Expanding a business takes time, hard work, and skills, not to mention finances. Whether you run a big or small organization, navigating the whirlwind of highs and lows is not an easy feat. That is where a well-thought-out growth strategy comes into play.
Your business’s growth strategy is the broad blueprint that takes your company from where it is today to where it wants to be within a specific duration. In other words, it summarizes everything a business must do to expand. When it comes to driving growth, this is a holistic and scientific approach.
Here are a few steps that will enable you to tap into unbound corporate growth:
- Figure Out Your Niche
Overextending yourself could be detrimental to your business. Instead, concentrate on your skills and experience, the best ways to put them to use, and the industries you are most familiar with.
Every company’s primary objective is to meet its target market’s needs. Be creative and conduct market research before launching a product or service. If you are blank, you may come across some prospective ideas using the free tool Google Trends. Find out what you are interested in, and then look for market holes in that area.
- Embrace Change
The world is always evolving. Thus, there is no reason why your company should not do the same. Saying no to change is the biggest enemy of growth. If an organization does not keep up with the times, it is at risk of stagnation and may struggle to meet market demands. To begin with, you should arm yourself with the latest software. Considering the facility of NetSuite Implementations, configuring technological tools has become a breeze nowadays.
Not all endeavors of change will be successful. That said, it does not mean your efforts are in vain. Suppose you have a mindset that accepts the possibility of failure and risk. In that case, you are more likely to experiment with new product upgrades or marketing strategies and handle the consequences when they occur.
- Create A Sales Funnel
Building a sales funnel is hands down one of the best ways to expand your business rapidly. You can streamline your company’s operations using sales funnels and pave the way for rapid growth. Naturally, you will have to do some work upfront. But once these procedures are in place, everything goes without a hitch.
A landing page is a good start when building a sales funnel. Your landing page lets prospects learn about your company, products, and services. Various methods can bring visitors to your landing page, including a social media post, an e-book download, or an invitation to a webinar. Suppose you want to attract visitors to your website. In that case, your landing page should clearly explain your business and the benefits of your product or service.
- Identify Goals
Your organization probably has a mission that directs your efforts. How much growth are you targeting to advance your work toward your mission? Your goals will then dictate the steps that must be taken to accomplish them.
A common but ineffective strategy for setting growth targets is to use last year’s numbers and then add or subtract a few percentage points. Year-to-year comparisons have now become irrelevant because of the pandemic. Leadership must take a critical look at trend lines and historical precedents in light of COVID-19’s acceleration of the mass migration of digital services. Taking a zero-based approach to growth planning implies starting from scratch.
The key to success here is to continue honing in on certain aspects until you can narrow down the goals that will assist you in reaching your annual expansion goal. The next step is to break down your big goals into smaller, more attainable ones. It is fine if each of your goals has several sub-goals.
- Follow Up
Many businesses disregard the importance of maintaining regular contact with customers. According to a recent survey, 48 percent of salespeople fail to follow up with a single prospect. Customer rejection is so common in sales that 60 percent of customers will say no at least four times before finally saying yes.
It is important to keep in mind that only 20% of your clients account for 80% of your total revenue. Even though your customers may not require your products or services, they might want to purchase something from you a few weeks or months later. Obtaining new clients is much more difficult than sustaining existing clients since they already know and trust you.
Here are a few ideas to follow up with your customers:
- Show appreciation: Sending a message to customers that expresses gratitude for their business is one of the most typical ways to stay in touch with customers. Albeit simple, it is an effective strategy. Many organizations use email to send thank-you notes, but some rely on phone calls or digital cards.
- Get feedback: Customer feedback forms are another popular approach to following up. To acquire comprehensive feedback, you may send your customers a survey with several questions. Aside from keeping the lines of communication open with your customers, getting feedback from them can give you insights into how to make your business more efficient in the future.
- Commemorate events: If you get in touch with a customer on a special occasion, it will demonstrate that you value them as a customer above all else. Consider sending a note to your customer to mark a significant occasion, such as their first anniversary as a client. If you know your client’s birthday, you may send them a birthday card. Make sure to keep your message as brief as possible.
Conclusion
Growth is a common objective for most companies, in addition to maintaining and expanding sales and profits. Those who wish to advance in their company’s hierarchy should be familiar with the concept of a business growth plan and the best practices for developing one. You can be confident that if you follow the guidelines this piece outlines, you can come up with a well-rounded growth plan.
