A company’s long-term survival and market success depend upon its ability to grow consistently. Some enterprises treat this upstream movement as nothing more than increased marketing efforts.
Did you know that the global startup failure rate is as high as 90%? This is primarily because a singular focus on marketing efforts leaves companies with market volatility and a fickle client base. To grow successfully over the years despite a challenging business landscape, startups need a concrete business growth strategy.
In this article, we will simplify this process into four key steps. Keep reading to understand what it takes to expand and grow strategically.
Use a Growth Strategy Template
If you are not planning for success, you are automatically planning for failure. In other words, do not hit the ground running unless you have planned and outlined your growth strategy. You can easily discover useful business growth strategy templates online.
Since every organization is unique, so must its process for expansion and growth. Studies have found that the likelihood of business growth increases by 30% when there is a structured plan involved.
A strategy template will allow you to set measurable targets, identify important goals, analyze competition, and incorporate customer feedback. This way, you can work on multiple focus areas for uniform growth.
Select a Targeted Growth Area
Wanting to expand and grow as a business firm is non-negotiable and great, but what exactly would this growth look like? In other words, you must choose specific growth areas for a strategic approach.
Some focused expansion initiatives would include the following –
- An increase in employee headcount
- Disruption into new markets worldwide
- Expansion of the existing office or warehouse space
- Opening up new locations or branches
- Addition of novel products or services
- Growth in customer base or revenue/profits
Indeed, business growth never happens in a vacuum. This means you will grow in multiple areas as you work on one. For instance – an increase in additional branches will improve ROI and the client base. Simultaneously, you will need to increase employee headcount to support the rise in sales.
As a pro tip, we would like to suggest keeping geographical expansion as a focus area of priority. In a 2023 survey, it was found that 79% of small business owners were looking to expand geographically. Even brick-and-mortar business owners are becoming ambitious, so you mustn’t hesitate to either.
Secure the Required Funding and Other Tools
Any manner of business expansion will require financing or funding, be it equipment purchases, new hires, or marketing growth. There are many ways small businesses can get the necessary funds for expansion, including angel investors, bank loans, and grants.
Each mode of funding comes with its own set of benefits. For instance — SBG small business grants cover your expansion capital needs and need not be repaid. The waterfall effect works here as securing one grant means that you are likely to receive more in the future.
Even if the financing need is urgent, you should be able to find lines of business credit. SBG Funding states that decisions may be given within 24 hours, which means you could secure funds the same day. However, keep in mind that grant funds must be used for a specific purpose only. An example would be research and development.
Besides the funds, ensure you have all the other necessary tools and services that facilitate business growth. These may include software for accounting, payroll, automation, etc. Similarly, you can consider availing the services of designers and consultants for business insights.
Establish Growth Goals
Finally, you must determine the extent to which you wish to expand your small business. This means it’s time to set some definite growth goals that are based on your ultimate aspirations. Conduct thorough industry research to understand where you want to see your organization in the long run.
Accordingly, you can prepare a list of short-term as well as long-term goals. Yes, we are talking about establishing SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.
This method will take you further by offering a sense of direction and enabling an organized approach to reaching goals. Once done, take the necessary steps to quantify those goals in terms of the timeline and metrics.
The small business market is registering a CAGR of 8.5% till 2026. By the said year, the market may be worth $3,120 billion. The primary driver of growth is an increase in digitization as well as a growing demand for cloud-based services. Competition is expected to become tougher in the upcoming years, so gear up now and gain a strong footing through strategic business growth.
