How to Develop a Business Growth Strategy?

Establishing a small business is a dream of any entrepreneur, but the establishment of the business does not mean it is a successful business. The entrepreneur needs to plan well in advance for the future of the business; otherwise, the stagnant performance might cause its closure. Once the business starts making a good amount of sales, then the need to create a business growth strategy starts. A proper business development strategy helps it expand quickly and respond to growth variables like new opportunities better.

This article will highlight some top business growth tips for creating a business growth plan and expanding rapidly in the market. We will also discuss the various aspects related to business growth strategy, such as

• Types of business growth
• How to create a business growth strategy
• Types of growth strategy

Business Growth Strategy

A business growth strategy is a business plan that outlines the company's growth objectives and methods to fulfill them. SWOT analysis of the business is an essential part of the growth strategy. A good business development strategy helps in strategically planning for the future and allows the company to grab new opportunities in the market.

Types of Business Growth

There are four types of business growth that an organisation can help expand quickly in the market and increase its market share. They are:

• Organic business growth: It is the most basic type of business growth that a business can opt for. In this type, businesses expand by producing more products and services for customers. This often requires large storage capacity.
• Strategic business growth: Strategic growth involves organic business growth and a need to find new markets for the business. Strategic growth is a vital phase of any business with a focus on long-term objectives.
• Internal business growth: It refers to making efficient use of current business resources so that the production increases without adding anything more. Internal business growth involves changing the process of the business entirely.
• Partnership, acquisition and merger: Sometimes, involving in partnerships, acquiring, and merging businesses is the best way to expand a business and increase its market share. Strategic partnerships help the business in exploring new markets and reducing the competition.

Now that you know the various types of business growth let's address the central question— how to create a business growth strategy.

How to Develop a Business Growth Strategy?

Business growth strategy is just like formulating long-term objectives of the business. The following business growth tips will help you create an effective business growth strategy:

• Define your target audience: The target market after the growth and before the growth might be different, so a company needs to find the new target market and create strategies keeping in mind the new niche. This newly defined niche could be a new opportunity for the business to grow.
• Define the company's values: Company values are the driving force that convinces customers to buy goods. Company values allow you to set your business apart from other competitors in the market.
• Customer engagement and experience: Customer service and growth of the business are directly proportional, which means the better the customer service you offer, the higher the chance of business growth. Companies must work on customer engagement to retain customers for the long term.
• Reduce expenditure: If you expect growth soon, then you need money to meet new demand. Reducing current expenditure is the best way to get more capital for future need; this capital can be spent on newly identified opportunities. You can use different strategies for reducing the expenditure of the business.
• Create future objectives: Creating future objectives are the most important aspect of a business development strategy. Businesses should specify future objectives with the timeline to achieve goals. After the time ends, compare the actual with set objectives to find any deviation, if it exists. Finding the reasons for the deviation is also a vital part of a business growth strategy.

You can now easily build a growth plan using these business growth tips. There are few types of growth strategy which you can use for expanding your business.

Types of Business Growth Strategy

Following are the various types of business growth strategy and market development strategy examples to understand them better.

• Market penetration strategy: Market penetration strategy is the most basic growth strategy for small businesses to penetrate an existing market with an already existing product. This strategy is an excellent way to increase the market share and reduce the market share of other competitors. Reducing product costs is a good way to implement a market penetration strategy. This strategy is good for businesses with similar products and very little differentiation among products—for example, soap business.
• Market expansion strategy: This growth strategy involves finding new markets for the existing product. A new market for the product might help the business increase its sales, profits, and market share. This strategy is good for businesses to identify new target audiences for their products. For example, a shampoo manufacturer who sells to big stores identifies that a lower-income audience can also use the product.
• Product expansion strategy: In this type of growth strategy, businesses increase the number of products it offers to the customers. The market to sell the product remains the same, but the products offered by the business changes. The product expansion strategy helps the business in finding new customers. This strategy involves expanding the business's product line to increase sales. For example, A shampoo manufacturer can start manufacturing hair conditioners and other hair care products to sell in the market.
• Diversification strategy: Diversification means selling completely new products in a new market. Businesses that implement diversification strategies often start from scratch, so it is one of the riskiest growth strategies. Proper market research for diversification can help you expand quickly in the new market. This strategy is good for businesses who want to sell new business products in new markets. For example, a company that sells garments diversified its business and started selling footwear along with garments.

• Acquisition strategy: Acquisition is a growth strategy that successful businesses can implement. Implementing an acquisition strategy means acquiring competitors in the market. This helps in expanding the product line of the business and allows the company to enter new markets. This is also a good way to reduce competition and increase the market share of the business. It is a strategy in which a company acquires another company to increase its market share, enter a new market, and expand its business. For example, a software company acquires another software company to improve its operations and increase its market share.

We have already covered everything related to the business growth plan and various tips to create a development strategy. We also highlighted a few business growth strategies to expand your business quickly in the market. It is always advisable to analyse the current business resources and then choose the best growth strategy to expand it. Implementing business growth tips are a great way to grow your business quickly.

Also Read:

1) How to Promote Your Local Business with a Small Advertising Budget?
2) How to Make Your Presence Felt on eCommerce Platforms?
3) A Guide on How to Start Your Own Business
4) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

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FAQs

Q. How to penetrate a market with immense competition and similar businesses?

Ans. Introduce offer programs to retain customers, and attract new customers. Always look for new opportunities, and try taking the first-move advantage before other businesses. Use multiple communication tools to interact with your customers.

Q. What are few business strategies to quickly expand the business?

Ans. The following strategies can be used by businesses to expand in the market quickly:

• Create a sales funnel
• Use sales management software
• Introduce a customer loyalty program
• Identify opportunities, and take the first-move advantage

Q. What are the different software I can use to manage my business growth?

Ans. As a business expands, managing it becomes problematic. So, it is always advisable to use specialised software like staff management systems, CRM software, sales management system, etc., to manage the growth of the business.

Q. What are the few ways to implement the market penetration strategy?

Ans. The market penetration strategy can be implemented using the following methods:

• Reduce the price of the similar products
• Widen the distribution channels
• Try targeting competitor's customers
• Introduce new promotional offers.