{"id":35126,"date":"2020-09-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/nine-best-practices-every-small-business-owner-should-embrace\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T08:33:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T15:33:27","slug":"small-business-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/small-business-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"18 small business best practices for everything from sales to CX"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building a successful small business involves much more than just coming up with a good idea for a product or service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need to have excellent customer service, an effective sales and marketing strategy, and a tireless focus on doing, well, pretty much everything to a consistently high standard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s not for the faint of heart or the disorganized, but the good news is even though you can\u2019t really \u201ctrain\u201d ambition or an entrepreneurial spirit, it <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">relatively easy to make sure you&#8217;re managing a well-structured and cost-effective business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key? Follow a set of best practices that works for your business, your team, and how you like to operate. Every business is different, of course, but there is a general set of best practices for a small business that you can use as a checklist to see if you\u2019re covering your bases. (You can also use it as a launching pad and tailor those best practices to what your business needs if you want a more custom set of guidelines.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post, we\u2019ll look at best practices for small business owners: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">specific, actionable <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">things you can do in practically every area of your small business\u2014sales, customer service, marketing, finances, and more\u2014to make sure that there aren\u2019t any glaring holes (for example, in your customer service or social media strategy).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s dig in. Skip ahead if you\u2019re interested in a particular section:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#sales\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales best practices for small business<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#cx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer service best practices for small business<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#financial\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial best practices for small business<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#admin\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small business administration best practices<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#marketing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketing best practices for small business<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"sales\"><\/a><br \/>\nSales best practices for small business<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure you\u2019re using the right tools<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reason that most successful sales teams are so successful is not that they necessarily have the best salespeople or the smoothest talkers. (Though we bet that helps.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to be able to reach out to a huge number of prospects in a short amount of time, remember at a moment\u2019s notice exactly what a prospect was interested in the last time they contacted your team, and ultimately sell effectively, you need the right <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/sales-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sales software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and tools.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether it\u2019s a CRM (customer relationship management) tool to keep track of your conversations and interactions with both prospects and customers or some other <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/sales-enablement-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sales enablement tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a salesperson\u2019s best friend is no longer just a big Rolodex.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if you do a lot of outbound prospecting, you might find it useful to use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/cold-calling-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cold calling software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/outbound-contact-center.html\">outbound contact center tool<\/a> that logs all your sales <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/cold-call-script-to-get-appointment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cold calling scripts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and keeps tracks of all your campaigns:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation\" title=\"Blended Outbound Cloud Contact Center | RingCentral Engage Voice\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bAaEj0aBBPA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know your product\u2019s weaknesses<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No product is perfect. Even the biggest and most successful brands in the world have their weaknesses. (Apple is super expensive and not everyone is enthusiastic about spending two or three times more than they need to on a laptop. Nike is huge, but more and more people are becoming more eco-conscious and concerned about the ethics behind the products they buy. If you dig enough, every product has a weakness.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the biggest keys to successfully closing deals is to be good at objection handling. What do your prospects always ask about when they\u2019re considering purchasing your product or service? Is it price? Is it reliability or customer service? You should know exactly what makes you awesome, sure, but you should also know where you fall short\u2014and how to help a prospect see past it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know your decision-maker(s)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re a business that sells to consumers, then you should know your target audience\u2019s spending habits, what kind of person is your best customer (psychographics and demographics are two popular ways to look at a target customer), and so on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re a business that sells to businesses, you should know what kind of business is your best customer. This includes how big those businesses are, what industry or industries they\u2019re in, and how many stakeholders and decision-makers they typically have.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing the decision-maker is key\u2014they\u2019re quite literally the ones who will make or break your deal. If you target relatively small businesses with straightforward organizational structures, then chances are you only have one decision-maker to deal with. Either way, always be aware of other influencers or stakeholders who might be able to sway that decision-maker\u2019s opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, your key decision-maker might be a CFO, but the accounting team might be the ones who are actually going to be using the software you\u2019re selling\u2014meaning you should be ready to sell to them too because it\u2019s likely that they\u2019ll be bringing recommendations to the CFO as they\u2019re shopping for a tool.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a playbook<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This doesn\u2019t mean you need a 2,000-page manual about how to sell your product, but you and your team should know the fundamentals of your sales <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/sales-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">process<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and have it readily accessible in a formalized, systematized playbook or guide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few examples of what you might include in a sales playbook:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are your product\u2019s strengths?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are its weaknesses? (Objection handling!)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How should you <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/sales-demo-best-practices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demo your product<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What leeway do you have in terms of discounts or bonuses to offer a prospect and close a big deal?\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do you share <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/team-knowledge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">team knowledge<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so that everyone can easily access information about prospects and what past customers love?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><a id=\"cx\"><\/a><br \/>\nCustomer service best practices<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for small business<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be proactive<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t fall into the trap of only responding to customers and clients when they reach out with a question or complaint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this might seem like it makes things easier on your end and less time-consuming, it\u2019s not great in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, if you know you have a service maintenance period coming up, or that your restaurant is going to be taking a week-long break soon, do you think your customers would rather know that well in advance or the day before?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This helps you reduce the number of messages and calls you\u2019ll get later on from customers who don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on\u2014and just creates a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/improve-customer-experiences\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">better customer experience<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> overall.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to provide better customer service? Grab the free guide on building a modern customer service strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/documents\/engage_digital_insights_ebook.pdf\" data-id=\"6a08ec72c10f6\" id=\"6a08ec72c10f6\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:6a08ec72c10f6.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">Get it now<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udc4d Want to start building a modern customer service strategy? Check out this guide.<\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get it now\">Get it now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:6a08ec72c10f6.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy! \ud83c\udf89<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Respond to customers quickly<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being proactive is one thing. When you do receive a call or email from your customers, you should also be able to react quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to RingCentral\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/customer-communications-trends-report.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Customer Communications Review<\/a>, 53% of overall respondents expect a response to a voicemail they left a company <\/span><b>within the same day, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while 98% of respondents overall expect an answer within two to three days:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/customer-communications-trends-report.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-43557\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/how-quickly-do-you-expect-replies-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"responses to customer inquiries - small business best practices\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Morale of the story: don\u2019t wait to respond to your customers. If you can just answer all your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/inbound-calling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">incoming calls<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> instead of letting them go to voicemail, even better.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use the right tools<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you don\u2019t get lots of messages or calls from your customers or clients, then sure, maybe just having a basic <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/find-best-phone-service-for-small-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">phone service<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and an email account might be good enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you\u2019re finding that you don\u2019t have enough time to respond to every social media message, email, and call within, say, a day, then it\u2019s probably time to look into customer <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/best-customer-service-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">service software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For small businesses looking to enhance their customer service capabilities without stretching their resources, implementing an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/ai-receptionist\">AI receptionist<\/a> can be a game-changer. This innovative technology can handle a wide range of tasks, from answering frequently asked questions to routing calls and scheduling appointments, all without human intervention. By leveraging this tool, small businesses can provide 24\/7 support, improving response times and customer satisfaction. It frees up human staff to focus on more complex issues, while ensuring that every customer interaction is handled promptly and professionally. As the system learns and adapts over time, it becomes increasingly efficient, allowing small businesses to offer a level of service typically associated with larger enterprises. This cost-effective solution not only streamlines operations but also helps create a more professional image for your business, potentially leading to increased customer loyalty and business growth.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow social media best practices for customer service<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your customers may call and email you, but social media messages are becoming a more and more popular channel for customers to ask businesses for help.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tricky thing about social media is that these messages exist in a public space\u2014they tend to be visible to everyone else (aka your prospective customers, potential investors, and other customers).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whereas a customer might be irritated with you for not responding to their email quickly enough, everyone online can easily see exactly how long it takes for you to respond to someone\u2019s Tweet or Instagram comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, how can you make sure that you\u2019re getting to every single message on every platform without missing anything? If you\u2019re active on multiple social media platforms, this is especially difficult because that\u2019s a lot of tabs and windows to keep track of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where it\u2019ll be useful to have some kind of <a class=\"waffle-rich-text-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/contact-center.html\">contact center<\/a> tool. For example, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/digital-customer-engagement.html#ring-cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral Engage Digital<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2122 is a platform that consolidates all your social media channels so that you can see and respond to all your messages, emails, and more\u2014all in one place:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation\" title=\"Digital Customer Engagement | RingCentral Engage Digital\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PZC3o5YN90E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/how-to-say-no-to-a-customer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Know when to say no<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not every customer will be right for your business. Instinctively, most business owners don\u2019t want to irritate their customers. But if you try to please every single customer no matter how difficult they are, then you might be doing your business and team a disservice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> such a thing as a customer who wastes your time while offering little value. This is especially big in service-based businesses (like accounting or real estate) where one fickle or demanding client can take up a disproportionately large chunk of your time and resources. Not every customer <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-relations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">relationship<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will pay off. Just as your customers are always sizing up your business, it\u2019s important to regularly vet them too to make sure that the relationship is working for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"financial\"><\/a><br \/>\nFinancial best practices for small business<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get pricing right<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a great product is only one small part of running a successful business. How you price that product is arguably just as (if not more) important.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pricing that\u2019s either too low or too high will ultimately drive you out of business. A well-thought-out and well-researched pricing strategy will keep customers coming while enabling you to make a tidy profit.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay on top of your cash flow<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor cash flow management is one of the most common reasons for new businesses failing. If you want to be successful and stay in business, you have to be able to pay yourself and your suppliers (and your employees). Always be aware of how long it takes to generate a sale\u2014and also get paid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[ebook-download title=&#8221;Learn more about managing your finances as a remote team&#8221; src=&#8221;&#8221; cta-text=&#8221;Read it now&#8221; link=&#8221;\u200bhttps:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/remote-work-finance-playbook.html\u200b&#8221;]<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set a schedule<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s easy to get into the trap of working around the clock\u2014especially if you have a home-based business. Your time is your most valuable resource. If you\u2019re not great at sticking to a schedule, find a remote working <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/remote-working-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that can help you do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> life beyond your business, and if there isn\u2019t a balance, burnout is a huge possibility. If you want long-term, sustainable success, you have to develop a schedule for work and find the time for the other important parts of your life. Like family and friends!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"admin\"><\/a><br \/>\nSmall business administration best practices<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be familiar with small business hiring best practices<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a mix of different websites and places where you\u2019re sourcing candidates. With remote hiring becoming easier than ever, it\u2019s a good idea to at least think about it as a method of hiring for your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, referrals are great, especially if you\u2019ve already got a widespread network of folks whose recommendations you trust. But with LinkedIn, other social media platforms, and online job boards all at your disposal, why limit yourself to just your local area and colleagues?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few options to look into beyond your immediate colleagues, ex-colleagues, friends, and family:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Job postings sites like Monster.com and Indeed.com<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recruiters and agencies (usually more useful if you\u2019re hiring for a more senior or specialized position like a C Suite role)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/remote-work-playbook.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-42323\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/remote-work-playbook.png\" alt=\"remote-work-playbook\" width=\"1024\" height=\"364\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have an onboarding plan<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you\u2019ve got the perfect person all signed and excited to join your company, you\u2019ve got to get them ramped up. There\u2019s team knowledge to be shared, teammates to introduce, and administrative stuff that this new person will need to learn about quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a best practice, have a plan, even if it\u2019s just a checklist of things for them to do during their first week. This way, you can make sure that you don\u2019t forget anything important.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip:\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<p>If you\u2019re following a certain IT best practice for small businesses, this can make onboarding much, much easier too. The best practice in question: make sure that you\u2019re using only as many tools as you need. For example, would you rather pay for one tool that does video conferencing, another tool for making business calls, and another tool for team messaging?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or would you rather have one communication <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/communication-tools\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that lets you not only make phone calls but also have video conferences and send messages to your team in real time? Yep, the latter is probably a better way to go. Not only are you paying for fewer subscriptions every month, but that also means fewer tools for you and your team to learn and get familiarized with.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow online security best practices<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you communicate with customers and prospects online, or store their data or conversations digitally, this is a big one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don\u2019t want to be the next big story in the news because your customers\u2019 data got exposed or stolen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, here are three simple small business security best practices to keep in mind:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Keep your software up to date. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s one of the easiest things you can do to protect your business from cyberattacks. There\u2019s usually a very good reason your software notifies you to update it to the latest version, so make sure you read about the security features and patches highlighted in those updates\u2014and allow them if it makes sense.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Use two-factor authentication where you can and don\u2019t use the same password across devices.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Pretty self-explanatory. This is a general online security best practice, and it\u2019s even more important when you and your team have multiple tools to log into. It\u2019s easy to get lazy\u2014and it\u2019s pretty much imperative that you don\u2019t. The good thing is there are lots of password helpers out there like LastPass and Passpack, which let you store your passwords for different accounts and devices, and keep them well protected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Run your team through security training on a regular basis.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Not everyone is well-versed in online security, so make sure the whole team is up to date on what they need to do at a minimum. Once a year (or quarterly, if you handle lots of customer data online or think your team needs to brush up more regularly), have a security training session to refresh everyone on how to keep your company\u2019s information safe.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a id=\"marketing\"><\/a><br \/>\nMarketing best practices for small business<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understand your market<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a good grasp of who you\u2019re selling to is absolutely essential. Ideally, this research needs to be accomplished before you launch a business\u2014and should continue as your business grows and your customers\u2019 needs evolve.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow advertising best practices for small businesses<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set realistic and measurable goals for your advertising campaigns. Whether you\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rb.com.au\/blog\/google-advertising-costs\/\">running Google ads<\/a>, a Facebook ad campaign, or a newspaper ad in your local weekly, you should ideally know a few things:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>What you\u2019re measuring<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Are you looking for new customers? Sign-ups to your email newsletter list? Visits to your website?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>What the platform is best used for<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Some businesses might have a super active audience on Facebook. Others in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/b2b-sales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">B2B sales<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> space might have more success on LinkedIn.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>How you\u2019re following up after the ad campaign:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Let\u2019s say you\u2019re running an ad campaign on Instagram to get more followers. You\u2019re not going for the sale right away because you\u2019re selling a luxury product at a high price point\u2014you\u2019ve found that your customers tend to need a little more time and information to understand what your product does before they decide to buy. What are you going to do with all your new followers who are now aware of your brand but not necessarily looking to buy yet? (For example, you could launch a barrage of Instagram posts educating your audience about all the cool things your product does along with a call-to-action to sign up for your newsletter so that you can continue nurturing them through email.)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip:\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<p>Always have a plan for following up after your ad campaign is over. Whether you\u2019re going straight for the sale or need to continue nurturing your prospects, you need to know exactly how you\u2019re going to continue communicating with them afterward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small business website best practices<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You don\u2019t <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to have a website for your business, but it\u2019s much more difficult to be successful if you don\u2019t have one. Whether you\u2019re selling home decor, a SaaS product, or consulting services, the website is almost always going to be the first place someone\u2019s going to look to learn more about you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, as a starting point, make sure that your website has:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your contact information\u2014in an easy-to-find place (like the homepage)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An easy-to-navigate design<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testimonials and reviews, if you have them<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><b>\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip:\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<p>This is not going to make or break your business, but having an search-engine-optimized website can do wonders for helping your audience find you on Google. If you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/small-business-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manage a small business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in an industry where there\u2019s an opportunity to put out a ton of educational content, then you should definitely invest in SEO. Having properly tagged pages and a good keyword targeting strategy is one of the best and most sustainable ways to have new business find you.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you sell a service like real estate? You could create content targeting topics that homebuyers and sellers are searching for, like mortgage FAQs and home staging tips. Do you sell products like paint and home hardware? Why not create content teaching people how to choose the right paints for certain rooms in their homes? The possibilities to reach out to potential customers through content are almost endless.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does your small business follow a set of best practices?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A successful business has to be run well in a multitude of different areas. From being able to sell your product or service effectively to having smooth day-to-day operations, you and your team are most probably going to have to wear multiple hats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make your lives easier, have a set of business operations best practices that you can collectively use as your North Star. This will keep everyone on the same page and aligned on how you market, sell, serve, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Building a successful small business involves much more than just coming up with a good idea for a product or service.\u00a0 You need to have excellent customer service, an effective sales and marketing strategy, and a tireless focus on doing, well, pretty much everything to a consistently high standard. It\u2019s not for the faint of &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":43558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901,43335],"tags":[274,260,456,254,380,162],"class_list":["post-35126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","category-marketing","tag-best-practices","tag-business-success","tag-cash-flow-management","tag-marketing","tag-sales","tag-small-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>18 small business best practices for everything from sales to CX | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unlock 18 game-changing small business best practices in sales, marketing, and finances. 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