(Newswire.net — May 6, 2019) — Watching your profits start to grow month on month is incredibly exciting for any business owner – even more so when you’ve built your company from virtually nothing through sheer hard work. It can be tempting to launch straight into all those big plans and capitalize on your momentum – which you should – but it’s also crucial not to act without thinking or without taking the time to formulate a sustainable strategy. Here we examine a few ways you can keep your business growing without biting off more than you can chew!
Learn to analyze your business data and make projections
The larger a company gets, the more data it accumulates. When you’re still in the startup phase, you don’t have as much historical information to draw from – and that’s okay as you’re still in the exploratory phase. Once you start taking on more employees and offering new products or services, however, you need to start analyzing like a big business, as other people’s livelihoods now depend on you. Get an outside advisor if you feel out of your depth, or learn how to properly make use of business metrics, customer data and behavior, and financial modeling. The better you understand where you are, and what worked and what didn’t, the more informed your business decisions will be.
Increase your marketing efforts as your business grows
The bigger your company gets, the bigger your marketing efforts should become. As you bring in more profit, investing a proportionally larger cut into your marketing – whether that’s adding new great content to your website, upping your SEO efforts, hiring someone to run your social media, or investing in paid advertising. Digital marketing especially has a cumulative effect, so it’s important not to drop the ball and give your competitors a chance to catch up or outmaneuver you.
Keep an eye open for that perfect business property
If you’re growing steadily, it’s likely that at some point you’re going to have to expand to bigger premises. It’s a wise move to start keeping an eye on commercial property for sale in your area well before the situation becomes critical, so you don’t end up settling for a property that isn’t going to suit you in the long run. In the interim, you can experiment with allowing more of your staff to work from home or telecommute if your business model allows.
Balance keeping old customers happy with reaching out to new markets
We know, this is often a lot easier said than done, but it’s something you need to consider very carefully when planning your growth strategy. With every potential move you consider, make sure to evaluate how it will affect your existing customers too. If you do this, you can put measures in place to mitigate any negative effects on your old customers without sacrificing new growth.
Partner with a worthy cause to boost your brand reputation
Younger customers in particular prefer to buy from companies who give back and have a good reputation in their industry. And when your business is growing is the best time to align yourself with a worthy cause, charity, or non-profit. Giving your business a ‘green’ rebranding, for example, is an excellent way to boost your reputation online, and makes for great content for sharing on social media! Having a portion of the profits from each sale go to a good cause, aside from being rewarding in itself, is also a great way to encourage sales, especially if that cause is near and dear to your customers’ hearts.
Know when to throw in the towel and try something else
So you’ve done your research, planning and projections, and you’re ready to launch a new offering. What’s plan B? No matter how well you’ve done your homework, sometimes the market just isn’t interested in what you’re selling. While many entrepreneurs are by nature reluctant to give up on something after the first, second, or even tenth hurdle, you may need to make a dispassionate decision and cut your losses when something just isn’t gaining traction. In times like these, let the data and the numbers guide you and try to keep emotion out of the equation.
Align your own growth with that of your employees
Hiring junior staff and training them up to fulfill the functions you need is a tried and tested way to cut costs and do something good for your employees too. Of course it’s not possible for every role, as some areas may require the kind of expertise that only comes with a formal qualification, but in the digital age it’s quite amazing what staff can learn on the job. Aligning your own goals and targets with those of your employees – i.e. sitting down with each of them and discussing where they’d like to see themselves in a few years’ time – can make this process even more successful and mutually beneficial.