Business growth strategies are essential for the sustained success of any startup.
Without identifiable business objectives and a plan to meet them, your company will lack the focus needed to propel itself forward. More than half of global business leaders identified growth as one of their top priorities in the 2022 Gartner CEO Survey, and developing a long-term strategy is the key to achieving this goal.
Read on to learn about:
What Makes Business Growth Strategies Effective?
Effective business growth strategies:
- articulate where you want to go and how to get there;
- typically go beyond standard business and marketing plans;
- keep leaders and employees alike focused and aligned; and
- compel you to think long-term.
Far too many companies don’t strike enough of a balance between short-term execution and long-term planning. Strong growth strategies enable companies to expand by focusing on and investing in areas such as customer acquisition, product line expansion and employee hiring.
As with anything in the startup world, some of the specifics of your plan may change. But even creating aspirational goals such as “become the leader in our market” will get you on the right track, because you can establish micro-goals that will show whether you’re on pace to hitting your larger goals.
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How to Develop a Strategic Business Growth Plan
To start developing your business growth strategy, follow these steps:
- Conduct market and competitor research
- Identify your value proposition
- Focus on consistent revenue
- Align goals with objectives
Developing a growth strategy demands coordination and transparency among a cross-functional group of stakeholders. It can’t be just a siloed effort. All involved should understand what they’re working towards and why, as well as what they’re expected to contribute to the process.
Conduct Market and Competitor Research
Conducting market and competitive intelligence is the best way to determine your growth potential. How big is your market? How many other companies are (or could be) targeting the same customers?
Smaller research projects, such as surveys and focus groups, coupled with ongoing, data-driven intelligence gathering, can help shape your expectations and goals.
Identify Your Value Proposition
For a company to expand, it needs to increase its reach with existing target customers and acquire new ones. To do so, the company must identify its unique value proposition that clearly states what it does and why customers need it. The growth strategy must lay out the steps for the company to effectively articulate this value proposition and go to market with a realistic chance of obtaining market share.
Focus on Consistent Revenue
Growth ultimately boils down to revenue. Effective business growth strategies should focus on consistently increasing revenue across a healthy mix of products, segments, verticals and channels.
Companies that grow too fast may fail because they eventually can’t keep up. The last thing you want to do is overextend yourself to secure short-term gains that will eventually put too much strain on your business and your team. A growth strategy will help you develop at the right pace.
Align Goals with Objectives
If you’re truly optimizing your company for everlasting viability, sustainability and impact, you must strategically align your growth plans with these principles in mind. A lack of objectives means your company does not have a clear vision for strategic business growth.
Business growth strategies are important because they keep your company working towards goals that go beyond what’s happening in the market today. Play the long game!
For help creating or refining your business growth strategy, check out York IE’s advisory services for startups.
