Was this the breakout year for your business? Or do you find yourself treading water endlessly as you drift farther away from your financial goals?
The fact is that, in business, there is no such thing as remaining in the same place. You either grow to survive and thrive or you lose ground. This doesn’t mean you have to double in size overnight or set records in explosive growth, but you do need affirmative business goals to ensure your long term viability. After all, clients come and go, sales ebb and flow, and, without growth strategies, your business can go in only one direction.
Whether you’ve been in business for one week, or decades, it’s never too early, or too late, to develop sound business growth strategies.
One way to discover growth opportunities is to talk to your customers. They are a valuable source of information for you. What needs are you meeting? What do you do well? What improvement opportunities are there? What could you do differently to retain current customers and attract new ones? Don’t shy away from also taking a look at your competitors and identifying what they do well, and what they don’t.
Emphasizing customer satisfaction is another way to set your business on a growth path. By making customers a priority through keeping your promises and responsive service, you’ll not only retain existing customers, but attract and keep new ones. Don’t neglect communication through email, social media, and other outreach to keep you on their mind. This will likely lead to not only reinforcing their positive image of you and your relationship, but more referrals.
Networking with other professionals and businesses can be a very valuable growth strategy, allowing you to connect and work with others in building your respective businesses. Consider speaking and professional networking opportunities to share your industry knowledge and position you and your company as trustworthy, knowledgeable, and professional.
Finally, (we have to say it), you can’t meaningfully grow your business without a clear understanding of where you are and where you want to go financially. Partnering with a knowledgeable accountant can help you accurately capture your current profit picture and chart a successful growth path.
As full-service bookkeeping and accounting specialists, we successfully work with a wide range of small and large companies to manage their business operations and strategically plan for future growth. Give us a call to see how we can help.