A spiraling revenue or slow growth can force a business to close its doors for good. However, rapid growth might cause an entrepreneur to lose control of the operations and go out of business.
For your business to not only survive or thrive, aim to build steady, consistent revenue. To do so, you must protect your business from a fickle customer base or unpredictable market fluctuations. Read this strategic guide for business growth.
Establish Your Large Goals
By predicting how much revenue your new business can generate in the long term, you can create a strategy that helps you reach the large goal. Starting at the end and working backward will provide your team with a primary objective to hit, which they can achieve through much smaller goals.
For example, ask yourself the below questions when establishing a 10-year goal for your brand:
- How many employees will I have in 10 years?
- How much annual revenue do I expect to generate?
- Where will I grow my business?
- How big will the brand be in a decade?
Working backward to the present day will make it easier to pinpoint where your company will be in five years, three years, and one year. You can then flesh out five-year, four-year, and one-year targets to reach, which can make your long-term goal feel much more achievable.
Introduce SMART Objectives
If you are unfamiliar with SMART objectives, it is an acronym for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
Using the above SMART criteria, you must set strategic objectives for your business, such as:
- Increasing sales by 10% by March 2022
- Generating 20% more online sales by December 2021
- Growing market share by 5% by September 2021
- Adopt a Financial Growth Strategy
To hit your set goals, you may need to introduce various financial, marketing, and sales strategies. If your business struggles to increase its profit margin, you may need to turn to a certified public accountant firm for help reaching your annual goals.
Turn to the best company in your state for trusted financial advice. For example, Brown Smith Wallace, one of the best St Louis CPA firms, can provide a business advisory service to help your company develop a financial roadmap for growth. With their expert advice, you can transform your operations by deploying money-saving technologies, improving business processes, and analyzing data.
Identify Growth Tools and Resources
Achieve your goals on schedule or at a fast rate by identifying different resources or tools available. For example, you might need to seek investment to grow your operations. Also, you may need to introduce various technologies to improve accuracy, productivity, and reliability, such as automation tools or robotics.
Build a Business Based on Accountability
Every employee will determine a company’s growth, which is why you must foster accountability in the workplace.
For example, you can encourage both ownership and accountability by hosting monthly team meetings. During this time, each employee will provide information on projects they have managed or tasks they have completed, discuss the results, and state the steps they will take over the next month.
A culture of accountability can encourage your employees to work harder for the business each day. Plus, it can motivate under performers to improve their productivity and output, and you can identify those who aren’t willing to work hard for your brand.
Discuss Order of Service Capacity
Every business must keep scalability in mind when selecting a vendor. If your long-term goals are to grow your orders, customer base, and revenue tenfold, you must ensure a vendor can meet an increase in demand. Otherwise, you may need to reject customer orders, which will result in a loss of revenue and a negative reputation.
Also, you must identify if you will have the correct property, equipment, and fulfillment partners to manage an increase in sales.
Communicate the Company’s Mission and Values
Every employee must have a firm understanding of your brand’s mission and values. Also, they must know how to articulate what the company stands for to potential customers or clients. Ensure every member of staff is on the same page by formalizing a communications plan for the brand. It can prevent miscommunication about the company’s history, values, and goals, which will create a cohesive sales and marketing strategy that supports the company’s growth.
Increase Market Share Penetration
If you haven’t already done so, you must perform research to identify how much of the market share your company owns. Once you have an in-depth understanding, you can pinpoint weaker rivals in your industry and then develop a tactic to chip away at their market share. While this tactic might seem a little underhand, it could secure your company’s growth, generate many more jobs, and provide customers with greater value for money.
Merge or Acquire Weaker Competitors
Another option might be to merge with or acquire a weaker competitor. It could grow your company overnight, and you will have access to an untapped customer base, new products, and useful resources. It will allow your business to gain a bigger market share, and you could even adopt the acquired or merged brand name to improve your organization’s reputation and revenue. Spend plenty of time researching potential companies to merge or acquire to make sure that you are getting the best option.
Conclusion
Growing a business isn’t easy. It will take a great deal of planning, goal setting, and resourcing. To thrive in your industry, you must establish various long-term goals and break them down into smaller, realistic steps.
Also, turn to financial experts to create a rock-solid financial strategy, which will improve your company’s revenue and profit margin. Also, you mustn’t be afraid to undercut the competition and hold your employees accountable for their actions.
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to business, the above tips could place your business in a stronger financial position.
