A solid growth strategy is a fundamental requirement if you want your business to achieve sustainable growth. The lack of a well-defined strategy prevents most businesses from expanding. Remember that only 50 percent of businesses make it past their fifth anniversary, and the lack of a proper strategy is one of the key reasons why startups and SMBs fail.
If you want to be one of the survivors, you need to work out a growth strategy that’s weaved into your business plan. It should be customized to your needs so it can iron out the inefficiencies to take your business to the next level. A strong strategy will also help you stay accountable to your goals and develop a growth mindset.
Not sure how to develop one? Here are some actionable tips to inspire you.
Start with a value proposition
Copycat businesses do not have any growth potential. You should be able to identify what sets you apart from your competitors. Bear in mind that a value proposition is different from finding the USP of your product or service — a value proposition helps you identify why the customer should choose you over others in the market. Once you recognize the unique value that your business provides, you will find it easier to formulate your business growth strategy.
Choose an area to focus on
The term growth strategy can mean different things to different people.
To keep things simple, consider the following as various components of your strategy:
- Market penetration
- Market development
- Product development
- Diversification
- Increase customer acquisition rate
Once you choose the aspect you want to focus on, you will find it less daunting to accomplish your objective. For instance, if your current growth initiative is market penetration, you need to develop a plan that relies on resources outside your business, such as creating a referral network to increase your product’s visibility. In contrast, if you are still in the product development stage, you will need to focus on market research to get a pulse on consumer preferences.
Know your goals
If you start working on a strategy without knowing your goals, you are merely clutching at straws. Setting goals is essential for your growth strategy as it helps you look at the bigger picture instead of trying to firefight every issue that crops up. The absence of clear goals can compromise the effectiveness.
Identify 2-3 quantifiable goals for every quarter. However, make sure that these are realistic — working towards unattainable goals can throw you off the rail even before you begin. For instance, don’t set a vague target like “increase revenues.”
Instead, aim at “increasing sales by 10% every quarter”. This goal has a clear objective and gives you a specific time-frame for achieving it. It also allows you to use the correct metrics to monitor your progress.
Learn from your competitors
In an increasingly competitive market where everyone is scrambling to be the frontrunner, analyzing the competition is crucial.
If you want to polish your strategy, get a better insight into the failures of your competitors. Doing so will also prevent you from committing the same mistakes and save time. Make ample use of publicly available information (like company financials) and newspaper reportings to know where the competitors stand.
Given the ever-changing economic landscape, keeping an eye on your competitors can even help you identify newer growth opportunities.
Play to your strengths
Not all businesses and business owners are created equal — everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses. But instead of spending time and resources to overcome weaknesses, learn to play to your strengths. This will create positivity and boost your confidence.
Take, for instance, Smith Corona, a leading typewriter manufacturer from the 1960s. They understood their customers’ needs so well that they had already manufactured word-processing computers back in the 1980s. However, in a bid to capture more customers, they abruptly changed course and started manufacturing kitchen appliances, paints, and office supplies. As a result, they weren’t left with sufficient resources to compete with other personal computers in the market.
Pay attention to customer engagement strategies
Happy customers drive successful businesses. Fostering a deeper engagement with them can help you build a loyal customer base. In a customer-centric economy, reviewing engagement strategies can benefit your overall strategy.
One of the easiest ways to increase engagement is making your business customer friendly. Minimize the bottlenecks to provide a seamless experience. Identify where your customers hang out and initiate personalized communication. If your product can help your customer target a specific pain point, reach out to them proactively and let them know. Identify the growth metrics and use the correct software to track them. Analyze customer data to learn how you can add more value.
Regardless of the efficiency of what you offer, you cannot build an effective growth strategy without paying attention to your customers — it’s that simple!
Are you looking for guidance to achieve consistent growth?
Most business owners set out to create a strategy but fall into the trap of a one-size-fits-all approach. Unfortunately, in an evolving marketplace, developing a strategy without considering the ground realities of your business is short-sighted. As a first-time entrepreneur, doing this by yourself can be scary. But with a mentor by your side, you can chalk out a successful plan.
This is exactly what the experts at Jupiter Business Mentors intend to do. Our team of business mentors are here to evaluate your business needs and provide you guidance for achieving sustainable growth.
Every entrepreneur who wants to accelerate their success can benefit from mentoring. We connect mentors to the start-up community and small & medium businesses. Our platform has over 35 expert mentors across industry verticals who you can connect with through voice or video. You can avail of 90 minutes of free sessions with any six mentors on the platform — so subscribe right away!
