How to Make a Business Growth Strategy Work
Seeing business growth has always been the goal. You began with just a vision for a company, and it came to fruition - it is up and running! While that is an amazing accomplishment in itself, many entrepreneurs can agree it is not enough. You want to see your business grow and continue to trend upwards. The thought of how to make growth happen consistently can be daunting; you just don't know where to start. That's where a strong business growth strategy comes in.
The Importance Of Business Growth
With anything, especially in business, it's great to see growth. Growth means you are thriving, what you are doing is working, and you understand your audience. Beyond that, and most importantly, growing means the survival of your organization. You can attract new talent to your company through growth, and growing profit can open the door to a plethora of assets and resources.
While growth in your business means success, it also means keeping the doors of your business open. What is more important than that?
What Is A Business Growth Strategy?
We know how crucial growth is for the longevity of organizations, so how can we ensure we achieve a robust business growth strategy? What exactly is that? A growth strategy is a business's plan to expand by addressing and resolving any current obstacles or issues that may keep them from growing. Growth strategies will look different for every company depending on goals, revenue, etc. Your strategy can include multiple objectives, new product launches, additional service offerings, gaining market share, and increasing revenue. Building out your growth strategy is no one size fits all.
Types Of Business Growth
Internal
Internal growth can sound like an easy task, but it can be one of the most challenging ways to grow. Internal development is taking a hard look at your current processes and systems and making necessary changes. Looking at your organization's existing resources and determining how to use them better, or if they are as helpful as you once thought, can be taxing because it is shifting the way you have done things. This change can often be tough on leadership and employees, but the result is worth the effort.
Organic
Organic growth is one of the most effective types of development and the most popular for businesses in a new market. Organic growth can look like introducing a new product or service line, purchasing a larger space for your business, or making the necessary adjustments to produce more product.
Strategic
Strategic growth is an excellent way for a business in a lull to see additional growth. Strategic growth is more of a long-term plan and comes after organic growth has reached its peak.
Partnership
This type of growth can be the most uncertain because it involves partnering, acquiring, or merging with another brand. When done correctly and successfully, it can be the most lucrative, allowing your business into a new market, to gain more customers, or even the ability to create more products.
Why Do Strategies Fail?
With any strategy, there is a chance a growth strategy can fail. So why and how do strategies fail? Most of it comes down to truly understanding your organization's problem or why your organization isn't growing. A proper plan can't be implemented when there isn't a firm grasp on what needs to change or how to change it. From there, unrealistic goals may be set, accountability isn't as straightforward as it should be, and things begin to unravel. Having a proper understanding of what needs to change to grow and the best way to achieve that goal will help you build a strategy that is set for success.
Challenges To Avoid In Strategy Implementation
Team Disconnection
accountability is huge when implementing strategy and working toward a goal. Your team needs to work together, and each employee or member of the leadership team needs to know what they are responsible for in making the plan happen. Communicate openly and often.
Lack Of Processes And Systems
with anything, if you don't have a transparent process, system, or plan in place and there is a lot of disorganization, your business growth strategy will be more likely to fail. Make sure you have a solid structure to reach your growth goals. Implementing something like the EOS® Model can be extremely helpful in the organizing of your strategy.
Insufficient Training For The Team
Because so much of your strategy relies on your team understanding and executing it well, you must train everyone on exactly what you need from them, what new resources they can utilize, and how their part affects the outcome. There can be no room for confusion.
Lack Of Resources
It can seem challenging to invest in new resources when you're trying to grow, but it's vital on the road to your goal. A lack of resources can make even the best strategies fall short.
Lack of Communication
When change is implemented, your team can show a bit of resistance. It is crucial to the success of your business strategy that everyone is aware of the changes, how they will benefit the whole company, and what is expected of each team member. Keeping those communication lines open will lessen any pushback and ensure the smooth execution of your strategy.
How Does A Visionary And Integrator Fit Into Your Strategy?
When it comes to strategizing, both the Visionary and Integrator play a significant role. The Visionary will be able to visualize the big picture and goal and articulate where the company wants to be regarding growth. The Integrator will ensure that each daily task is completed to meet the goal. Both will work together to create and execute the strategy, and often the Integrator will keep the Visionary on track to ensure the goal is met in a realistic, timely manner.
Strategize Your Growth
There is a lot to consider when you are first building out a growth strategy. Making sure you know which strategy best suits your business and goals, what exactly has been keeping your organization from growth, and how to resolve those obstacles while ensuring you know what to avoid are vital components of your business growth strategy. If you are ready to take your business to the next level, GCE can help. Let's Get Started.