If you’ve had your business for a while now, you’ve got your feet off the ground, a good customer base and income are ticking over comfortably, then perhaps it’s time to grow your business. Challenge yourself to the next step, create new goals and turn your business into something even bigger and better by trying one of the following growth strategies:

Make The Most Of Your Existing Customers

When you are looking at growing your business, you are probably thinking about how to get new customers and increase sales that way. However, the best way to increase sales is to look at the customers you already have. They already know you, are happy with your product or services, so you need to think of ways for those customers to buy more from you and to keep coming back. It is easier and more cost-effective to get the people who are already buying from you to buy more. Once you have this sorted, you can start looking at how to get new customers.

Word Of Mouth

The customers that you already have are a great way for you to get new customers. One of the easiest ways to do this is just to ask them for customer referrals. You will need to ask them though; you can’t just rely on your happy customers to spread the word, you’ll need to ask them and offer an incentive for them to bring in more customers and people they know.

Think Outside The Box

What else can your product or service be used for? What could you add to it to give it a whole new purpose? This is a really good way to attract existing customers to buy more as well as attracting new customers. Think outside the box, use your product or service yourself and find out what else it can be useful for. Study it and get innovating.  

Now For The New Customers

If you want to get new customers, then you have to your product or service in front of a whole load of new people and make it available to them. An easy and obvious way to do this would be top open new store locations – but this can be pricey, and you might need the new customers before you are able to do this. So what about an online store? You could advertise in new locations and direct this new audience to your online store. Social media is an excellent way of targeting advertising to a specific audience.

Exhibit

Trade shows are a really great thing to take part in and to show what you have to offer. Attending exhibitions and trade shows are a great way to grow because they draw in people who are already interested in the type of product or service that you offer. Select the trade shows you participate in carefully, make sure that you find the right match for your product or service.

Is There a Niche Market?

Can your business be a big fish in the small pond? Is there a small pond or niche market that you could conquer? This is a great way to grow your business and target a specific group of customers. You should think of them as a more significant market as once you have found who they are; you will find other similar businesses who have the same needs and need your products or services too.

Diversify Your Products or Services

Are there any other similar products or services you could offer to complement what you offer now? Or if what you offer is extremely popular at a particular time of year then is there something you could do at a different time of year? Is there a service to go with your product or a product you could sell to go with your service?

Franchise Your Business

If you have a successful business, then perhaps it’s time to spread that and franchise it. Can you develop a system that ensures that other aspiring business owners or prospective business owners can use to duplicate your success? This is a really good way to fast track growing your business.

Expanding To Other Countries

Expanding your offering into international markets can be a really good way to boost your business. This is an excellent way of growing your business. However, it requires a significant commitment of time and resources, but it can be extremely rewarding.

Involve Your Staff

As your business grows, make sure you hire new staff as and when you need to. Don’t hire too many and don’t leave yourself short by not hiring soon enough. Collaborative hiring is a really good way to get the right people in and to understand from other people in your business, what is needed and what type of person is needed.

Involve your staff in the growth of your business and the new plans. It will make them feel more rewarded and included and will enable you to grow the business together as a team. If they know what’s going on they will feel part of the growth, feel valued and contribute more.

There are many ways to grow your business, and you don’t have to use all of these strategies, you could pick one or two of these ideas which are suitable for your business and for you. Take your time and don’t expect it to happen all at once. Growing your business will take time, and that’s okay. Get working on your growth plan, think about which are the best ways for you to go and how to really conquer those. You will see progress if you keep at it and you will be able to transform your business successfully.

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams