Marketing Strategy Development Example – A solid growth strategy is more than just a marketing strategy, it’s a very important step in your business engine. Without one, you are at the mercy of a customer base and market fluctuations. So how do you plan to grow? If you’re unsure about the steps needed to develop an effective growth strategy, we’ve got you covered. Business Growth Business growth is the point at which a business reaches the point where it expands and needs more ways to make a profit. This may happen when a company increases revenue, produces more products or services, or expands its customer base. For most businesses, growth is the main goal. With that in mind, business decisions are often made based on what will contribute to the continued growth and overall success of a company. There are many methods that can facilitate growth which we will explain further below. Types of Business Growth As a business owner, you have several avenues for growth. Business growth can be divided into the following categories: 1. Organic With organic growth, the company develops its operations using its internal resources. This is different from looking to external sources to facilitate growth. An organic growth pattern makes production more efficient, so you can produce more in less time, resulting in increased sales. The benefits of leveraging organic growth rely on self-sufficiency and avoiding debt. Additionally, additional revenue generated from organic growth can fund more strategic growth avenues at a later date. We will explain below. 2. Strategic Business Development Develop initiatives that will help your business grow in the long term. An example of strategic growth could be with a new product or developing a marketing strategy to target a new audience. Unlike organic growth, these initiatives often require significant resources and funding. Entrepreneurs often take an organic first approach in the hope that their efforts will generate enough capital to invest in future strategic growth initiatives. 3. Internal The internal growth strategy seeks to optimize internal business processes to increase revenue. Like organic growth, this strategy depends on companies using their internal resources. An internal growth strategy is all about using existing resources in the most targeted way. An example of internal growth might be cutting wasteful costs and running a more streamlined operation by automating some of its functions instead of hiring more employees. Internal development can be more challenging because it forces companies to look at how their processes can be improved and become more efficient instead of focusing on external factors such as entering new markets to facilitate growth. 4. Mergers, Partnerships, and Acquisitions Although riskier than other types of growth, mergers, partnerships, and acquisitions can have high rewards. There is strength in numbers and a well-managed merger, partnership or acquisition can help your business enter new markets, expand your customer base or improve the products and services offered. Business Development Strategy A growth strategy allows companies to expand their business. Growth can be achieved through practices such as adding new locations, investing in customer acquisitions, or expanding product lines. A company’s industry and target market influence which growth strategy it will choose. Create a strategy, consider available options, and build some into your business plan. Depending on the type of company you are building, your growth strategy may include aspects such as: Adding new locations Investing in customer acquisition Franchise opportunities Expanding your product line Selling products online on multiple platforms Your specific industry and target market will influence decisions you do, but it’s almost universally true that new customer acquisition will play an important role. Don’t know what your business looks like? Here are some active tactics to achieve growth. How to Grow a Company Successfully Using a Growth Strategy Template. Choose the area of growth you are targeting. Conduct market and industry research. Set growth goals. Plan your activities. Determine your growth tools and requirements. Make your plan. 1. Use the growth strategy template [Free Tool]. Image Source Don’t start working without planning and documenting the steps for your growth strategy. We recommend downloading this free Growth Strategy Template and working through the instructions in the section to define your intended process for growth in your organization. 2. Choose your targeted growth area. It’s great if you want to grow your business, but what do you really want to grow? Your business growth plan should focus on specific growth areas. The general basis of strategic growth initiatives are: Increasing the number of employees Expanding existing office, retail and/or warehouse space Adding locations or branches of your business Expanding into new regions, locations, cities or countries Adding products and/or services Expanding purchase locations (i.e. selling in new stores or launching an online store) Revenue and/or profit growth Customer base growth and/or customer acquisition rate Your growth plan may involve more than one of the initiatives outlined. above, which makes sense – optimal growth does not occur in a vacuum. For example, increasing your unit sales will lead to revenue growth – and additional locations and numbers may support sales. 3. Conduct market and industry research. Once you have chosen what you want to grow, you need to explain why you want to grow in this area (and if growing is even possible). Researching the state of your industry is the best way to determine if the growth you want is necessary and feasible. Examples could include surveys and focus groups with current and potential customers or reviewing existing industry research. The knowledge and facts you discover in this step will shape the expectations and growth goals for this project to better define the time, budget and end goal. This brings us to step four… 4. Set growth goals. Once you have determined what you are growing and why you are growing, the next step is determining how much you will grow. These goals should be based on your ultimate goals of what you ideally want your organization to be, but they should also be achievable and realistic – which is why setting goals based on industry research is so valuable. . Finally, take steps to measure your goals in terms of metrics and a timeline. The goal of “increase sales by 30% quarter-on-quarter over the next three years” is much clearer than “increase sales.” 5. Plan your activities. Next, define how you will achieve your growth goals with a comprehensive growth strategy. Again – we recommend writing a detailed strategic growth plan to get insight and support from your team. Download this template This action plan should include a list of action items, deadlines, team or person responsible, and resources to achieve your growth goals. 6. Determine your growth tools and needs. The next step before implementing your plan is to determine the needs that your team will need during the process. These are special resources that will help you reach your growth goals faster and more accurately. Examples include: Funding: The organization may need a capital investment or internal budget allocation to complete this project. Tools & Software: Consider what technology resources may be needed to accelerate and/or understand the growth process. Services: Growth is improved in some areas with the help of consultants, designers or planners. 7. Carry out your plan. With all your planning, resources and goal setting complete, you are now ready to implement your company’s growth plans and deliver results for the business. During this time, make sure you hold stakeholders accountable, keep the lines of communication open, and compare initial results to projected growth goals to see if projected results are still being achieved or if anything needs to be adjusted. Your growth plan and the tactics you use will ultimately be specific to your business, but there are some universal strategies you can use when starting out. Special Resources Free Growth Strategy Template Fill out this form to access your template To expand their business and revenue, companies can implement various strategies for growth. Examples of growth strategies include: Promotion Strategies Viral Trends Like Millionaires Word-of-Mouth Referrals ‘When They Zig, We Zag’ Direct Approaches Marketing Communication Market Development Product Development Product Development Affiliate Development Organic Growth Social Media Acquisition Outstanding Customer Service 1. Viral Loops Some growth strategies are designed to be completely self-sustaining. They require some initial development, but in the end, they depend primarily (if not solely) on the user’s enthusiasm to maintain them. One strategy that fits that bill is the viral pipeline. The basic premise of a viral pipeline is straightforward: Someone tries your product. They are offered a valuable incentive to share it with others. They receive and share with their network. New users register, find incentives for themselves and share with their network. Repeat. For example, a cloud storage company trying to get started may offer users