Make This Year the Best Ever for Your Small Business

It's that inevitable time of year when people make their New Year's resolutions. Personally, I'm not a big fan of resolutions -- there's too much pressure to live up to them. But if you're a small business owner, I do think now is a good time to assess where you've been, where you're headed, and how you plan to get there.

2011 should be a transformative year for many businesses. The economy is rebounding. If holiday sales are any indicator, consumers are in a buying mood again. (According to the National Retail Federation, holiday revenues will likely come in 3.3 percent higher than last year, the largest increase in four years.) Hopefully, your business is in fighting form. If you're not, don't worry -- that's what this New Year's assessment is for.

Only you know what you specifically need to work on in your business, but there are some areas almost every entrepreneur should look at. This is just a brief overview; I'll take a deeper look at some of these important topics in the weeks ahead.

Build Your Brand. The best time to build your brand is at startup, but many entrepreneurs are too preoccupied to think about it then. Julie Crow, CEO and principal owner of Interplay Consulting, says, "Many people confuse branding and marketing. Marketing drives awareness of your business in the marketplace, while branding is about your identity." In fact, Crow explains, "It's harder to market your business if you haven't built a solid brand message. And that's more than just creating a logo and tagline."

Be Strategic. Owning a business is one of the best ways to create wealth. If you're just thinking about getting in the game, Farnoosh Torabi, financial expert and author of Psych Yourself Rich, advises you to approach startup in "a technical, not emotional way." Torabi says you should pick a business "based on opportunity, revenue stream, and cash flow." She explains, "Startup is more about strategy than passion."

Optimize Your Website. I'm not just talking about search engine optimization (SEO) here, although that's a big part of it. Ben Fisher, VP of Marketing and Business Development for website hosting and internet marketing company imSMB.com, says that to get the most out of your website you should:

• Actively recruit feedback from site visitors using tools like KISSInsights.com.
• Use Google Analytics and tools like ClickTale or Crazy Egg to monitor what your site visitors are doing.
• Monitor your social media ROI with SWIX.
• Create a mobile version of your website or an iPhone App.
• Test your website for SEO friendliness and broken links, and make sure all your contact forms are working.

Be Everywhere. Everything is moving at warp speed, so it's imperative you stay ahead of your customers and competitors. Melanie Attia, product manager at email marketing company Campaigner, says it's increasingly important "to integrate your social media and email marketing efforts." Some reports, Attia says, show that "email campaigns that include social media lift success rates by 20 percent." That's why Attia advises entrepreneurs to "be everywhere, on every social network."

Being everywhere in 2011 includes using QR codes. Attia describes these as "the younger, more talented sibling of the lowly bar code." You'll find QR codes in supermarkets, magazines, and even on signs at bus stops. Consumers can scan a QR code using their smartphone camera and be taken directly to your website, where you can offer special discounts and promotions.

Build Credibility and Creditability. Most of you know the importance of maintaining credibility; everyone prefers to do business with people they trust. But have you thought about your creditability? In these times of tight credit markets, if you want to get funding from a bank or other source, your business needs to be creditable. Make sure your business has a high business credit score, and if it doesn't, work to improve it.

Offer Freemiums. The "freemium" business model, in which a company offers basic services for free but charges a premium for advanced services, really came of age last year. Ranjith Kumaran, founder and CTO of secure digital delivery company YouSendIt, says, "Many startups realized the shift from an ad-based business model to a subscription- or freemium-based model was vital to their success." But, he adds, "Not every business can successfully use this model, so it's crucial to figure out if it will work for you." According to Kumaran, industry experts say that businesses need a "10 percent conversion from free to paid to be viable." Although, he adds, "This isn't the case for every organization."

Of course, there's much more. As I've discussed throughout the year, cloud computing, employee retention, and customer loyalty will become increasingly important for small businesses intent on growing in the next few years. The key to success in 2011 is to pay attention, be flexible, and be open to change.

The future of your business starts tomorrow. Are you ready?