6 Growth Strategies To Boost Your Business

So, you have a business and business is good. Now how do you make it better? The best businesses are always looking for ways to grow, whether that’s by offering better products or by adopting more efficient processes.

New business owners have numerous goals when they're starting out, including rapid growth and brand recognition for their venture. But overnight success isn't often the possibility. There's no specific "magic formula" for instant results, and nothing is guaranteed.

Agreed, you should always look for ways to improve your business, but at the same time there is such a thing as growing too soon or too quickly. Take StayZilla, for example, which was way ahead of its time when it started in 2005 and by the time it established itself but then could not add value its product when people started getting use to online bookings and new competitors came around with better discounts & deals. StayZilla was unable to provide those things due to unavailability of new funds and had to shut shop. The lesson here? Before you invest too much time, energy and other resources into your business, make sure it’s the right time to grow.

On the other hand, If you're struggling to grow your business, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, it's hard. If you buckle down, clear your mind, and just look at things in perspective, you can easily identify ways you can grow your business and make more money quickly.

Like anything else in life or in business, you have to put in the time if you're looking to reap the benefits. Don't focus on the short-term outcome of your work. Look to the long term. Build sincere value and look to help your customers & genuinely care. That should be the foundation. After that, it's simply a matter of taking action and putting in the work to scale.

While hundreds of business growth strategies likely exist, the following 6 will take your business to the next level quickly and efficiently.

1. Focus On Professional Development

The success of your business also depends on the quality of employees that you hire. Building an effective team is the key to ensuring that your business prospers.

One of the best ways to have motivated employees who work hard is to give them a sense of purpose. They should not just feel like they have to work for the sake of their salary. They must want to belong to something bigger than just work they are doing. They must understand the company’s goals & vison. This is where trainings & workshops comes in. Many mistakenly believe that Trainings & workshops is something you do waste of money and it is better to invest that money in branding of the company. However, there is no better branding then a well-trained employee who can serve to every customer need and make him feel the most important person for the company. A better trained employee will higher level of problem-solving skills due to his exposure to various trainings and the knowledge acquired from them. He will be working more efficiently saving company lakhs of rupees in terms of number of working hours saved.

Your employees should also feel that they are heard. There are team-building activities that could help them perform well as individual employees and through collaborative tasks. You should also send them to training sessions and seminars so that they can improve on the current bank of knowledge that they already have.

2. Establish Loyalty

It takes time and bundles of money to encourage customers to come and buy what you have to offer. But it’s not enough to just get them to buy. You need to encourage loyalty. Considering that there are other competitors who could offer them better or similar service or product, you want them to remain loyal to you. Don’t feel complacent just because you already have a lot of customers. They can be easily attracted to other options and they might leave you.

Provide loyalty rewards. If there are discounts and promotions, let these most loyal customers be the first ones to know. You must ensure your customers know they are appreciated.

There are so many other ways, besides discounts & promotions, to keep the clients loyal to you. Send them regular updates and articles related to your product or service to keep them abreast with the current market. Send them samples of new product to give their views to make them feel part pf the company. Make them the first people to experience your new service by give them a free service.

Loyal customers who start feeling as part of the company and start identifying themselves with the company are your best salesmen to get you new potential customers with their own testimonial and chances of those potential customer actually becoming your customers is very high.

3. Identify & Conquer A Niche Market

A niche is a narrowly defined group of customers. Look for a subset of the larger market whose needs are not being met, then concentrate on meeting those unmet needs at a consistently high and accessible level. This gives you the opportunity to become a "big fish in a small pond."

Niche market is the exact opposite of the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Niche Market is all about targeting a defined segment of the population with a specific product. Instead of focusing on a general product, niche market focuses only on one product or one target market.

Niche Market – once identified – is easy to conquer and quickly establish yourself in it. It is a myth that you can not grow big in a niche market. There are numerous examples of people who have grown big in a very niche market, Biggest Example is Coca Cola, they had just one product with one flavour when they started the company and we all know how they have grown. Look at McDonald, they grew big selling only hamburgers. Ask any Indian musicians about their favourite musical instrument retailer. Bajaao will most probably their answer. Bajaao is now India’s largest and oldest e-commerce retailer of musical instruments. Bajaao has over 12,000 products listed and ships over 15,000 products every month. Do you need more reasons for encouragement?

4. Highlight What Makes You Different

Many entrepreneurs find initial success copying a competitor’s business model. If you want your business to grow, you’ll have to set it apart and find your unique brand identity. Customer interviews & market research can come in handy with this, to know what others are selling and how you are different from them. 

"The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before."

While this quote has been credited to everyone from Francis Phillip Wernig, under the pseudonym Alan Ashley-Pitt, to Einstein himself, the powerful message does not lose its substance no matter whom you choose to credit.

People to tend to buy something which is different in the same market segment & which gives them better value for their money. But, beware, your competitors could easily replicate your USP so you will have to keep inventing and improving to maintain that tag of being different from others.

5. Think Ahead

That brings us to point number 4, always think ahead and keep a look out for what competition is doing and in which direction the market is heading. It is always beneficial to anticipate how the market is growing and in which directions and how close is your competitors in offering the services or products similar to yours.

While agility is an important quality for a company, you base your actions on your gut feeling and instinct when you’re running a business. Planning your next step, even if that means anticipating all possible scenarios, is the best way to stay grounded and secure as your business grows & evolves.

Set the foundation in place, water it regularly and watch it grow. If you do the right kind of foundational work, you experience the growth & then it won't be that difficult to adjust, since the hard part is already done and dusted with.

6. Choose The Right Growth Strategy

Finding the right growth strategy depends on the stage your business is in and the resources you currently have available with you. Consider what you have to invest, such as money, time, expertise, or personnel, etc.

Not every strategy will be right for every business or fit with every business. To get started, you can use following as a guideline;

1. Pick few ideas that are appropriate for your business and current circumstances.
2. Choose one which you feel best suits current needs and requirements of your business.
3. Create a new business plan based on that strategy.
4. Set benchmarks to monitor & measure growth, expenses, and revenue.
5. Track these benchmarks regularly to monitor your progress and make necessary changes if & when required.

There is a high probability that you probably won’t experience growth right away, but rest assured that you will see progress if you continue to implement your plan systematically and consistently with unwavering faith in it. And for some reasons, beyond your control or due to sudden change in the market conditions like what we experienced recently with COVID -19, if one strategy doesn't work, be prepared to step back & evaluate the situation & create a new plan and start all over again.