The internet has boosted entrepreneurship more than any other technology advance in history. With the current boom, the challenge now lies in growing a business more than in starting one. To expand your reach, consider expanding your base to enlist these three key roles: a Customer Retention Specialist, a SEO expert and a R&D Strategist.

Customer Retention Specialist
Successful businesses know that retaining customers is just as important as gaining new ones. A customer service function provides a go-to-person for questions and concerns. A customer retention specialist focuses both on serving the satisfied customer and on working to keep or regain the customer who might have lost interest in the product. Successful companies like FourSquare actually employ “guerilla” customer service, where they seek out customers who complain about their service, and work to reverse the negative view of the company. A Customer Retention Specialist can be especially effective with a company that operates with subscriptions, or monthly installments, and can help keep the customer from canceling services.

SEO Expert
Whether the business is web based, or is a traditional brick and mortar store, the internet is crucial in bringing in customers. Over a billion internet searches are performed daily; a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Expert can help put a website at the top of the list and drive traffic to that site. But more than generating traffic, SEO expert services can identify keywords to target interest in a particular product. An optimized page will retain the visitor and the better targeted audience will more likely convert a website visit into an actual sale. Over time, the SEO Expert can monitor marketing campaigns and determine what works and what needs to be further optimized. If finding an in house SEO expert becomes difficult, there are SEO expert services available to cater to your online marketing needs.

R&D Strategist
Research and Development (R&D) refers to the process of finding new knowledge that can be applied to business processes, as well as to the company’s products and services. Even a company that is doing well will need to innovate if they want to continue to grow. An R&D Strategist provides direction on how to better produce the current goods, analyzes the market for growth areas, and generates ideas for new products or services that will complement the current inventory. Businesses with a defined R&D strategy outperform and outlast those with a weak or non-existent R&D program.

Depending on the size of the business, these three functions can be satisfied by hiring employees, or by looking to consultant firms that provide these services. The key in finding the right person for the job lies in both their knowledge of the needed function, and their knowledge of your product and market. Smart hiring in these areas will help take your business into its next phase successfully.

Citations:

• Image 1
• Image 2

Nick Walz is an active blogger and writer who likes to share his advice and tips to the online community. Nick is a strong believer that having these three key employees will beneift your organaitation, which is what led him to write this post. You can contact him on Twitter @Nick_Walz.