6 Proven Ways to Continually Grow Your Business No matter your success, follow these tips to keep your business growing.
By Jigar Thakkar Edited by Micah Zimmerman
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you've established a business and managed to get it off the ground and are now achieving a small profit — congratulations! Most startups don't even get that far. But this doesn't mean there is time to rest. If you're not continuously thinking of ways to move your business forward, other companies will quickly come along to fill the space you should be filling. So if you've achieved steady sales but haven't seen any real growth for a significant time, you need to consider new strategies.
Online marketing
You won't be able to expand your business in any meaningful way unless you have some online marketing plan. That's the reality in today's business world. You may already have a website, but is it doing enough for you? Has it been designed professionally, and does it allow customers to make fuss-free purchases?
If you still need to start using social media to help promote your business, this is the time to start. Many companies are afraid of doing this because they need to learn how to go about it. In this case, the best thing to do is find a good online marketing consultant to help get you started. You will undoubtedly notice the difference in your business.
Related: The Business of Harnessing the Power of Social Media
Attend trade shows
If you regularly participate in trade shows, you will keep up a steady stream of new business contacts to facilitate expansion. It's also an excellent way to keep your finger on the pulse, identify recent market trends and build up interest in new products. But if you are going to do this, you need to do it properly by investing in some professional-looking exhibition materials for your booth, such as exhibition stands, notice boards, leaflets and free giveaways. Your exhibition stands should be designed professionally to present a strong brand image.
Related: Unlike Many Things That Are a Lot of Work, Trade Shows Are Worth It
Expand your range
Perhaps your company needs to grow because you've exhausted your existing market, or customers are growing tired of your current range. At this point, it's a good idea to think about diversifying. You can do this by adding to an existing range, developing a complementary range or even branching out into an entirely new sector. Also, if you currently only sell products, consider offering additional services to run alongside this.
Increase market outreach
Have you considered setting up new production or sales branches further afield or using your online activities to reach new sales markets? If you can make such an investment at this stage, it is one of the most logical steps to take your business to the next level. Once successful in a new area, you can take this expansion model and move it even further.
Who knows? You may even become a global player if you carefully plan your strategy and keep ahead of market trends. Remember that if you are expanding abroad, you will probably need to find foreign distributors and suppliers, so make sure the ones you choose are reliable and highly recommended.
Hold promotions
If you can't afford to expand just yet, an in-store promotion is still one of the most effective ways to boost your business. This can be based around anything you like: you can use it to showcase a new product by offering special prices on the day of the event. You could also take the opportunity to celebrate an anniversary and publicly thank your loyal customers for their support.
Whatever you do, it's worth organizing this campaign properly so the day is a success: advertise in the local media and distribute flyers around the town. Also, encourage your followers on Facebook and Twitter to share event news.
Related: 5 Smart Ways to Integrate Cross-Promotion With Online Marketing
Combine strengths
There is strength in numbers, as anyone knows. Therefore, an acquisition or strategic alliance with another company will help you achieve or exceed your growth targets. Do some research to discover the possibilities: ideally, you would want to form a mutually beneficial alliance with a company whose activities complement your own.
Your business won't grow itself; it needs your creative input to take it to the next level. Follow these tips to stay on the steady path of growth that you need to remain competitive.
