Business Growth Plan Elements – A solid growth strategy is more than just a marketing strategy, it is an important foundation in your business machine. Without one, you are at the mercy of the user base and immutable market changes. So, how do you plan to grow? If you’re not sure about the steps needed to create an effective growth strategy, we’ve got you covered. Business Growth Business growth is the stage a business reaches where it is expanding and needs more ways to make a profit. This can happen when a company increases revenue, produces more products or services, or expands its customer base. For most businesses, growth is the primary goal. With that in mind, business decisions are often made based on what can contribute to the growth and overall success of the company. There are several ways 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 groups: 1. Organic With organic growth, the company expands through its activities using its internal resources. This is different from having to seek external resources to enable growth. An example of organic growth is making production more efficient so you can produce more in less time, which leads to increased sales. The advantage of using organic growth is that it relies on self-sufficiency and avoids taking on debt. Additionally, increased revenue generated from organic growth can help fund more strategic growth strategies later on. We’ll explain that below. 2. Strategic strategic growth involves developing plans that will help your business grow in the long term. An example of strategic growth might be inventing a new product or developing a marketing strategy to target a new audience. Unlike organic growth, these initiatives often require significant amounts of resources and funding. Businesses often take an organic approach first with the hope that their efforts will generate enough capital to invest in future strategic growth plans. 3. An internal growth strategy aims to improve internal business processes to increase revenue. Similar to organic growth, this strategy relies on companies using their internal resources. An internal growth strategy is about using existing resources as purposefully as possible. An example of internal growth would be to reduce waste and drive inefficiencies by automating some of its functions rather than hiring more workers. Internal growth can be more difficult because it forces companies to look at how their processes can be improved and become more efficient rather than focusing on external factors such as entering new markets to facilitate growth. 4. Mergers, Joint Ventures, Acquisitions Although riskier than other forms of growth, mergers, joint ventures and acquisitions can come with high rewards. There is strength in numbers and a well-executed merger, partnership or acquisition can help your business enter a new market, expand your customer base or increase your product and service offering. Business Growth Strategy A growth strategy allows companies to expand their business. Growth can be achieved through practices such as adding new locations, investing in customer acquisition, or expanding the product line. A company’s industry and target market influence the growth strategies it will choose. Strategize, consider the options available and build some into your business plan. Depending on the type of company you are building, your growth strategy may include factors such as: Adding new territories Investing in customer acquisition Financial opportunities Product line expansion Selling products online on multiple platforms Your specific industry and target market will influence your decisions, but it is almost certain that the acquisition of new customers will play an important role. Not sure what your business looks like? Here are some strategies that can be taken to achieve growth. How to Grow a Company Successfully Use the growth strategy template. Choose your target area of growth. Conduct market and industry research. Set growth goals. Plan your move. Determine your growing tools and needs. Implement your plan. 1. Use a growth strategy template [Free Tool]. Image Source Don’t touch base without planning and documenting the steps of your growth strategy. We recommend that you download this free Growth Strategy Template and work through the tips in the included section to outline the intended growth process in your organization. 2. Choose your target area of growth. It’s great that you want to grow your business, but what exactly do you want to grow? Your business growth plan should focus on specific growth areas. Common goals of strategic growth strategies may include: Growth in the number of employees Expansion of current office, retail and/or warehouse space Addition of new locations or branches of your business Expansion into new areas, regions, cities or countries Addition of new products and/or or services. above, which makes sense – the best growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. For example, increasing your unit sales will lead to increased revenue – and possibly additional locations and population to support increased sales. 3. Conduct market and industry research. After choosing what you want to grow, you will have to justify why you want to grow in this area (and if growth is possible). Researching the state of your industry is the best way to determine if your desired growth is necessary and feasible. Examples might include conducting surveys and focus groups with existing and prospective customers or digging into existing industry research. The knowledge and facts that you will discover in this step will create the expectations and goals for the growth of this project to better define the schedule of events, the budget and the main goal. This brings us to step four… 4. Set growth goals. Once you decide what you’re growing and why you’re growing, the next step is deciding how much you’re going to grow. These goals should be based on your end-game vision of where you want your organization to be, but they should also be achievable and realistic – which is why goal setting based on industry research is so important. Finally, take steps to quantify your goals based on metrics and a timeline. Aiming to “grow sales by 30% quarterly over the next three years” is clearer than “increase sales”. 5. Plan your move. Next, outline how you will achieve your growth goals with a detailed growth strategy. Again – we recommend writing a detailed growth strategy plan to get your team’s understanding and buy-in. Download this Template This action plan should include a list of action items, deadlines, teams or responsible people and resources to achieve your growth goal. 6. Determine your growth tools and needs. The last step before working on your plan is to identify any requirements your team will need to get through the process. These are specific resources that will help you reach your growth goals faster and more accurately. Examples may include: Funding: Organizations may need capital investment or internal budget allocations to complete this project. Tools and Software: Consider what technological resources may be necessary to accelerate and/or gain insights from the growth process. Services: Growth can best be achieved with the help of consultants, designers or planners in specific fields. 7. Implement your plan. With all your planning, resource allocation and goal setting complete, you are now ready to execute your company growth plan and deliver business results. During this time, be sure to hold your stakeholders accountable, keep the line of communication open, and compare past results with your anticipated growth goals to see if your expected results are still achievable or if something needs to be adjusted. Your growth plan and the tactics you’ll ultimately use will be specific to your business, but there are some general strategies you can implement when you’re starting out. Freelance Growth Strategy Template Fill out this form to access your template To expand their business and revenue, companies can implement various growth strategies. Examples of growth strategies include: Examples of Growth Strategies Milestone References The ‘When They Act, We Deliver’ Approach The ‘When They Act, We Deliver’ Approach Market Access Market Access Market Entry Product Development Development Alliances Acquisition Growth Organic Growth Social Media Better Customer Service 1 Viral Loops Some growth strategies are designed to be completely self-sustaining. They need an initial push, but ultimately they rely primarily (if not exclusively) on user enthusiasm to keep them going. One technique that fits the bill is the virus loop. The basic premise of the viral loop is simple: Someone tries your product. They get a major incentive to share it with others. They agree and share with their network. New users register, experience incentives and engage with their networks. repeat For example, a cloud storage company trying to get off the ground can offer users