If you are here to learn how to develop growth strategies for small businesses, you are in the right place.
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Statistically, most small businesses do not survive the first five years of establishment. And, if they do, one third of them do not make it to the next 10 years. This then gives rise to the question: How can small businesses sustain their business growth for decades? I will say that small businesses should develop strong growth strategies that can stand the test of time.
See Also: 5 steps to effectively scale your small business in Nigeria
Actually, as a small business owner, you must bear in mind that you are not in business to remain small. Also, you have to get rid of the myth that, remaining small will help your business survive.
In this article, you will learn how to develop growth strategies for small businesses. Read carefully to choose the option that works best for you.
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10 Ways To Develop Growth Strategies For Your Business
1. Identify Your Value Proposition
The first step to take is to identify the value your business proposes to give. Why do people patronise your product or service? Find out what makes your business stand out from competitors and sell that fact to potential
customers.
Meanwhile, if the value your product or service offers is not significant enough, you will need to improve on them. Moreover, nobody spends their money on something that means nothing to them. Not only that, you must be able to convey your values properly to your audience. If not, you will have a great product and nobody will know about it.
See Also: Ways to get funding and grow your business in Nigeria.
2. Define Your Target Audience
Not everybody is your customer. You have to recognise your ideal customer and find creative ways to get across to them. What are their interests? Why will they buy from you? What’s their financial capability? You need to be able to answer these questions because your growth lies in between the answers.
If you are able to define your target customers, you will be able to focus on things that matters and not channel your attention on activities that are not producing result.
Asides the target market that you are currently targeting, are their other segments of the market that you can penetrate? How can you penetrate the market? Who is currently dominating the market? Answering the questions will open your mind to other possibilities to explore.
See Also: How to deal with difficult customers using these strategies
3. Block Every Loopholes
Take note of your customers feedback. What did they complain about? Which of their needs were you unable to meet? Find a way to fix all that. You may not attract potential customers if you don’t block loopholes.
On the other hand, even if you attract customers, you may find it difficult to retain them. A business must always look for creative ways to reduce their customer acquisition cost. You can reduce your customer acquisition cost by blocking every loopholes and acting on feedback from customers. Remember, you will not grow without loyal paying customers.
See Also: Strategies on how to deal with difficult customers in Nigeria.
4. Cross Sell And Up Sell To Your Existing Customers
Up selling is encouraging your clients to buy a comparably higher end product than the one in question. For instance, someone who is currently using the open plan office space at ReDahlia Workspaces can be encouraged to move to a private office.
Cross selling is encouraging your clients to buy complimentary items or services. For instance, if we have a client who already registered a business with us, we can sell other services to the person. We can sell our training services to the person or even our virtual office services.
See Also: Benefits of registering your business with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
5. Explore New Market
Another thing to do is to introduce your product or service to an entirely new market. For instance, if your product is only available in Nigeria, you can make it available to other African and International countries. You can start by opening a branch office in these countries, employ staffs who have good knowledge of the country, can speak the local language and who fit into your company culture.
Breaking into a new market may involve increasing your service offerings. Research other services or products you can combine with your current offering and introduce it to your customers. For instance, if you
sell air conditioner, you may as well offer A/C servicing.
See Also: 10 ways to increase sales and win more customers for your business
6. Use The Internet To Your Advantage
A very good growth strategy for small businesses is to explore the online market. Apart from having a physical office, do you have an online presence? Are you taking advantage of social media? Do you have a simple functional website? Do you have media mentions?
If you have a good online presence, your business becomes top of mind when prospective clients search for you. It then becomes easy to introduce new products to the market.
See Also: How small businesses can leverage technology for their business
7. Cut Costs
One of the growth strategies small businesses can use is cutting down costs of running their business. Practically, if point six is well explored, it will help you reduce your advertising spend.
The goal of every business owner is to reduce cost and increase profit. Nothing cause worry to a business owner as much as waste does. You have to reduce your business expenses by watching every expenses to ensure they are absolutely necessary.
When you save, you will have enough money for other aspects of your business growth. Look for a cheaper way to get things done. Negotiate prices with your suppliers and vendors. However possible, cut production cost and leverage on relationships to get the best prices.
See Also: 10 practical ways to reduce business expenses and grow your business.
8. Invest More In What Works
Numbers don’t lie. Measure all strategies you are implementing especially your marketing strategies. Measure the results of all the channels you use in deploying your marketing. Identify the strategy that brings growth to your company and invest more money and time in it.
Also, keep an eye on your competition. If they are making leaps, there must be something they are doing right. Find out what they are doing differently, and borrow a leave from it.
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9. Improve On Your Customer Service
A saying goes thus: “People may forget what you did, but will never forget how you made them feel”. When a customer is treated as king, he will sing the praise of your product or service. Good people skills can help facilitate your business growth.
In the same vein, review your customer engagement strategy. Do you get feedback from them? How do you fix their problems? Do you forget about them after a successful purchase? When you keep communication lines open, it gives room for repeat sales and referral.
One of the best things that can happen to a business is to have loyal customers. And, this can only be achieved when you have good customer engagement strategy.
See Also: How to optimise your customer experience using social media
10. Hire Character, Train For Skills
As your business grows, customers will relate more to employees than the business owner. So, it is important that your employees understand the vision of your company and desire the growth of the business. Your employees are your number customer, you have to sell the vision of the company to them.
To this end, hire for character and train for skill. In addition, ensure your company culture motivates your employee to function at their best.
Photo credit: startupnation
