Let’s be honest. When’s the last time you’ve followed through on a New Year’s resolution?
If we’re in the circle of trust, I think I made it three months before canceling my Duolingo subscription this year.
Resolutions are hard to keep, but they’re important for small business owners who want to grow their business each year. They give you something to work towards and help you measure progress over time.
Whether you achieve them or not, business resolutions move you closer to success. So, in this post, I’ll help you set attainable goals by sharing eleven small business resolutions for the new year.
12 Business Resolutions for the New Year
Here are twelve resolutions that you can set for your business this year. Let’s discuss why each is important, how you can achieve them, and measure your success.
1. Set SMART goals to grow your business.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It’s an acronym you can use to set achievable goals that actually lead to success.
SMART goals are important for small businesses because they hold you accountable and give you a reliable way to track your success. If you want to take on the other resolutions in this post, you’ll need to set SMART goals to help you along the way.
Here’s a simple template that you can use to set SMART goals for your business:
I want to do X over Y amount of time by taking these actions: [list actions], which will result in these results: [desired results].
Here are some examples of SMART goals:
- Increase sales by 10% over the next six months by creating a landing page for my website that generates 20 new customers per month.
- Increase customer satisfaction scores by 15% over the next two years by using our CRM to automatically follow up with customers one week after their purchase.
- Reduce customer service phone calls by 30% over the next three months by adding a shared inbox to our team communication channels.
2. Personalize your marketing campaigns.
Marketing is an important function at your business. It helps you attract new buyers and retain loyal customers.
But, marketing evolves over time. As new technology becomes available, businesses develop new advertising strategies, resulting in viral trends and unique shopping experiences that influence customer behavior. In other words, you need to keep your marketing campaigns fresh if you want to get your customers’ attention.
One way you can connect with customers is by personalizing your content marketing. Instead of talking to a broad audience, narrow your focus to individual customer experiences. Make each customer feel like you created your marketing campaign just for them.
For example, your emails should include personalization tokens that automatically pull in the customer’s name and information. Most email automation tools offer these tokens, and they typically look like this: {contact_name} – similar to the example below:
You could also use your CRM to reference recent purchases and shopping experiences. For instance, if a customer repeatedly buys the same product or service, give them a discount to ensure they buy from you again.
3. Test new technology (like AI).
Technology can also keep your business fresh and help you attract new customers. The go-to answer here is AI. Small business owners should test AI tools and adopt technology that improves their workflow.
Here are some free AI tools that you should consider:
Remember, AI is not a substitute for human creativity. It can improve your workflow, offload repetitive tasks, and help you stay organized, but it can’t give your brand a personality or market your business for you. Use it to improve your marketing efforts and scale successful ideas without pouring more resources into them.
For example, you can use AI to respond to customer reviews. One way to do that would be to feed your customer comment to ChatGPT and ask it to respond. Or, if you have a business listing management tool, you might have AI suggestions built into your software. Either way, be sure to edit and improve your response before sending it to customers.
Holiday Marketing
Handbook
Maximize your business's marketing strategy for a successful holiday season: from pre-season preparation to during and after the festivities.
4. Build an online presence for your business.
To run a successful business, you need to have an online presence. Most customers use the internet to find local businesses. They take out their smartphones, do a Google search for “businesses near me,” or pull up their preferred map app (like Apple Maps) to search for brands in their area.
If your business doesn’t appear in these locations, you’re missing out on a huge brand awareness opportunity. These are places where you can show off your company, provide information about your services, and direct interested buyers to your website.
Don’t have a website? You’ll need that, too. It’s like a digital home for your business. And, with drag-and-drop builders and premade templates, you can get your site up and running in no time.
If this sounds like a lot to manage, here’s where marketing software comes in handy. You can use an online listings management tool to update your local listings from one place. You can also set up forms on your website to collect customer information and store it in your CRM. Lastly, plenty of SEO tools can beef up your website and make your business easier to find on search engines like Google and Apple Maps.
5. Start a customer referral or loyalty program.
Another business resolution for the new year is to start a customer loyalty program. These programs reward customers for making repeat purchases at your business. For example, you can punch a hole in a business card whenever someone buys something from your company. When they punch five holes, they receive gifts like a discount or free shipping.
You can also reward customers for referring other people to your business. These are called customer referral programs and are a great way to attract interested buyers to your brand.
Customer referrals are effective because the people referring to your brand have had good experiences with your business. Their recommendations are much more compelling than your advertisements or promotions – because customers trust other customers more than they trust advertising. A customer referral program creates a steady stream of potential buyers who trust your business.
6. Automate repetitive tasks at your business.
Do you spend hours writing emails, creating social media posts, and replying to customer reviews?
Take some stress off your workload this year by automating repetitive tasks at your business. By installing automation software, you can get more time back in your workday and refocus your efforts on urgent tasks that require more attention.
For example, email is a great place to leverage automation. When a customer completes a purchase, your business should automatically email them an invoice and a thank you note. The same goes for forms on your website. If a customer fills out a form, that should trigger an email that follows up with them, promoting a deal or special offer.
This automation saves you time and creates consistency for your marketing channels. Once you identify the best promotion, scale that campaign and send similar deals to other customers at your business. You’ll duplicate your success and have an effective marketing strategy to lean on over time.
Holiday Marketing
Handbook
Maximize your business's marketing strategy for a successful holiday season: from pre-season preparation to during and after the festivities.
7. Improve communication on your team.
If you manage a small team, one business resolution could be to improve internal communication at your company. As your company grows, your team will, too. You need to collaborate effectively if you want to continue your success.
Team communication is an excellent start. The better your team communicates, the faster you’ll be at responding to customer issues and providing reliable support. You’ll also complete projects faster and create better experiences for your customer base.
Here are a few team communication tools that I would recommend using next year:
Tip: All these tools are free in Thryv’s Command Center software. Click here to try now.
8. Track your marketing channels.
Setting goals for your business is easier if you’re actively tracking your marketing channels. For instance, you should know which social media platforms attract the most customers to your business and how many people visited the landing page on your website last month.
Data like this helps you brainstorm marketing campaigns and improve them over time. For example, if I wanted to create better social media campaigns, I would look at my engagement data, such as impressions, comments, and shares. Then, I could track these metrics over time and replicate the content that produces the most engagement.
Here are the marketing channels you should be using and the data to track for each one:
- Social Media: Impressions, Views, Comments, Likes, Interactions
- Website: Views, Sessions, Clicks, Sign-Ups, Downloads, Ecommerce Sales
- Email: Opens, Bounce Rate, Clicks, Subscribers
- Online Listings: Reviews, Views, Clicks
9. Establish a healthy work-life balance.
We’ve talked a lot about growing your business, but focusing on your mental and physical health is also important. As a small business owner, you do a lot for your business. You’re the CEO, the janitor, and everything in between. You work long hours because your business’s success relies on you and what you put into it.
But, as your business grows, those hours start to add up. In fact, 86% of small business owners work more than the recommended 40-hour work week. Overworking can quickly lead to burnout, causing your business to stall.
A great business resolution for the new year is establishing a healthy work-life balance for your business. Give yourself plenty of rest, and make time for friends and family. You’ll have more energy to do your day-to-day work and be a happier person as well.
10. Ask for more customer reviews.
Did you know that 45% of customers will likely leave a review if you ask them to? It’s easy to ask, and it doesn’t take much effort, either.
For example, you can set up an email automation that messages customers every time they complete a purchase or receive an invoice. You can use this Google Review link generator to direct people to your Google Business Profile, where they can leave a positive review.
Now, you have a steady stream of reviews coming in, making it even easier for other people to find your business. Reviews are a ranking factor for Google. So, if you have a lot of good reviews, you’re more likely to appear in searches like “best businesses near me.”
11. Get more involved in your community.
Small business owners are important to their communities. They provide goods, services, and employment and generate cash flow for local economies.
They also host community events like festivals, fairs, and trade shows. Your business should get involved with these programs and try to give back where possible. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s a great way to foster relationships with other businesses in your area. If you’re a B2B company, that means more opportunities for sales and partnerships with other local businesses.
Grow Your Business Even Bigger This Year
With New Year’s around the corner, now is a great time to start thinking about your goals for 2025. Don’t forget to use the SMART framework because it will hold you more accountable and position your business for success. After that, get started on one of the resolutions above or use them as inspiration to create your own goals for next year.
Holiday Marketing
Handbook
Maximize your business's marketing strategy for a successful holiday season: from pre-season preparation to during and after the festivities.
