People wake up every day with one goal in mind—to work hard and strive for growth. Whether it’s for personal or professional, growth is what pushes people to reach the goals they set up for themselves.

This holds true for business owners. Entrepreneurs launch their business with plans to establish their brand and grow it. Although this two-step plan may seem easy, growth doesn’t happen overnight.

Timing and strategy play crucial roles in business success. It’s important to know what to do to scale your business and devise a realistic timeline that won’t put a strain on your efficiency, production, and finances.

So, first, determine if your business is ready to grow.

• Consistent high demand. If your customers want more of your product or service, you have a reason to expand. However, sudden spikes in sales are not indicators that demand is high. Make sure it’s consistent.

• Your market or industry is growing. If the numbers show your industry is poised for growth, it could be time to also drive your business forward along with it. But make sure to do thorough research, look deeper into the forecasts, and try to visualise what the data means for your business’ future.
  
  

• You are financially ready. Before taking any major steps for your business, see to it that you have a significant history of steady revenue and a stable flow of new customers.
  
  

Growth, whether in life or business, is an ongoing process that requires time, change, hard work, and most of all, the drive to grow. There is no foolproof plan for growing a business, but you could try a few strategies to help get you started.

1. Master your industry

Conduct thorough research. When you have a good grasp of your market and industry trends, you get to understand both your existing and potential customers better. This allows you to know their needs, giving your business a chance to improve your process and meet those needs.

Don’t forget to research the competition, too. Find out their strategies, what they’re doing wrong or right, then develop a better and suitable plan for your business. Market research tools like Similarweb, Adbeat, or Google Analytics let you analyse your competitors’ websites, social networking sites, and applications.

2. Build customer relationships

As you would expect, the way to grow a business is to reach more customers. But it’s not enough. You also need to maintain and keep your current customers happy. After all, they are the ones who helped establish your business in the first place. 

Increasing customer retention means building customer loyalty, which can increase sales. There are many ways you can do to strengthen your relationship with your customers:

• Conduct interviews. Find out what made your current customers want to purchase your product or service. This can help you determine what is and isn’t working in your marketing strategy.
  
  
• Prioritise customer service. Customers’ opinions can define your business. Make sure you address their concerns as quickly as possible and provide them the quality products and services to show that you value them as customers.
  
  
• Create loyalty programmes. Recognise your existing customers for supporting your business. These programmes can also help your business get back those who left.

Every business relies on its customers—whether existing or potential—to grow successfully. The most important ingredient in maintaining healthy customer relationships is to always treat them with respect. Show that you value them and their experience with your business.

3. Support your employees

Your current customers are not the only ones that help grow your business; you also have your employees to thank. The people who contribute their energy, ideas, and skills are your business's best assets, which means they also have to be prioritised amid expansion.

Ensure that your employees have the resources they need to work safely and comfortably. Grant them flexible work schedules to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Raising the minimum wage will also stand as a motivation for your employees.

As your business grows, there will also be a point when you and your current employees can’t take on additional work and restrict growth. If you and your team are working overtime and turning down opportunities because you lack the bandwidth or certain specialised skills, then it’s time to consider outsourcing your small business to keep up with the growth.

4. Use the power of social media

Social media has become increasingly important, especially now that customers are spending more hours on their laptops or smartphones. Putting your business where your customers are can help boost your brand visibility.

Generate social media buzz through compelling campaigns to engage your current customers, encouraging them to interact with your content. For example, you can ask your followers to share your content to join a giveaway, and in turn, promote your business. This way, your current customers get to advertise your business via word-of-mouth at no cost.

Post content regularly on all your social media platforms to keep your followers interested and engaged. And remember to stick to your brand identity while doing so.

5. Practice corporate social responsibility

People want to do business with those that match their own values, with those who advocate for the betterment of the world. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) allows companies to be accountable for their impact on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental. 

Some practices and policies businesses can do to have a positive influence on society are:

• Giving back to the community through volunteering and outreach programs.
• Running a green business through eco-friendly and energy-efficient projects that reduces your business’ carbon footprint.
• Making your materials or process more sustainable to produce environmentally friendly products.

Refine as you grow

There is no surefire strategy to growing your business fast, and you will have to go through rough patches and a series of trials and errors to reach your goals. But with the right strategies, timing, and approach for growth, your business can flourish and expand further.

Other strategies you could try as you continue to grow include franchising, diversifying your products or services, and extending to new markets. All of these require measuring and taking calculated risks. Remember to keep track of what strategies you have been doing and halt those that aren’t helping your business. Regularly monitor your progress and see how far you’ve grown.

Also read: People managers, this is what your early & new-career employees need to succeed

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