Steps to Develop a Successful Business Growth Strategy
Getting the top spot is tough, but getting to the top always starts by taking the first step. Read on to know how to effectively formulate a business growth strategy
We’ve all been there…
The first step to anything large scale is often intimidating, and shivers your nerves like never before. And being a budding entrepreneur, numbers are everything to you.
When you are starting a new business, the numbers aren’t really in your favor. Research in this arena has shown that only one-tenth of 1 percent companies will ever reach the $250 million in terms of annual revenue.
To put it simply, most businesses start up small, but end up staying there.
If your aspirations however exceed these numbers, and you wish to be one among the elites, there are a plenty of examples out there of companies who have hit the big mark, and are now playing in millions.
What Is A Business Growth Strategy?
Before growing your business by using innovative strategies, you have to understand what they really are.
Quite often, entrepreneurs confuse strategies with plans. Business plans only detail how your company is going to meet a certain target.
A Business growth strategy, however, looks at the scope of evolving now, to meet the challenges that arise today, and those in the future. There is an endless array of benefits a company experiences when having a sound business growth strategy in place.
A business growth strategy is unhinged by the failures of today, as long as it has its long term goals on track. A few ups and downs are a part and parcel of the whole deal; however a business growth strategy will ensure that such turbulence’s never affect the ultimate goal of the company.
If you too are tempted to build a sound business growth strategy to cut you into the elite, then here’s what may help you.
How to develop an effective business growth strategy
1. Penetrating the market
One of the least risky business strategies is to implement new ways to sell more of what you make to those who buy. The ultimate idea of every business strategy is to increase revenue through enhanced sales.
There is a definite strategy for how that is done.
Let’s say you sell beverages. So first, you start selling six packs, then 12-pack, and eventually an entire case. This will make sure you sell more units to the customers who buy.
2. Alternate your channels
You have to reach out to your customers differently.
Many large companies right now cashed in on reaching their customers online, over the past several years. That has paid them handsomely in the long run.
There are far too many channels out there for you to reach out to your customers differently. This strategy is a sure-fire way to reach your customers and encourage them to buy from you.
3. Offer new products to new customers
Polaris stands to be one of the prime examples of offering new products to new customers. When the brand wasn’t making enough from selling snowmobiles, it ventured into making four-wheeled all terrain vehicles which grew out to be an instant hit.
Similarly, Apple pulled off the same strategy with the iPod. Once the newer customers got a hold of the amazing Apple interface on the iPod, they were instantly tempted to try out more Apple devices.
4. Apply SWOT analysis
SWOT basically stands for Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. When you run a SWOT analysis on your business, you instantly recognize what works in your favor, and what parts of your business needs improvement.
Having that data to work on, you can implement business strategies that help you overcome your brand’s blockways. An Online SWOT analysis template can be helpful when you are trying to estimate the overall health of your business, and see if the business growth strategy will align with your revenue generation and business growth objectives.
When you are running a SWOT analysis, you also have to consider the external factors, like the market condition, inflation, etc. A thorough SWOT analysis offers you better insights, which can be handy in making better business growth strategies.
5. Thinking Strategies in the Long Term
The current scenario may seem important to your company, and it is.
However, you have to implement plans with the future in mind. Being ahead of the curve will help your business be flexible to the problems that may surface later.
When Apple ventured out of computers to smart devices and tablets, it was a bold move, but they did pull it off. Now they have notebooks, tablets, desktop devices, and a large list of computing devices that makes them the leading name in technology. Such a wide variety of products is a rarity.
6. Growth only as much as you can handle
If history in marketing has shown us one recurring pattern, it is that exponential growth to an extent that it is unmanageable is regressive in the long run.
Time and again we have seen potential multinational companies grow to an extent they cannot handle, and then meet an early downfall.
You, as an entrepreneur, you have to bear in mind that growth is gradual. Things will take time to pay off, but they will, in the long run. This mindset will keep you from taking unnecessary risks.
To sign off
You are more likely to succeed in your business with a strategy that pays off. Not only would it save you unnecessary expenses, but rather you would be putting your money in the right places at the right time.
With the right business strategy, you would be able to have steady returns even when the market conditions may not seem all that smooth. The key to a successful business is not that it makes money when everyone else is; it is being steady and rock-solid when others aren’t.
Using the strategies we have mentioned above, you would be able to elevate your business to newer heights. With persistent efforts and accurate planning, your brand too can be one among the one-tenth of the companies that hit the million dollar mark annually.
