By the end of 2022, entrepreneurs could have launched as many as 17 million new businesses. So now is a ripe time for any small businesses and owners, but simultaneously, your company might face stiff competition.
In these economic times, you must pay attention to your growth goals and have some winning business growth strategies to see you thrive. Naturally, there’s more than one way to ensure that those growth goals happen. So read on as we unveil ten exciting growth strategies, including practical tips for planning and implementing them.
1. Product Development
The most exciting companies tend to be innovators. And that emphasis on innovation makes them leaders in their industry. A product development growth strategy is about creating a company that leads the way with new inventions instead of a business that follows in others’ footsteps.
Putting time and effort into launching new or enhanced products is an excellent way to increase revenue. You’ll tap into ever-changing customer demands. However, you’ll need to have a couple of things in place to plan and implement this strategy.
It starts with a product-focused culture. That means placing value on innovation throughout your organization. Give your staff the freedom to create and discuss new ideas and the tools to develop those ideas into prototypes. You’ll also need continual market research to determine what existing, and potential customers want. Keeping tabs on trends also helps spark new thoughts and ideas.
2. Market Penetration
The following strategy on our list is the market penetration growth strategy which involves selling your product to an expanded market. First, look at your current products or services and ask whether you’re overlooking potential markets.
Perhaps you are inadvertently overlooking potential markets and customers. In that case, a business growth strategy based on market penetration might be the best option for your company and is also relatively low risk. So how do you plan and implement this type of strategy? Your first task is to look at related existing markets that could offer potential. Next, you’ll need to do some market research through surveys or industry reports.
Secondly, look at other ways to expand your current market, such as geographically or selling to a new audience or demographic. Once you’ve done that, examine routes into these potential markets. Perhaps you could acquire a smaller business that already serves that demographic. Or maybe you could find an overseas distributor. But there are other options, too. For example, you could invest in a marketing strategy to reach that new market or even develop a new pricing strategy to grab the attention of these potential customers.
3. Diversification
The diversification growth strategy is a combination of product development growth strategy and market expansion. In other words, you’re developing a new product for a new market.
Diversification is the high-risk, high-reward option for most ambitious businesses, and it’s what you see in well-known multinational successful companies like Disney or Apple. If you’re going to do this, you’ll need to spend plenty of time researching several potential markets to help you figure out the one that offers the most growth potential.
You might also benefit from testing the waters by creating a prototype product for one market to see how it performs before putting more money and time into it. As with the product development growth strategy, you’ll need a company culture that values and rewards innovation. Recruit creative people and give them the space and the incentives to continuously introduce new ideas to the business.
4. Joint Venture
A joint venture is where you partner with another business, share resources, and produce a product or service together. One of the best historical growth strategy examples of a joint venture was the supersonic airplane Concorde, a public-funded partnership between the French and British back in the 1970s.
A joint venture is valuable for several reasons. First, it can help you tap into new potential markets. Second, it can give you access to new distribution channels. Third, you can quickly establish yourself as a market leader by partnering with another company, possibly a competitor, fighting off any other competition.
There are two ways you can effectively plan a joint venture to boost your chances of success. The first is to create a seamless communication channel from the offset between the two companies. Then, use representatives to help streamline that communication. Second, focus on building trust, the cornerstone of any solid partnership. Rent a shared office to help you work as a team, share information, and form long-lasting business relationships.
5. Franchises
The best way to describe a franchise is as a license. The license allows the franchisee owner to run a business under an existing brand name using processes, tools, and resources. Famous franchises include McDonald’s and Hilton Hotels. By franchising your company, you can grow and reach new markets and locations that you may find challenging to do on your own.
The most important aspect of planning a good franchise is writing your processes down on paper so the franchisee can operate your business brand to the highest standards. That will ensure customers get the same consistent experience, whether buying from you directly or from one of your franchises.
6. Viral Loops
Viral loops are one of the most fashionable small business growth strategies, but don’t assume this is a fad. On the contrary, you can grow rapidly for a surprisingly low investment if you get viral loops perfect. Viral loops use a business growth strategy to fuel more growth, typically in the form of customer referrals or word of mouth.
In other words, you use existing customers to help recruit new customers and continue indefinitely, each time scaling and accelerating your growth. The ideal way to implement this is by using a customer referral scheme. You reward customers with a financial incentive when they refer a friend or family to your business.
Gmail, which started as an invitation-only scheme, is an excellent example of a company that has used this method to grow. You could only sign up for Gmail if invited by a current Gmail user. It was a savvy strategy that helped Google become the leading free email platform. Dropbox is another brand that grew off the back of referrals. It’s a strategy that could help you become a market leader if you have a unique product
7. Organic Growth
When business owners think of organic growth, they often think of slow, not rapid, growth. However, organically traditionally means a slow and steady rise in market share and customer revenue.
But organic doesn’t need to equal slow growth, and you shouldn’t consider it inferior. On the contrary, if you see organic growth through the lens of SEO, it’s the most sustainable, long-term, and cost-effective strategy over the long term. In other words, you should always aim for organic growth in your business, even if you employ other, more aggressive methods. To achieve sustained organic growth, focus on planning your long-term market penetration and continuous product improvement. Those two factors will help you stay ahead of your competition.
8. Niche Marketing
Niche marketing is a fantastic growth strategy for small or early-stage businesses. With niche marketing, you put all your time, effort, and resources into dominating a relatively small market segment.
What this does it make you a leader in that segment, which provides an unparalleled opportunity to expand to new marketers later. Success with niche marketing involves having a clear idea of your target market or customer and having exceptionally targeted branding. For example, suppose your niche is travel insurance for the over 70s. In that case, you must make sure all your marketing messages make clear that you only target that specific age group.
9. Brand Recognition
Getting your brand recognized nowadays is simultaneously easier and more complicated. It’s easier because you’ve got many tools to help, such as social media platforms. But it’s also hard because you’ve got to compete against a lot of noise. In addition, there are plenty of other businesses vying for your customer’s attention. Nevertheless, if you successfully build your brand name and become a familiar sight to your customers, it’s one of the best ways to grow your business quickly.
Here are a few ways to plan and implement a brand recognition strategy. First, get serious about your social media marketing. Hire a dedicated social media manager, and use a professional designer to create beautiful and distinct branding. Secondly, invest in SEO. That will help your brand get recognized in the most traffic-heavy place on the internet: Google. Third, pay for some advertising. Use PPC ads on places like Facebook and Google ads to share your business brand and products with your target audience.
10. The MINDstretch Methodology
Each of these different growth strategies has in common the importance of pushing your team for the results you need. Without that, trying to create new products or enter new markets becomes too much of a challenge.
Communication is key. The MINDstretch methodology will explain how to articulate your business vision to your employees. Using this methodology, you can be confident that each team member is moving towards the same goal that will help you achieve those ambitious growth plans.
Ten Winning Business Growth Strategies
Don’t leave the future of your company to chance. Instead, grabInstead, grab each opportunity by implementing one of these ten proven business growth strategies.
Don’t forget to download our MINDstretch methodology book so you have the proper framework to turn your business into the next high-profile success story.
Grab a complimentary copy of our newly revised 2023 Strategic Planner—a great tool to help “Get Your Year in Gear” in 2023!
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