How To Grow A Successful Business
If you’re struggling to grow your business, here’s some great tips from successful entrepreneurs and business owners that you can try for yourself!
Get in front of a new audience
If your current fish aren’t biting, consider sharing your bait in front of new fish……There are several ways to grow your business by introducing your products and services to a new pool of customers, opening you up to a new market. Consider collaborating with mutually beneficial business partners or even friends with businesses to do cross promotions, special offers or give aways. Working with other companies in your industry will help you to reach new customers and establish your references on a national or international level, which will grow your business. [Sources: 9]
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is another great way to organically expand your business via influencers or affiliate partnerships. They key is to set up a good affiliate partner offer, work with your website developer to set up the website infrastructure, develop shareable resources or graphics that affiliates can share to drive traffic and sales on your site, then do weekly checks on traffic volume and conversions, while following up with payouts for your affiliate partners. What’s really great about affiliate marketing is that anyone with friends on Facebook (as an example) can be sharing their affiliate links from your site as soon as they are set up as a partner, helping both grow your brand and your business.
For a full breakdown of steps, check out this link from Referral Rock.
Impulse marketing to attract as many customers as possible is another type of targeted marketing that can be effective for small businesses. Again, direct relationships with influencers can also help boost your company’s sales, so it’s definitely worth considering. [Sources: 2]
Franchise your business
Franchising your business, if the model is suitable, can be a great way to go through onboarding licensees or franchise partners who can further represent your name or brand in different geographical locations.
If this is part of your plan moving forward, it’s worthwhile working with a franchise specialist who can set up the business frameworks, infrastructure, offer and onboarding process to ensure you and your brand are fully protected.
Once you have these key elements in place, you can then look into the valuation and what that franchise opportunity will look like for a potential partner. For more information about how to do this, check out this information supplied by the NZ government as part of it’s free online resources designed to support small businesses. [Sources: 0, 9]
The 80:20 rule
Customer acquisition is very important for any business so having a robust ad campaign or organic social media audience growth campaign is a great place to start, however if you’ve ever hear of the 80:20 rule, you’ll know how important it is to focus on the customers you already have. Not only is it easier to get repeat custom or upsells from happy existing customers, the customer journey when getting a sale across the line is often faster and easier too.
Customer perception of your business however can make or destroy a business so look after your previous and existing client database with regular touchpoints or helpful tips and updates through your newsletter or social media community. If you exceed your customers’ expectations, they are also more likely to tell their friends, relatives and followers about your business. Win. [Sources: 7, 13]
Customer service is still king
According to Small Business Trends, a great way to grow your business is to focus on superior customer service. If you offer your customers a better service, they will be more inclined to come back to you the next time even if your competition has a better or more compelling offer. [Sources: 8, 13]
Understand your numbers
No matter what kind of small business you run, learning your numbers can give you amazing insight into where you spend your money, waste money and your greatest potential for revenue generation. (FYI: It’s worth learning this from your accountant or business advisor if numbers are not your strength.)
It’s obviously important to increase your turnover and increase your revenue, while understanding your profits and tax implications, and focussing on your team, culture and customers. Sounds overwhelming, but welcome to the world of being a business owner! The devil is in the detail, so take some time daily to focus ON the business as well as working within it.
If you are looking for ways to grow, pay attention to the costs associated with running your business and providing your product or service to customers. Reducing these costs can be an effective way to give your business the cash flow it needs to grow and stabilize. One of the easiest ways to grow a business is to pursue a market penetration strategy where the price of your products or services is low enough to entice customers to try it out. [Sources: 0, 9]
On the flipside, as an entrepreneur, you must show your customers enthusiasm for your services and products, point out why your offer is the best and what the ROI (return on investment) is for them with regards to value or how your product, brand or service can make them feel. Providing tangible data, numbers based results or testimonials can all help too. [Sources: 5, 6]
Define a strong marketing strategy
If your goal is to start a small business that will be huge one day, you need a marketing strategy to help you increase brand awareness, engage your audience and attract new customers. [Sources: 0]
Business success and growth do not come overnight; it requires long-term concentration and you must remain consistent in growing your brand equity, sharing your story and showcasing the value proposition of your business and what your enterprises promise is to your customers. By entering the business for the right reasons and developing a strong vision around your WHY, establishing a strong business development plan, sticking to it, recruiting the right people and staying on track, you are on track to build a successful business empire before you know it, while remaining true to your vision, values and purpose.[Sources: 0, 5]
Get a coach or business advisor
If you are just getting your business started, for some it can mean sleepless nights as you try to find out how to attract new customers and become profitable. That is why it is important to plan ahead and set long-term goals and working with a business coach could be a great way to go.
A good advisor with skills and experience across all areas of business can be just what you need to help you establish your enterprise, your infrastructure, your offer and your overarching business plan and strategies for growth. Search around and read the reviews. Watch videos from coaches and advisors online and ascertain who shares the right content that resonates with you the most. [Sources: 4, 5]
Preparing to start a business is hard work, but as soon as you open your doors, your work begins. Just because you have opened a shop – as an example – does not mean that you will start making money right away. It takes time to let people know who you are and to focus on your short-term goals. Again, a good advisor and a strong marketing plan is worth it’s weight in gold. [Sources: 8]
Consider a customer loyalty program
It works for most businesses, so could a customer loyalty program potentially work for yours? It takes time to encourage customers to come back and buy what you have to offer. Customer loyalty programs can help you attract new customers, while looking after your existing customers who might otherwise leave your company. If your customers find customer service satisfactory, they will also recommend others to buy from you. [Sources: 6, 14]
Be prepared to work hard, but not forever…..
If you want success, prosperity and freedom, the best way for you is to grow your own business. Building a successful business will not only potentially have a big impact on your personal and financial life, the freedom and autonomy associated with running your own business is hard to beat.
It’s important to remember that you will need to work hard, but ensure you have a plan in place that allows you some flexibility and freedom to step out for a rest day or holiday. This may mean developing automated systems that can run elements of your business or drive sales while you sleep, or developing a team who can step in and run the business in your absence. This can take time, but it is worth it for your health and wellbeing. [Sources: 3]
Best of luck with your endeavours and check out other articles on this site, linked in this one, that can provide insights into helping both you and your business grow.
##### Sources #####
[0]: https://fundbox.com/blog/grow-a-small-business/
[1]: https://resources.smartbizloans.com/blog/business-finances/11-tips-on-how-to-make-a-small-business-grow/
[2]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/01/11/6-tips-to-grow-your-business-in-2021/
[3]: https://www.harveker.com/blog/grow-successful-business/
[4]: https://keap.com/growth/how-to-grow-a-successful-business
[5]: https://www.synergyaustralia.com.au/business-growth/17-tips-to-successfully-grow-your-business/
[6]: https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/accelerate-growth/how-to-grow-small-business
[7]: https://blog.wagepoint.com/all-content/9-tips-on-how-to-scale-your-business-from-successful-entrepreneurs
[8]: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/make-money-in-business.asp
[9]: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/top-ways-of-growing-your-business-2948140
[10]: https://www.briantracy.com/blog/business-success/7-tips-for-growing-a-successful-business/
[11]: https://www.virgin.com/about-virgin/latest/richard-branson-my-four-tips-growing-business
[12]: https://hbr.org/1983/05/the-five-stages-of-small-business-growth
[13]: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7690-rapid-business-growth-tips.html
[14]: https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/04/how-to-grow-your-small-business.html