Growing a business from point A to B is not an easy task, but that is not to say it is impossible. While there are many businesses that achieve little or no growth, there are others that have grown from startups to big brands. The question to ask here is what differentiates the two.
Clearly, the latter businesses adopt a growth strategy. That is a plan of action to acquire a larger market share than they currently enjoy.
The simplest way to achieve growth is to develop a growth strategy that will give you the most results while employing the least amount of effort and risks.
Here are 7 steps that you can follow to build a growth strategy that will most likely yield immediate results.
1. Identify your ideal growth strategy
There are various growth strategies a business can employ. For instance;
- Market penetration- This is selling more of the current products to the existing customers. This can take the form of repackaging or readjusting prices.
- Market development- This is finding new markets for your existing products. For instance, opening new retail stores at different locations
- Product development- This is creating new products or adding new features to the existing ones for your target customers.
Others would be devising new channels to sell your products, acquiring or partnering with other businesses among others.
The point here is; you need to evaluate your options and choose one that is viable for your current position.
2. Hire the right talents
Executing your growth strategy will require the right set of human capital that will align with your growth strategy. This would be individuals who are able to articulate and execute the strategy.
While it may be a daunting task to find such individuals, there are modern ways of hiring that you can utilize. For instance, you can hire through a global PEO. Besides getting the right individuals, a global PEO takes care of all the HR needs, allowing you more time to work on your growth strategy.
3. Define your value in the market
Competition is everywhere, and customers can choose to purchase from any of the brands in the industry.
To gain a competitive edge in your industry, you need to define your value to your target customers. What is that one thing that differentiates your product from the rest? Why should the target customers buy from you? Which space in the market does your brand dominate?
Think Apple in the tech industry, its continuous innovation gives it authority in that space.
4. Focus on your strengths
Most businesses focus on improving their weaknesses to achieve business growth. If you want a strategy that works immediately, however, this can prove to be a tall order.
On the other hand, focusing on your strengths can give you valuable insights on attaining a larger market share. You will be able to tailor your strengths to add value for your customers.
5. Assess your current revenue streams
This will then inform you how you are going to make money once you roll out the growth strategy.
For instance, if you are in the content creation industry, you might consider charging on a per-use basis if you were selling on subscriptions, and vice versa. Alternatively, you can charge advertisements or have different pricing for different demographics.
Depending on the market, choose the most viable for your business.
6. Understand your different customers' segments
Different customers present different needs, expectations and buying patterns. Employing a single strategy might fail to reach a certain demographic.
If you use contracts on your customers, you will appeal less to the lower-income segment of your target group. If you, however, consider giving discounts to this demographic, you will appeal to the less enthusiastic customers as well.
Understanding the various segments of your customers will help you tailor your strategies accordingly.
7. Compare with the competitors
Assuming that your strategies are smarter than those of your competition is most likely wrong. While you may have some aspects that are working better than the competitors’, there are other aspects that they are doing better than you.
As you are building your growth strategy, it is advisable to benchmark your strategies to those of the competition. What different decisions are they making? Why are they making them? How is it different from yours?
Answering such questions will help you reevaluate your approach.
Conclusion
When it comes to developing a growth strategy, you will not find a standardized one. Each business needs to customize its own depending on the products, industry and target customers. In addition, it should be agile and leave room for improvements as the business dynamics keep changing.
Guest post courtesy of Jennifer Monroe, New Horizons Global Partners
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