Most companies have a business growth plan in place for 2020. Your business also needs to grow to increase your sales and profits. Better profitability will enable you to pay yourself and your employees better and make your company attractive to shareholders and potential employees.
Additionally, the bigger your company is, the better you can take advantage of economies of scale which reduces your costs. If business growth is one of your 2020 goals, then keep reading for 7 tips you can immediately add to your business growth plan.
1. Know What Your Goals Are
Knowing exactly what you are aiming for will make it easier for you and your team to come up with appropriate strategies to reach your goals. It will also be easier to align the efforts of everyone in your company so that you will achieve your growth goals faster and more efficiently.
When coming up with your growth goals ensure that they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time based). This method of setting goals has been found to have the highest success rate. Also, ensure that your goals are written down in a place where everyone in your team can see them regularly.
Knowing your goals is a huge part of deeply understanding what is the best IT strategy and planning ahead can do for your business.
2. Create A Positive Online Reputation For Your Business
If you are serious about growing, then online marketing must be part of your business growth plan. 90% of consumers check online reviews before visiting a business.
Google your business and check what comes up. If you find nothing about your company or see negative reviews and news, then you must urgently work on your online reputation.
To increase your consumer base, you should have an SEO (search engine optimized) website. Your website should have an active blog with useful, SEO optimized content that would feature on the first pages of google searches.
You should also have active social media accounts for your company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Social media is one of the greatest sales tools in the current market so use it to increase your sales and grow your company.
3. Hire Experts
Small business owners are notorious for trying to do everything themselves to cut costs. However, this approach prevents your business from reaching its growth potential. Hiring experts to help you grow your business will pay off in terms of increased sales and profitability.
For example, a social media expert could end up tripling your sales. Or an HR expert could prevent you from making costly mistakes that lead to lawsuits. Your growth strategy should include a plan to hire talented employees or consultants that can complete tasks that you don’t have the time or skill for.
4. List Your Business in Relevant Business Directories
Potential customers may search for your services in your industry’s business directories. So it is important to get listed on the popular directories. While you are at it ensure that your company has a Google business page with lots of positive reviews.
This way when a consumer searches for services within your location your company will pop up in the results.
5. Increase Your Budget for Marketing and Public Relations
Increasing your marketing budget is a must for business growth. Experts advise that your marketing budget should be set to at least 10% of your expected revenue if you want your company to grow. This money would go towards paying for online advertising, social media marketing, video content, events, flyers, etc.
Other than marketing and advertising, you should also spend time and money on public relations. Hiring the right public relations company will get you and your company featured on local news, newspapers, and popular blogs and this exposure will increase your business.
6. Increase Your Employee’s Morale
Growing your business will need a lot of hard work and creativity from you and your team. This is why you need to keep track of your employee’s morale and ensure that they are happy at their workplace. Have systems in place for monitoring how each member of your team is faring even if it’s just an informal check-in with a team member at the water fountain.
If you can afford it then you should invest in an employee engagement app that will encourage employees to give you feedback about how they are feeling and how work conditions could be improved.
Plan frequent fun days for the team and encourage your employees to have active interests away from work. While taking care of your team you should also remember to take care of your own mental and physical health.
Ensure that you are eating and sleeping well as well as exercising and having self-care days so that you can prevent burnout. The healthier you are the easier it will be for you to deal with the stress of trying to grow your company.
7. Know Your Customers and Fulfill Their Needs
Your business will only grow if your pool of happy customers increases. This means that you have to know who your customer is and how your company can fulfill their needs. Communicate frequently with your customers through feedback surveys, networking events, and one on one whenever they are purchasing something from you.
Whenever you get negative feedback, appreciate the correction and work to correct the mistakes you have made. Take suggestions for any improvements seriously and create the products or services that your clients are demanding from you.
A Business Growth Plan is Important for Business Continuity
Your business needs to grow as big as it can get to maximize profitability. Strategies of scaling, employee motivation, and reducing the risk of bankruptcy. These 7 tips for putting a business growth plan in place could help you expand your business this year.
All you have to do is act on them and watch how much your business will grow. For more tips on how to successfully run your business read the rest of our blog.
