Know how to grow your business

Learning how to grow your business isn’t just a worthy goal; growing your business is often a necessity for your business’s survival and your economic well-being. What can you do to get your business beyond the bare sustenance level? What can you do to turn it into the income-generating powerhouse you envision? Try one or more of the growth strategies that I am going to discuss in this article. All have been successfully used by other businesses and, with some planning and investment, will work for you.

You quickly need to penetrate your existing market. When you think about how to grow your business, the first thing that probably comes to mind is getting new customers. But the customers you already have are your best bet for increasing your sales; it’s easier and more cost-effective to get people who are already buying from you to buy more than to find new customers and persuade them to buy from you. Also ask for referrals. That’s not to say that getting new customers is a bad approach. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask your current customers for referrals.

But notice the verb. Having good products and great customer service and just assuming that your customers are passing the word about your business isn’t going to do much to increase your customer base; you have to actively seek referrals. During or after every job or sale, ask your satisfied customer if he knows anyone else who would be interested in your products or services.

You must innovate your product or service. Discovering and promoting new uses for your products or services is a great way to both get existing customers to buy more and attract new customers. Think petroleum jelly and duct tape—and how few of these would actually be sold if they only had one use!

You must extend your market reach. There are several ways of growing your business by making your product or service available to a new pool of customers.

The most obvious is to open stores in new locations, such as opening a store or kiosk in a new town. New locations can also be virtual, such as a website with an online store. Also extend your reach through advertising. Once you’ve identified a new market, you might advertise in select media that targets that market.

Trade shows participation can be a great way to grow too. Because trade shows draw people who are already interested in the type of product or service you offer, they can powerfully improve your bottom line. The trick is to select the trade shows you participate in carefully, seeking the right match for your product or service. Trade show tips will help you get the best return on your investment.

Conquer a niche market. Remember the analogy of the big fish in the small pond? That’s essentially how this strategy for growing your business works. The niche market is the pond; a narrowly defined group of customers. Think of them as a subset whose needs are not being met and concentrate on meeting those unmet needs.

Diversify your products or services. The key to successful growth through diversification is similarity. You want to focus on the related needs of your already established market or on market segments with similar needs and characteristics.

An artist might also sell frames and framing services, for instance. Or a mountain bike rental business might switch to renting skis and snowshoes in the winter season.

While you probably won’t experience growth right away, whichever way of expanding your business you choose, you will see progress if you keep at it, and will successfully transform your business into all you want it to be.

By Julius Landu Bulili | Business Coach| Assisting Small Businesses refocus their efforts in order to increase revenue| Email: [email protected] or [email protected]