Top 10 Steps To Grow Your Business & Make The Next Big Thing In 2022!

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12 Mar, 2024

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Introduction

Are you an entrepreneur of a small business? Or a start-up owner looking forward to scale his business to see a double digit growth? But the truth is growing your business is hard and if you're a small business or a new start-up, it becomes harder. You’ve to wear so many hats. 

It means dealing with sales and digital marketing. You try to understand corporate compliances, website development or designing and maintain interaction with customers on a daily basis. All this and more and when there’s so much uncertainty around if your current growth strategy is going to work or not.

But relax, there’s still a light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, you cannot have a growing business overnight but when it is about how to grow your business, an effective strategy will pay off in the long run. If you're also struggling to grow your business, do not quit or lose hope. It is not about the destination, it is about the journey. So, focus on how to make your business grow and not about when you will reach your goal and always remember… 

“A big business starts small.”

Most businesses start small, they do not become market giants overnight. Take for example, Amazon, we all know it started as a bookseller that slowly grew into an ecommerce juggernaut that now sells everything from books to Fashion, food to other over 30 categories. Then there’s Subway that opened up as a small sandwich shop in Connecticut and now has 41,600 food outlets across the world. 

So, what eventually made them into these top market leaders? How did they manage to break out of the ‘small business’ group and make a name of themselves?  First thing that comes to mind is their determination & their strong will to turn their dream into reality...but the next thing is an impeccable business growth strategy

So, are you ready to know?

  • What is a growth strategy?
  • How to make your business grow successfully?
  • Is growing a small business expensive? 
  • How to grow my business quickly?
  • Steps to know how to grow a small business online

Looking to Leading Digital Marketing Solutions?

  • Achieve Your Brand Vision
  • Drive Customer Engagement
  • Developing high-converting marketing

What is a Growth Strategy?

A growth strategy helps you address how your company is going to outgrow the challenges of today or of the future. It helps you chart out a plan, a purpose and an objective to work on your short-term as well as long-term goals and answers to how and when you will achieve them. 

What is a Growth Strategy

Why is having a growth strategy for your business important?

Growth strategy not only helps you stay on your path to achieve your business goals but also it allows you to:

  • take advantage of new opportunities
  • expand your products or services
  • attract more customers
  • increase sales
  • to add resources
  • locate and identify new sales opportunities
  • boost your business credibility
  • broaden your supply base 
  • increase stability and profits

Top 10 Steps On How To Grow Your Business Successfully

Top 10 Steps On How To Grow Your Business Successfully

Follow these amazing and simple steps and grow your business into the next big hit organization regardless of the industry you are in or whether you are a small business or a start-up:

1. Develop a Business Growth Strategy

As discussed earlier, a growth strategy helps you stay focused on what are business goals and how will you achieve them. They also allow your company and its employees to keep working towards goals that go beyond what’s happening in the market today by compelling you to think long-term. Some important elements for a growth strategy aka how to grow a business plan:

  • Research Your Competitors
  • Market Penetration
  • Market Development
  • New Products for New Customers
  • Diversification in Products or Services
  • Foster accountability 
  • Focus on Brand Relevance & Customer Experience

2. Find & Stick to Your Niche

It is good to be the best at everything as a business- from clothing, food, books, consultant services- but the truth is, it is really bad for your business and it might be impossible. Not that we’re trying to dash your hopes, however we are only being realistic. The key to a small business growth is that you find your niche and stick to it. So that you do not go overboard with your resources; excel at what you do and refine your marketing strategy for the same. This is what you should consider before finding your niche, if you want to grow business:

  • Select your target audience
  • Find an unmet or underserved need
  • Research your customer base
  • Create your business plan
  • Collect your resources
  • Market your business to your specific audience

3. Hire the right people

Even if your budget is tight, it is very crucial for you to find a right team of professionals for your small business growth. A team of individuals who are as invested and motivated to contribute and follow your goal to grow business as you are. As it is very easy and effective to lead naturally motivated people than those who have no interest in standing up to your expectations. Additionally, with small management you need professionals who can carry their responsibilities with less supervision and greater technical aptitude. So how do you get them and grow your business? Focus on these points:

  • Focus not on just the numbers (profit), they will bring but also the value they can add to your brand image
  • Explain your brand’s personality in the job description
  • Carefully review a candidate’s resume and list questions you want to know about his work history and experience
  • Avoid creating a narrow picture of who is the right candidate & look beyond obvious talent pools
  • Mention clearly & honestly the role’s challenges & your expectations in the interview
  • Before selecting, focus on your company’s culture and decide if someone fits or not
  • Don’t hire more often than you need to

4. Deliver High-Quality Content/ Services

You have a brilliant product that can change the face of your brand and boosts your ROI & popularity. However, your delivery process or marketing process is not engaging, reliable or just hard to get in touch with, then this spells the end of your product. In this digital world, one person will hear about it and will relay it to others, and you’ll lose existing and potential customers over it. So, you need to focus not only on what you deliver or offer but also how you do that is the key to long-term business success. Some key elements to create high quality content or services are:

  • Know your product & its target audience
  • Personalize your services 
  • Quickly adapt and change to reasonable feedbacks/reviews
  • Actively listen & quickly deliver solutions
  • Research good content & always have a backlog of content ideas
  • Employ the best SEO practices
  • Optimize social media to deliver your product or service
  • Measure your content’s performance

5. Maximize Your Current Customer Base

Do you know a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 75% increase in customer lifetime value? Customers are that key character in your business’s success story that can make it a big hit or big flop. A customer base is generally a group of people who not only engage with your products and services, but also if you can identify their pain point & want list and deliver effectively then they bring a lifetime of financial and emotional value to your business. Let us help you device the most effective tips to enhance lead acquisition as well as customer retention and help you grow your business naturally:

  • Identify what they need or want & deliver it with excellency
  • Keep up and maintain excellent customer support and service
  • Build your brand’s credibility by leveraging your customer advocates via their referrals and testimonials in the eyes of your potential customers
  • Collect customer feedback, if needed act upon them
  • Keep your website content updated, simple, engaging & mobile-friendly
  • Promote your business on social media channels

6. Focus On Your Customer's Experience

“A totally satisfied customer contributes 2.6 times as much revenue as a somewhat satisfied customer, and 14 times as much revenue as a somewhat dissatisfied customer.” So, a happy customer is a happy you. It’s really that simple. In order to grow your small business into the next big thing, you not only need to attract & expand your customer base but also you  have to find ways to enrich their experience, so that you earn their loyalty, help you retain them and encourage brand advocacy. Tips to enhance customer’s experience:

  • Leverage the power of artificial intelligence
  • Work towards delivering what they want or are looking for
  • Streamline the entire communications process to create a seamless customer journey
  • Provide enhanced security to your customers
  • Enhance Customer Experience by Going Omnichannel
  • Reward Your Engaging Customers
  • Engage Your Customers on Social Media

7. Integrate Social Media with Website

No matter how wonderful your marketing strategy is, it is incomplete if your social media profiles are not integrated well with your website. It is a two way process: not only can you direct your social media audience to your website but you can also let your site visitors easily access your social media channels via your website. This not only lets your users connect and engage with the content but build brand visibility, trust, boost conversion rate and deliver a smooth buying or user experience. So, follow these steps to turn your social media channels into a marketing platform & for your small business growth:

  • Embed Social Media Buttons on Your Website 
  • Place social share plugins on product pages
  • Make your social media content SHOPPABLE
  • Integrate your social media accounts onto your website 
  • Make it easy for visitors to sign up with social login 
  • Integrate social media-based commenting system

8. Measure Your Progress & Be adaptable to Changes

Take out your past progress reports and analyze them thoroughly to understand where you fall short. Sometimes, we do have well documented progress reports but we rarely give them a chance to analyze the performance and overall growth of the business. Not doing so leads you to missing the areas where you can improve for better opportunities and growth. Additionally, if you are not whether what you are doing needs change or modification will make stay irrelevant. Adapting to the change is one that helps you grow your business naturally, stay relevant, valuable and stay ahead of the competition. So, embrace the change, if there is a need.

9. Spend Time Attending Networking Events

No matter if you are new to the entrepreneur scene or are a small business if you want to know how to grow your business, networking is quite an important step that you must take since networking is vital to the success of 78% of startups. So take out time to attend such networking events, workshops or seminars as not only you will meet and greet like-minded people but you can also meet potential investors or customers. These networking events are also a great way to  form valuable connections, in finding out what customers think of your product, getting inspiration to do better and finally learn the ways of the industry from the industry leaders. After all, when it comes to business, it is never about what you know but who you do not know. 

10. Give Back to Your Community

When we say you need to give back to your community, we do not mean breaking bank and shelling out money. What we mean is, you need to get involved with the community you have your business at and contribute to it in whatever you can. Social responsibility is a form of service that not only builds a positive reputation for your  business, but also helps you to form connections within your community. It is a sort of advertising that makes your community a great place to live and gives you a great way to establish your business within the local community and give it more visibility. I mean building a positive change in the community while bringing attention to your business, right? It is a total win-win situation for everyone! You can do this by:

  • Sponsoring a fundraiser
  • Donate your skills
  • Hosting a volunteer day for employees
  • Offer donation matching
  • Religiously implement CSR in your business model
  • Share your space for community services
  • Highlight/Support a local NPOs or organization

Over 2.14 billion people globally are expected to buy goods & services online in 2021. That’s about 27.6% of the 7.74 billion people in the world. That means one out of every four people you see around you is an online buyer! So what are you doing in your brick and mortar store? Get online! Don’t know how to grow a small business online? We will tell you tips for growing your business.

7 Steps to Know How to Grow a Small Business Online That Works!

You already know how to grow your business offline but as we said earlier, the whole world is turning online so why stay behind your cash counter when you can automate the whole process. Growing a small business online can be a daunting task but if you follow these awesome 10 steps, you will know how to grow a small business like a pro:

1. Create a Solid Brand Strategy

Having a brand strategy is all about shaping your existing and potential customers' perspective about your products, services and overall company image and that depends on how you communicate with them. It helps you in creating a different and distinct image than your competition and gives you visibility in the online marketplace. These are some of the major branding key elements:

  • Brand Purpose
  • Brand Vision
  • Brand Values
  • Target Audience
  • Market Analysis
  • Awareness Goals
  • Brand Personality
  • Brand Voice

Want to know how to create a brand strategy that works wonders for your online business read this informative blog and geta detailed understanding about creating a solid brand strategy.

2. Use the 3 Big Local Listing Services

The three big local listings are Google, Yahoo and Bing offers you a different kind of marketing that is also easy on your pocket.  When you register your business with them, you are not only making your business visible on the Internet easily there’s another benefit. Increasing the number of listings also increases the accuracy of your business data reading to probability of ranking well in local searches. You simply need to get your business registered and verified by them. After you are through with them, simply do thi to stay visible on search engines:

  • Ensure your info is consistent
  • Add a detailed company description
  • Include a link to your website
  • Include secondary business info like operation hours or menu
  • Add pictures and videos
  • Gather customer feedback/review

3. Pick a Platform that Suits Your Business Type

Whether you are a small business or a start-up, if you are planning to launch your business online it is important that you choose the right platform to build your business website. It is not just about money, but also the value that you will bring along with it for your users as well as to your brand. There are various factors that you should consider before choosing a platform some of them are:

  • Cost of platforms
  • Platform that is best for your store’s design
  • Scalability and customizability of the platform
  • Focus on Security, Privacy & Backup
  • Equipped with smooth search & checkout process
  • Functionality and ease of use
  • Maintenance & Support Features

Additionally, you can also consult a website development agency that helps you create powerful digital experiences for your customers!

4. Choose a Functional & Simple Web Design

There are several website designs that you can pick for your online business but you need to make a sound decision considering your website is your first impression that you give to your potential customers. Based upon how your website looks and functions, they will form an opinion about your business, so ensure it’s a positive one. Choose website design that is:

  • Cost-effective
  • Customizable
  • Simpler or Easier learning curve
  • Fast and secure
  • Mobile-responsive
  • Simple & intuitive to explore

5. Plan a Content Marketing Strategy

A documented content strategy is that magic potion that breathes new life into your redundant website or infuses new energy to your newly designed website. It not only improves your user engagement, developing your brand identity & ROI on your marketing efforts but it does more than that! A good content strategy allows you to understand why you are using any content, who  you want to target and what content will reach them and what channels you will use to achieve your goals. A great content marketing strategy has following key elements:

  • Your mission & goals
  • Brand Story
  • Audience Personas
  • Competitive Research
  • Best Content Channels
  • Content Objectives & Types
  • Content Calendar
  • Identify and Allocate Resources
  • Create Content
  • Promotion & Distribution
  • Solid KPIs Analysis

6. Develop A Digital Marketing Plan

A digital marketing plan just like branding is essential to attract more customers, convert leads into sales and for brand awareness via digital channels like search engines, email marketing, and social media. It lets you interact with your prospects and learn exactly what they are looking for and lets you reach a global marketplace instantly. Some of the key elements of Digital Marketing Plan:

  • Online Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Downloadable Content Offerings (eBooks, Whitepapers, Webinars)
  • Buyer Personas
  • Email Marketing
  • Video Marketing
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing

7. Leverage Social Media to Drive Traffic

According to Google “there are 4.33 billion social media users around the world at the start of 2021, equating to more than 55% of the total global population.” Why miss out on these numbers when social media marketing can be an affordable and quick way to not only reach your potential customers but organically generate traffic on a global level. So here are few tips to be social media savvy:

  • Right Keywords to increase visibility, engagement & interaction
  • Consistently & Timely Post on Your Social media channels
  • Engaging, visually appealing & easily shareable content
  • Integrate SEO best practices into your content 
  • Consistently Engage With Your Audience
  • Focus on “audience’s peak time” before posting 
  • Optimize your calls-to-action
  • Customize Posts for Every Social media channel

Conclusion

It’s not easy to get your business off the ground and it is equally as challenging to continue to grow your business once it’s established. You need effective planning, strategy, and think out of the box. However, you should also understand that even though you imagine to grow your business and make it the ‘next big thing,’ it’s not going to happen overnight. But you should not quit yet, and do not lose hope. If one plan did not work out, another one will or yet another. Keep trying! After all, it is a mixture of right strategy, commitment and preservation to make your dreams come true. 

Hopefully this blog has given you that extra motivation and guidance to know how to grow your small business. You can also try our simple and doable steps on how to grow business online and on a small budget and see the magic happening. We also discussed why it is important to have a growth strategy for your business. Just continue to follow these steps, keep trying and you will see the growth you hope for your business eventually.

Looking to Leading Digital Marketing Solutions?

  • Achieve Your Brand Vision
  • Drive Customer Engagement
  • Developing high-converting marketing

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Tony Stark

Hi, I followed all the steps mentioned in your blog to grow my business successfully but It didn’t show the expected results. Can you guide me in this?

J

Jack

The article is really helpful! I asked my team to go through this article and follow the steps to grow my business efficiently.

M

Milo James

It’s been two years since I started my business. I really wanted to know whether I can use these steps for my online business or not? Will they benefit me? Please revert.

K

Kaden Brown

Can you please help me with the On-page SEO optimization?

V

Vinay Yadav

Hi! Can your team help me in building a strong business strategy for my business? Please revert!

A

Adonis Smith

Thanks for such an informative blog post, I am planning to start my business and have gone through so many relative posts but this one is really helpful.

L

Louis Anderson

How can we give tough competition to big brands or brands that already have a strong grip over the market?

C

Caden Thomas

I want to move my business online so need a business website but not technically sound enough to create a website and talk to external agencies they are charging high. So what would be the better option for me?

M

Maximiliano Jackson

I have gone through this blog, and it completely removes my fear of how to grow a business online. Must read!

H

Holden White

Good One, I have few good business ideas but still not confident which one is best for me, so how can I decide this?

A

Atticus James

Hi, I followed all the steps mentioned in your blog to grow my business successfully but It didn’t show the expected results. Can you guide me in this?

J

Josue Rodriguez

The article is really helpful! I asked my team to go through this article and follow the steps to grow my business efficiently.


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