When the New Year rolls around, everybody scrambles to better themselves in many ways, from engaging in weight loss journeys to creating lofty career goals. Why should your business be any different?

It's an excellent chance for owners to reflect on how well their business is doing. This can mean reevaluating what you spent in 2022 and examining how that money worked for you or, if necessary, developing new marketing strategies to increase sales.

Trying to figure out where to start? We've broken down four areas to focus on below.

Refreshing your marketing strategy

While this may seem daunting, it can be fruitful. The easiest way to figure out what to do is to work backward by looking at your total sales and breaking down each customer's path to buying.

Is your cost per sale higher than the year before? Is the ROI on your spending what it should be? Both could mean you should change how you spend your money. Was there a gradual dip in performance? That could signify that your marketing requires more attention or staffing. It can also mean that your brand's look and overall messaging need an overhaul or a fresh spin.

Whether it's local ads driving web orders or the signage and vibe of your physical location, money spent on marketing that isn't converting or—at the very least—driving further brand awareness is a waste.

Audit product offering

Is your business offering its customers the right product at the right price? Of course, that is a complex answer and depends on your business. But with the New Year in tow, it's a great time to stop and evaluate what products or services drove the most traffic, inquiries, sales, leads or whatever metric your business uses to evaluate its overall success.

For example, are you spending ad revenue and your team's time and effort on marketing that promotes a service nobody uses? Are you overstocking on brands or specific parts that consumers are avoiding?

That could equate to an unpopular paint colour taking up valuable storage space in your stock room, a specialized tool you invested in that collects dust or an unnecessary specialist on staff—all of which can mean wasted money

Update your website

No matter your business, you need a great website to build brand awareness and drive sales. Even though social media platforms, like Facebook, can act as hubs, websites add an extra layer of credibility and have the potential to drive passive sales through careful analysis and well-written content. If that latter point doesn't accurately describe how you view your website, it could mean it's time to consider making meaningful updates.

This is especially important, as more than 75% of people say they judge a company by how its website looks.

The New Year is a great time to use analytics to find out where customers drop off on your website. This process includes auditing your SEO and taking stock of the keywords that attract new customers.

Introduce easy financing

How do your customers make purchases at your business? Do you offer financing? If your business sells expensive goods or services, you can increase revenue by letting people pay over time. This is especially true with a looming recession and rising inflation.

A recent Research and Markets survey says that the "buy now and pay later" phenomenon will grow by 63.5 percent per year, reaching close to $6 billion (U.S.) last year. At the same time, other reports show that consumers are  76% more likely to purchase if there is an easy-to-understand financing option.

One problem, especially for small businesses, is the paperwork and follow-up calls that come with offering in-house financing solutions. However, a financing partner can help solve that issue.

LendCare is one such financing partner, allowing you to apply easily on the spot in minutes using our online tools, make the sale and get paid in full within days. The customer then deals directly with LendCare, removing any burden from your team. As a bonus, there are no fees for businesses to use LendCare. This is an important point, as credit cards, in comparison, charge retailers a fee for processing transactions.