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5 Smart Tactics for Rapid Business Growth

Rapid Business GrowthGrowing fast isn’t always what’s best for a company. In fact, some companies have actually failed because they expanded too rapidly. But most companies welcome growth, because it can be a great thing when the time is right. In fact, every business that wants to continue thriving should have growth goals.

Whether you want to propel your business through the startup phase quickly or are more focused on taking an already established business through the next phase of growth, using these five tactics will help you to achieve your goal. When it comes to growth, “rapid” doesn’t mean overnight, but following these suggestions will speed up the process too!

1. Expand Into Different Markets

Chances are that you already have a good grasp of who your ideal clients are and have established somewhat of a following within the market you’ve chosen. In order to grow and experience continued success, you’ll need to find potential prospects in markets that cross over.

As an example, let’s say that you’re currently offering specialized bookkeeping software to long haul trucking companies so that they’re able to manage and track their shipments more efficiently. Examine which other markets would also benefit from the product you offer. For example, why not offer your bookkeeping software to large retail stores so they can track their incoming shipments in a more efficient and practical way?  Sit down and examine which other markets may benefit from the product you offer. This might require changing a few minor details, but your core product offering should remain very consistent.

2. Introduce a Newer Version of Your Product or Service

A complete overhaul of your product isn’t necessary, but something like a simple make-over can certainly help to not only keep your current customers, but also gain new ones. Constantly reassessing your offering is crucial. Find new ways that the product or service can be bettered while continuing to deliver value.

A big part of this is listening to current customers and implementing changes or enhancements they’re asking for. By doing this, you have the ability to market and offer new and improved features to new clients, while making current clients happy.

3. Look for Joint Venture Marketing Opportunities

Seek out opportunities to generate alliances with other businesses who offer their products or services to people who are in your target market. For example, if you’ve cornered the market for trendy music stores in your area, work toward partnering with companies that service comparable niches like trendy clothing stores. You’ll get the benefit of sharing the advertising costs, but the true benefit comes when their customers become aware of you and become your customers!

4. Work with Your Competitors

This might not sound productive at first glance, and it doesn’t work for every business, but becoming a partner with a company that you consider to be your biggest competition can sometimes be a valuable solution for you both. Usually this works when your competitor offers a product or service you don’t, and vise versa. Strike an agreement where you send people to them, and they send people to you for those things you can’t provide yourself. Again, it doesn’t make sense for every business, but some entrepreneurs have had great success with this concept.

5. Invest in Improvements

As your business continues to grow, examine what it will take to improve on how things are currently operating. It’s easy to become too comfortable when things are going really well, but investing in improvements will often result in increased profits. Don’t make the mistake of losing out on profit opportunities because you’re comfortable with the way things are currently going. There’s always room for improvement.

It’s a very common mistake for business owners to wait until they notice a decline in business before they look for ways to improve upon their product or service. By operating your business as if it can always be better, you’ll gain more momentum and sales will increase.

By implementing one or more of these five strategies, your company will have a chance to reach its potential and even expand that potential to beyond what you might have imagined. Bigger isn’t always better, but when it comes to business, opportunity can come from considering your growth options and running with those that make the most sense for you.

What are you doing to grow your business? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Matthew Toren
 

Matthew Toren is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, investor and co-founder of YoungEntrepreneur.com. He is co-author, with his brother Adam, of Kidpreneurs.org, BizWarriors.com and Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right (Wiley).

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