14 Steps to Achieve Business Growth
14 Steps to Achieve Business Growth
by Heather Wilkinson, Business Coach, Striding Out
Are you successfully managing and leading the growth of your business?
To find out, walk though our 14 steps below, and tick off those that you do well, and highlight those that you need to focus on.
Communicate your business well - Be clear on your cause, aims and your objectives as an organisation and clearly communicate your message to stakeholders using a range of communication tools.
Understand your customers - Understand the profile, interests, needs and demands of your target market and customer groups, when planning and selling your range of products or services.
Create sellable products and services - Achieve your commercial objectives by selling products and services that are up to quality standards, are commercially competitive and are in demand.
Fill the gap in the market - Understand your marketplace and future trends, and build a competitive business that can compete with competitors not only on ethics, but also on innovation, customer services, quality, performance etc.
Convert marketing to sales – Carefully research, plan, analyse and review your marketing activity on a regular basis to ensure you hit your sales targets. If you are a social enterprise, utilise cause related marketing and identify organisations you can partner with to help achieve your mission.
Become a leader – Become an expert in your subject and champion innovation in your industry at a strategic level, campaigning, lobbying, supporting and representing the views of your customers and partners through the media and policy channels.
Work on the business not in the business - Manage and review business processes and results on a monthly basis to adjust and improve your business strategy for the months ahead.
Demonstrate your impact - Whether you are a social enterprise or a business with a CSR strategy, put in processes and systems to capture, measure and evaluate the social and environmental impact of your organisation from day one to monitor your progress.
Build your powerhouse - Build a flexible, talented and reliable team who are have all of the required skills and expertise to achieve the goals of the organisation.
Keep it legal - Ensure that all of your business formalities are in place to keep your business on the right side of the law. Get a professional to help, if you need to.
Plan for growth – Research and plan a growth strategy from the outset as it will influence the decisions you make from the start and it will help to shape your business strategy in the early years.
Manage your finances – To achieve your mission your business needs to manage its inflow and outflow of cash to perfection. To make your life easier, get your financial management systems in place and use them regularly.
Raise Investment – Most businesses require some investment during their lifetime, be it from a family member, bank manager or business angel for example. Be sure to plan and use this investment wisely and measure its overall success.
Access Support – As a business leader you need to understand all areas of the business, so learn from those who have the skills, experience and knowledge to guide and support you on your journey.
If you are interested in business support and leadership coaching to help grow your business, then contact Striding Out to find out how we can help.
The Leadership and Management Grant can cover 50% of training and coaching costs.
