Every small business owner wants to increase sales and revenue. This is why so many people are interested in small business growth.
For small business owners, there is no one-size-fits-all growth strategy. You can use a few key strategies to give your business the best chance of growth.
10 Ways to Grow Your Small Business
It can be difficult to scale a small business effectively and efficiently. Several parts of your company must work together to reach this goal, including:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Finance
- Legal
You may need to wear many hats until you hire expert employees as you’re still a startup. It will take time and energy to grow a small business, but there are ten strategies you can use to accelerate growth.
1. Do Your Research
To grow your small business, you need to conduct market research. You can better understand your existing customers as well as your potential customers this way. Getting to know your target market and its needs is crucial. This way, you can see how your business can grow and change to meet those needs.
Don’t forget to research your competitors as well. To scale your small business appropriately, you need to know its strengths and weaknesses.
2. Build a Sales Funnel
Taking your business to the next level is possible with a sales funnel. Sales funnels can be viewed as the journey of a customer. Visitors to your website or business are at the top of the funnel when they enter. Customers successfully go through the funnel when they buy something or sign up for a service. To make a sale, you should find ways to move people through the funnel. Depending on your business, you may want to offer them a discount or lead magnet to get their contact information.
3. Increase Customer Retention
Getting new customers isn’t enough to grow your business. Keeping your existing customers happy is also important. Building customer loyalty can increase sales when you increase customer retention.
Since acquiring a new customer costs five times as much as retaining one, focusing on retaining customers means not spending money on something that isn’t guaranteed.2
To retain customers, you can do the following:
Customer service is important: If you don’t treat your customers right, they won’t support your business. You show how much you value their business by addressing their concerns and providing them with the best possible experience.
Your business can manage its relationships with present and potential customers by using a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Maintaining customer information and identifying sales opportunities are made easier with their help. The data can be accessed by you and other employees who need it because it is stored in one location.
Create a customer loyalty program: This rewards your existing customers for their loyalty. Additionally, they can assist you in attracting new customers or regaining lost ones.
Email campaigns can keep your business at the forefront of your customer’s minds. Additionally, it is a great way to move current and potential customers through your sales funnel.
You can engage with your customers on social media by answering their questions or sharing their feedback, pain points, and complaints. Engaging with them and responding to their concerns shows you value their opinions.
Keep your promises: No one likes to feel forgotten. You should follow up with a customer if you promise to provide more information or contact them later. Customers will have a negative impression of your business if you don’t.
4. Participate in Networking Events
Growing your business can be accomplished by increasing your brand visibility. By attending networking events, you can accomplish this. Get your business noticed by joining local professional organizations and attending events.
Participation in these events is possible by:
- Attending business events and meeting other entrepreneurs
- Displaying your business’s booth at a trade show
- Speak as an expert in your field
5. Practice Corporate Social Responsibility
Many customers want to deal with a company that shares their values. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) means recognizing your business’s impact on the community as a whole. Making sure the public knows how your business is making a positive impact can benefit your bottom line.
Here are some examples of how your business can practice CSR:
Green business: Besides lowering utility costs, there are many advantages to running a green business. By doing so, you show the public that you are serious about reducing the impact of your business on the environment. Get LEED certification or pursue energy-efficient projects to reduce your carbon footprint.
Make it a goal of your company to help the communities in which your employees live and work by encouraging them to volunteer. Your business should engage in activities like volunteering at a food bank and cleaning up open spaces to demonstrate that it cares about the community and its people.
Making sustainable products: You can make your products more environmentally friendly by changing your materials or processes.
6. Form Strategic Partnerships
Partnering with another business can allow you to reach a broader audience or align your growth strategy with your strategic goals. The Starbucks and Barnes & Noble partnership is an example of a successful strategic partnership. This partnership increases the coffee chain’s reach and revenue by putting it into a wide range of retail outlets across the country.
You may even form a strategic partnership with a vendor to expand your business. The key to maintaining effective vendor relationships is managing business relationships, regardless of the type of partnership you form.
7. Consider Franchising Your Small Business
Small businesses often franchise their businesses to grow. In other words, you sell the rights to your business to an independent owner. Once they obtain a franchise, they operate it independently. The McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Marriott hotels franchise system is among the most popular. Your business generates more revenue when a new franchise opens, increasing its number of locations.
Before selling your business’ rights, you should determine whether it is franchisable. Franchises are more appropriate for certain industries, such as fast food restaurants and gyms.
8. Diversify Your Product or Service Offerings
The main product or service you sell to customers has been a success. It’s what led you to think about growing your small business in the first place. Getting new customers can now be achieved by offering various products or services. To do this, follow these steps:
- Identifying new product or service opportunities: Conduct market research to see if you can provide your customers with something new.
- Consider offering subscriptions or bundles in addition to your existing products.
Moment is one company that grew by diversifying its products. Initially, the company offered lenses for smartphones to improve photography. The company has expanded its offering with the addition of apps and accessories to use with its lenses.
9. Extend to New Markets
Increasing your customer base is one of the benefits of franchising. You can also expand your business through exporting if your business isn’t franchisable.
You can ship your products and services worldwide when you find export opportunities. Exporting has the following benefits:
- Your products and services can be sold online by leveraging global platforms
- Having the opportunity to open new locations for your business
- Increasing the number of customers and businesses available to you
Allow your business to expand globally.
10. Measure What Works and Refine as You Go
Small businesses can use various growth strategies, but measuring what’s working is essential. For instance, you may need to change your strategy if your customer loyalty program doesn’t improve customer retention. Getting a CRM and getting in touch with your customers regularly or engaging with them via an email campaign or social media may be the solution.
Taking calculated risks is part of growing your small business. In your business plan, you should make realistic and accurate forecasts about how certain strategies will affect your business. Regular updates and monitoring of your progress are essential to a successful business.