It’s one thing to keep your business running; that alone makes you in the minority, as so many businesses fail each year, but how then do you scale your business to reach the goals that you set for yourself when you started?
Now there’s no quick secrets to success here, and it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight, but there are certain things that you can do to help to take your business up a notch and grow it successfully.
- Think about the existing customers you have as well as focusing on new revenue. Of course, you need to think about adding additional income streams, and spreading out the risk to your business by having all your eggs in one basket, but don’t forget to focus on what you already have. There are two reasons for this. It takes less effort and spend to encourage existing customers to purchase again, and so any return on investment is maximised. In addition, you already have a base from which you can test out new ideas, new products, new strategies, to an already warm audience. Their value goes beyond what income they can bring in here, so don’t forget about one of the best assets you already have
- Don’t leave yourself open to unnecessary risk. For example, in your quest to grow, don’t forget to think about how you might be susceptible to something going wrong which could cost you thousands and set you back. This includes simple things like insurance policies for buildings, equipment, liability, theft of data. An oversight like this could prove costly for your business and so easily be avoided. So set up a process which reminds you periodically of all the things that you may need to review in line with your growth
- Treat your customers well. Especially in this age of social media and sharing opinions of businesses, your customers’ perceptions could make or break a business. Of course, a bad experience could affect future sales, and could drive your customers to your competitors, but also don’t forget to think about the flip side. Your customers could be your marketing team. The better you treat and value them and their contribution, the more likely they are to tell other people about who you are, what you do, and what results they are likely going to get as a result of working with you. So take time and effort to focus on them, and giving them as much value as you can
- Don’t get stuck in a rut. You will never grow and scale your business if you aren’t open to change. Nothing will stay the same, don’t forget what happened to Blockbuster because they didn’t think about the increase of people downloading or streaming films. Keeping abreast of trend and changes will allow you to adapt your offering, broaden your horizons and reach more of your target audience. Listen to what they are saying, and respond to that. Your attitude to market fluctuations can make the difference between staying stagnant or growing your customer base
- Finally, it’s so important to plan. If you want to have a sustainable business that operates professionally, and plans for the unexpected as much as possible, then the less you are going to have to ‘wing it’ as you go along. Having a solid business strategy underpinning everything you are doing will ensure that you have the capacity and the foresight to grow, and grow successfully
If you would like some advice about how to scale your business, and take it forward, then please do get in touch, I can not only help you plan for growth, but also to implement strategies and introduce systems and processes to put you in the best possible situation for you to focus on doing what you do best.
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