If it’s time to develop or expand your small business, obtaining funding to help achieve your goals might be your first step. You can do amazing things for your company with a little extra money in your account.

You are off to a great start if you have already formulated a step-by-step strategy for how you can turn your small company into a nationwide empire. Knowing just how you want to use a loan for working capital makes it easier to secure the financing you need. But you may not have a clear understanding, like many small business owners, of exactly what you should do to grow your Company. What next?

Before you start spending, having a plan will help ensure that your funds end up in the places of your company that need them most. Read on to find 6 simple strategies to boost the efficiency of your company and optimize your funding dollars: 

  1. Improve your customer service.

If you are looking for ways to use your funding for small businesses, begin with one of the most important aspects of running a small business: Customer service. Take a look at any customer complaints you have received, read through your online reviews, talk to your customer-facing employees, and observe how your people interact with your customers to truly understand what your company needs to improve in this area. 

Some of the customer complaints which are most common include: 

Ineffective Communication Techniques- If a product or service is defective or a question needs to be answered only to find it difficult to reach, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to get in contact with a company. If this is a problem that your customer base is talking about, consider investing in services and channels that allow your customers to reach you quickly and easily. 

Organization and Cleanliness- If the layout of your store or Company is confusing, products are bundled together and difficult to shop, or the room itself is unclean, customers will often complain. It might be time to consider investing in an expansion or moving to a larger location if this is a complaint that has appeared in your reviews. You may also want to consider spending money in a cleaning staff that is full-time. 

Condition of the establishment- On the other hand, if your customers complain about your physical establishment (how it feels, the cleanliness, etc.) this may mean that it is time to consult an interior designer who specializes in customer-friendly spaces and upgrades. In a new, more suitable venue, you can choose to renovate the entire room or start from scratch and create a better branch. 

  1. Hire, train, and retain competent employees.

Since the way customers are handled significantly impacts the revenue of your company, you might want to use your loan or advance to hire and train qualified workers who share the same vision as you. You are likely to see an improvement in their job satisfaction and find that you have greater employee retention by investing money in your workers and their growth and paying them what they deserve, filling your company with satisfied employees who are invested in their work and the success of your company. 

  1. Expand your product line.

Expanding a product or service line is expensive in most situations. Apart from the fact that you have to produce a new product or completely build a new service which means investing in research and development, the risks are high because your company may enter a market in which they have not yet competed. In spite of this, by attracting more customers or upselling current customers, expanding your product or service offering can be a great way to boost your small company.

Many popular extensions of the product line or service go into areas similar to the core product of the company, keeping it relevant to their client base and making it easy to promote add-on purchases. A business manufacturing shoes, for instance, may extend its product line to include products such as shoelaces, socks, polish, cleaners, and waterproof or winterizing sprays, or even shoe repair services. 

  1. Invest in marketing and promotions.

For many small companies, the cost of successfully marketing your company may be prohibitive. Many company owners choose to use their financing to invest in innovative marketing and promotional strategies to increase the popularity of their brand such as:

Strategic Campaigns and alliances for local marketing

Starting a digital advertising program, including search engine or social media ads, or working with social media influencers 

Sponsoring local teams or events 

  1. Acquire inventory or raw materials.

If you run a seasonal company, you may want to use your funding to purchase inventory ahead of your busy season. Some companies may also need raw materials on hand to pitch new projects, such as construction or manufacturing companies. In little as one business day, alternative lenders like Thor Capital Group will provide the financing you need to purchase inventory or raw materials. 

  1. Expand Geographically.

If your company’s product expansion is not on the cards, you could use your small business financing to expand to a new location in another part of the nation, within the state, or even within the same region. Expanding to a new location will increase your visibility and increase the amount of customers you can serve. This technique can be expensive, like the other three tips above. Starting the process with thorough research on local demographics, altitudes, and culture, often within the same area, these factors will differ wildly to ensure that your investments benefit from this form of expansion. This way, you can understand the locations will be a good match for your business, target audience, and offering of goods. 

If you are ready to expand your business and have secured a working capital loan to support your expansion, there are several ways you can use your financing to support your goals:

Improve your customer service 

Hire, train, and retain your employees 

Expand your product line 

Invest in marketing and promotions 

Acquire inventory 

Expand geographically 

Here at Thor Capital Group, we are committed to your continued success and will work to help you develop your small business in every way we can. Consider us your cheerleader and your partner, from guidance on where to invest the money to tactics to improve business performance, and ideas for ways to improve your small business.