Published on November 22nd, 2022
No two businesses are alike. Founders have different goals and reasons for starting their companies. And the leaders and executives that spearhead an organization’s growth or stability often plan around varied circumstances.
Yet the general idea of growing the business usually fits somewhere in most owners’ and leaders’ objectives.
You want to move forward and gain momentum while controlling costs and risks. It’s learning how to go about it that becomes demanding and confusing at times.
Some plans go off without a hitch, some require tweaks, and others go in the scrap pile. Plus, both novice and seasoned business owners can find it challenging to know where to begin. Let’s explore four tips you can use to grow your company successfully.
1. Determine What’s Driving Sales
Businesses must advertise and market to drive sales. Whether you’ve got a marketing team or it’s a one-person show, what marketers do is critical to lead generation.
PR and promotional campaigns are also crucial parts of connecting with customers and building relationships. But companies can waste money investing in campaigns and advertising channels that don’t produce much revenue.
Without marketing attribution formulas and tools, it’s nearly impossible to tell which efforts are driving sales.
Complicating matters is the reality that many lead gen and client outreach campaigns use multiple channels.
You might target a new product launch to existing customers through direct mailers and email newsletters. However, you’re also using online ads and webinars to generate leads.
These marketing messages and channels might be responsible for conversions. However, people typically see or interact with several of them before buying something.
They might notice an online ad, go to a landing page, and add their name to an email list. After a few more visits to your website and online store, they finally follow through.
Sophisticated attribution tools track more steps of the buyer’s journey and reveal which channels have the best return on ad spend.
2. Establish Systems and Processes
There is some degree of improvisation in business. But it’s much easier to adjust to curveballs and surprises when you have systems and processes in place.
Procedures provide structure to you and your team, whether things seem to go right or wrong. Established systems give everyone direction so they don’t waste time figuring out what to do. Your team can more easily focus on the “what” — growth — when the “how” is made clear.
In contrast, disorganized approaches to completing tasks and realizing company strategy waste resources and jeopardize revenues.
Customers and leads can sense when a company doesn’t have resilient processes since service and quality usually suffer. A lack of systemized methods can result in poor client communication and low employee morale.
Implementing systems and processes is a core part of executing a business plan. When companies fail, it’s often because there isn’t any short- or long-term planning.
Your strategies and the processes that implement them should cover all key areas, including talent and customer acquisition. With solid road maps, you’ll use your resources more efficiently to reach your growth objectives.
3. Listen to Customer Feedback
Sure, all companies must focus on attracting new leads to boost sales. However, existing clients are an often overlooked source of growth. Their feedback and input can shed light on inefficient or confusing processes.
Customers may also identify products or services that miss the mark and don’t serve all their needs. Ignoring what clients have to say or only cherry-picking feedback that confirms internal biases will eventually hurt sales.
One of the reasons customer leave is because a company doesn’t listen to their concerns. A failure to listen can mean a bad experience with a store or customer service rep.
It might also be an issue that an organization doesn’t fix. Say you’re in the business of delivering high-speed internet service. You know from customer surveys and churn reports that service is unreliable in some of your markets.
Your techs can also show outage reports to back up these claims and complaints. But the company hasn’t done anything substantial to fix the problem, despite marketing that promises otherwise.
Competitors that can deliver more reliable service will capture your market share, and word will get around.
This spells trouble for customer retention, upselling, and lead generation. Listening to clients and promptly addressing their concerns can prevent these scenarios.
4. Develop the Right Team
A founder may start a business and work hard to get it off the ground. Rarely, though, can owners do this all by themselves. They need smart people around them to build a company and its brand.
Hiring talented employees is the foundation of developing a team that can execute a founder’s vision. As complex as this may seem in today’s labor market, recruiting excellence might be the easier step. It’s keeping your team that becomes more difficult as you grow.
Owners who try to do everything themselves or micromanage employees’ contributions will see engagement go down. When a team isn’t engaged and committed, they’re more likely to leave or thwart success.
Delegating and giving employees enough room to complete tasks encourages innovation and growth. It also develops team members’ skill sets, connects them with a purpose, and motivates them to achieve more.
Growing A Business
While most business owners have growth in mind, finding ways to achieve it can become challenging.
Investing in profitable marketing channels, establishing robust processes, listening to customers’ concerns, and developing strong teams are ways to grow your company efficiently. Putting these tips into action can ensure your business’s sustainability now and into the future.
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