How to Grow Your Business
If you want to expand and develop your business, there are several strategies that you could employ. However, to find the approach that is best suited to your business, you’ll need to do a fair bit of analysis and research. Key factors to consider include where your business is located, the type of business you run and the resources and capital available to you. Below are summaries of the top nine growth strategies to help you get started.
Current Customers
One of the most effective ways to boost sales is to focus on your existing customers. It is simpler and cheaper to sell to people who have already bought from you than to attract new customers. If you ensure your customers receive excellent quality products or services, great customer service and have access to loyalty programs, you can retain current customers and encourage repeat business to boost sales. Moreover, there’s no better publicity than a happy customer. Word-of-mouth from satisfied existing customers can help increase awareness of your business.
New Markets
Entering new markets is another way to develop your business. For example, you could make your services or products available in new domestic or international locations or broaden the market at which your goods are targeted.
Diversification
Look into the different applications for your services or products. Promoting different uses for your goods can attract new customers and prompt current customers to make additional purchases. Moreover, the sale of complementary services or products can cover seasonal dips in sales and generate new revenue streams.
Franchises
One way to grow your company and reach new locations is to franchise your business. Franchising involves retaining your values, core decision-making power and business method but selling the associated rights to the model and logo of your business to franchisees.
Partnerships
Entering into a partnership with a company of a similar character to yours can help you boost sales and build on your business in a cost-effective way. However, you need to ensure that the arrangement offers benefits to all involved and there needs to be clarity about structures for any payments or commissions.
Costs
Review your production methods and product mix to see if cost-cutting measures can be applied or if less well-performing and popular services or products can be eliminated. Another approach to limiting your costs is to boost productivity as a more efficient production process will reduce the per-unit cost of your goods. You can also negotiate with suppliers and look for new suppliers to reduce your costs, provided you don’t sacrifice quality!
New Technology
Exploit new technology, specifically the internet and social media, to communicate with your customer base and reach new markets and customers. Selling your services or products online can offer both you and your customers convenience and efficiency.
Licensing
Copyrights, patents, trademarks and other means of protecting your intellectual property can help your business grow. The licensing process provides fees paid to you upfront and subsequent, ongoing royalties. Moreover, through licensing you can benefit from other companies’ established and proven distribution and production processes.
Acquisition
The most straightforward way to instantly grow your business is to purchase another company. Acquiring an additional company gives you immediate access to its customers, products, technologies, assets, distribution channels and more.
