company's growth can eventually create additional challenges that, in actuality, produce more issues than benefits when addressed. There could be the need for a minor sacrifice for the greater good, such as cutting back on the amount of management you oversee for personal client relationships or the inspection of products. But, this intense attention to detail and engagement is what pushes a small business to thrive, so you must occupy that middle ground.
Finding Grants and Funding for Your Dental Practice:
Details About the CDAP Grant
The Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) has introduced the Grow Your Business Online grant, a micro-grant of up to $2,400 that can assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the costs tied to implementing digital technologies.
To summarizing it succinctly, the grant helps small business owners get online, boost sales, integrate security software, connect with consumers, improve social media marketing, and create a superior user experience for online customers.
In three easy steps, you can confirm whether or not you qualify: review all eligibility criteria, work in unison with a local service provider, and apply for the grant.
Dr. Marketing can help you from here
After you receive approval for the Grow Your Business Online grant, Dr. Marketing can be of assistance, allowing you to take the next step. We can help you in any of the following departments:
⦁ Website design: our team is prepared to work on a website layout that is simple to navigate, visually appealing, and conducive to bringing in additional online traffic.
⦁ Brand development: we can get your brand recognized by a larger audience, using proven marketing and online content strategies. For any small business's brand, the aim of the game is a superb reputation, and we will strive to achieve just that for your company.
⦁ Digital marketing: much of your marketing has to be centered around digital platforms, so it is our goal to introduce your small business to the online masses, where ever they might browse new marketing material.
If you are a small business owner overwhelmed by various challenges, contact our trusted team at Dr. Marketing. Together, we can collaborate and finalize online marketing strategies that will get your dental practice noticed by more patients.
