10 Key Strategies for Supporting Business Growth in 2024
Source – www.bbc.com
Small companies thrive when everyone on the team focuses on smart business growth. Finding new markets, adding desirable products, and improving customer service all come into play. If you’re looking for ways to grow without risking the organization you’ve worked to build, focus on the factors you can control.
You can find success if you focus on a few key strategies, even if the world around you goes mad and the economy plummets. Here’s how to grow your small business in any environment.
1. Study Your Customers
In a Hubspot survey of 1,200 marketing professionals, researchers found only 42% know the basics about their audience. Without fully understanding your typical buyer, it’s hard to market to them effectively or meet their needs.
- Run split tests to see what they respond best to online and in person.
- Send surveys to see what needs you aren’t meeting.
- Analyze past buying behavior to predict trends.
- Create buyer personas.
The better you understand your audience, the more effectively you can market to them and ensure a positive user experience (UX).
2. Improve Customer Experience (CX)
The impression customers have of your business can impact if they refer you to others. People want to feel they aren’t just another face in the crowd. Anything you can do to personalize things improves the interaction between you and them.
- Go above and beyond by offering extra service that others don’t.
- Anticipate problems and have FAQs to help troubleshoot common issues.
- Use a chatbot to answer frequent questions and get immediate feedback.
- Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Visit the site and click through everything. Walk the store and see how things look, feel or smell.
Focusing on CX ensures customers walk away with an excellent view of your brand. You’ll grow via word-of-mouth marketing.
3. Retain Skilled Employees
Finding and keeping top employees is challenging. One survey showed around 78% of Gen Zers are searching for a new position. Replacing a skilled employee costs as much as double the person’s salary. You’ll also lose time and momentum each time you hire someone new.
- Reward loyalty by giving bonuses and raises to long-time workers.
- Recognize effort.
- Ask what they need to be happy in their role.
- Invest in them by paying for college courses or specialized training.
- Give small gifts of appreciation.
Allowing people to work from home at least part time can also keep your workplace more attractive than others. Offer ample time off so people have an excellent work/life balance. Go the extra mile for your employees so they’ll do the same for you.
4. Streamline Finances
Achieving strong business growth is only possible if your finances are in order. Sustaining the company becomes harder if your brand bleeds cash. You can do several things to keep costs low and streamline your finances.
- Contact all vendors and see if they can offer a discount.
- Cut out unnecessary expenses, such as water delivery.
- Install automated lights and thermostats to reduce energy consumption.
- Save for a rainy day fund in case of a disaster or slow business months.
- Clean out old inventory with special sales.
To streamline your finances, you must know where every penny in your business goes and its return on investment (ROI).
5. Find a Mentor
One person can’t know about every business matter that crops up. However, an experienced mentor can help you avoid some pitfalls of running your own company.
- Join the local chamber of commerce and network with others.
- Approach successful entrepreneurs and ask them to mentor you.
- Attend coaching sessions online or offline.
- Go to conferences and attend sessions.
Finding a mentor takes time. You also shouldn’t limit yourself to one. You might find a retired CEO has insight into growing revenue, while an accountant has suggestions for saving money.
6. Focus on Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Better CRM allows you to cultivate the clients you have and keep them loyal to your brand. Investing in CRM software has an excellent ROI for most companies. Here are some ways to best utilize it for growth:
- Keep track of customer interactions and improve any issues.
- Reach out when customers are low on something and ask if they want more.
- Offer discounts to move inventory rather than sitting on it for months.
- Order just the right amount based on past buying behavior.
You can also use CRM software to send goodwill messages, such as a birthday greeting each year.
7. Add New Products
One path to business growth is selling additional products. One mistake some companies make is trying to branch outside their comfort zone. Instead:
- Sell items related to what you already offer.
- Look for ways to improve UX by adding features.
- Start small and invest in only a few of an item until you see how customers react.
- Go for the add-on sales to ramp up revenue.
Perfect selling of current products before you add new ones. You must fix issues before adding more inventory, such as if you aren’t delivering on time or your items breaking on first use.
8. Test Your Marketing Efforts
Statista recently surveyed marketers to figure out what their top concerns were. Over 40% of participants said measuring campaign effectiveness was their priority.
- Run A/B tests to figure out what the audience responds to.
- Pay attention to ROI.
- Lose what isn’t working.
- Keep what is working.
Even once you figure out the best way to reach customers, you may find things change and you must revamp your strategy. With fast-changing technology, what works today may not work tomorrow.
9. Add New Technology
Small-business owners are frequently overwhelmed with many tasks on any given day. Fortunately, technological advances can take some more tedious work off your plate.
- Use AI chatbots to respond to basic questions.
- Add an app that pings customers when they approach your store.
- Install automated tracking systems for inventory and expense tracking.
- Have employees access their own human resource files to save time.
Look for the things you do repeatedly that don’t add growth to your company. Automate what you can to free your time up for other things.
10. Know Your Niche
Dig into your niche and perfect it so you’re known as the go-to source. Try these tips:
- Take a few advanced courses to attain new skills in your area.
- Give a speech on what you do.
- Offer workshops and teach others how to use the product.
- Establish your authority with trust factors, such as memberships in professional organizations.
The better you develop your expertise, the more you’ll be the brand people turn to when they need what you offer.
Take Small-Business Growth Strides for Big Success
Business growth doesn’t always come with big leaps. Instead, look for any opportunity to expand. Over time, the little things add up, and you’ll look back and see you’re making more money and better serving customers’ needs.
