It’s safe to say that growth is important for the majority of business owners. After all, it can bring so many benefits, including new opportunities, a better sense of fulfilment, and increased profitability for your business. However, achieving business growth is often easier said than done. There are plenty of factors that can inhibit growth, such as:

  • A saturated market
  • Outside factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Not having the right team in place (or not having a team at all!)
  • Complacency
  • Not taking the right approach to attract your target market
  • And many more!

This list may seem daunting. With so many factors that can prevent growth, how can you overcome them? This article aims to help you, with 5 growth coaching tips that you may find useful if you want to grow your business.

What is business growth?

Firstly, let’s take a closer look into what business growth actually entails. Truthfully, it looks different for everyone. What one business considers to be successful growth may not be the same for everyone. But, essentially it means a business that is expanding in at least one way. For example, growth in:

  • Revenue
  • Sales
  • Profitability
  • The company’s value
  • The number of customers
  • The number of employees

Often, when a business is growing in one area, other areas tend to expand at the same time to achieve a higher level of overall growth. But, this is not always the case! For example, revenue could grow without an increase in the number of customers. This happens when the same number of customers make purchases that add up to a higher amount. And, sometimes, growth in one area can actually lead to a decrease in overall business growth, such as the number of sales rising due to a decrease in product price, on the whole leading to a reduction in revenue.

For some businesses, growth is steep and rapid, whereas for others, it takes a slower and steadier approach. There is no one right way to approach business growth. it’s all about what works best for you, your business, and team.

Growth coaching tips

So, how can you encourage your business to grow? These five tips may be helpful for you:

Nurture your existing customers

Nurture your existing customers

Nurture your existing customers and focus on existing sources of revenue

There’s no denying that trying to attract brand new customers can be an expensive undertaking. There’s the marketing budget required to draw them in, then the staff time and costs involved in dealing with their enquiries. But at the end of the day, more customers can be good for business growth. But what about focusing on what’s already bringing revenue in- namely, your existing customers? Getting a customer to buy from you twice is cheaper than getting two customers to each buy from you once, so it’s a no-brainer if you want to grow your revenue while keeping costs down.

But how can you do this? In part, it’s about reminding your customers that you exist. A good starting point is to send them regular, personalised emails. Let them know about any promotions you may have coming up, or send them exclusive discount codes for their loyalty. And, ensure that you are looking after your existing customers well so that they are more inclined to purchase from you again (more on customer service later!).

It’s all about getting the right balance between nurturing existing customers and attracting new ones. This balance will look different for every business, so try to find what works best for you over time and increases your chances for growth.

Build your network

Next on this list of growth coaching tips, the cliche saying that ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know’ does ring true. When looking to grow your business, it’s vital to build up a solid network on connections, both from within your industry and elsewhere. You never know when they might be able to help you out, they may be in need of your services, or they could be able to refer a customer on to you. Not to mention the fact that knowing other business owners can help you feel less alone with the challenges your business faces, and boost your morale.

So, get out there and attend networking events if you can. Don’t be afraid to approach people and strike up a conversation, as you never know how helpful it could be for you. Furthermore, make sure that you’re also using social media (especially professional sites such as LinkedIn) to help boost your network both on and offline.

Get involved in your community

If you want to grow your business, the core fact is that you need to get your name out there more, in order to attract more customers and build up a good reputation. But how can you do this? It’s something that you should be focusing on every day. And, one great way to raise your visibility, especially in the local area, is by becoming involved in the community as much as you can.

This is a form of Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR. It’s important for any business to get involved in CSR in some way, in order to show that they are a responsible and conscientious asset to the community. Are there any local charity events going on that your business could sponsor? This is a great way to get your name out there and raise your profile in aid of a good cause. And, the more of these sorts of activities that you do, the more the community will start to remember you and what you do. Thus, CSR can be part of a wider strategy for growth that is aimed at raising your overall business profile and encourage growth as a result.

Improve your customer journey

As has been already mentioned in this list of growth coaching tips, customer service is vitally important for business growth (or even if you don’t want to grow your business- you still need to be nice to your customers!). But what is perhaps more important than just straight-up customer service is the customer journey. This means every interaction a customer has with you and your business, from their initial discovery of you, all the way through to a completed transaction and beyond. What can you do to ensure that your customer has a memorable experience from start to finish? How can you stand out from the crowd? What can you do to ensure that they have a positive experience and would purchase from you again?

To start, look at your current journey offering from your customer’s point of view. Do you think that they would be satisfied? What could you do to improve it? You may also want to ask previous or existing customers for their feedback- but make sure that you actually act upon what they are telling you! This sort of feedback can be hugely valuable in improving your customer journey, so it’s a good idea to ask every customer to leave you some honest feedback if they can. It’s the number one way to find out what your target market actually thinks about you and what you offer.

Stay ahead of your competition

Stay ahead of your competition

Stay ahead of your competition

Even in a saturated market, every business does have the potential for growth if they are clever about their strategies. But, if you want to achieve rates of growth above and beyond that of your competition, you need to keep a close eye on what they’re actually up to. From there, you can adapt your strategy to be even better. Take a look into every single aspect possible when assessing your competition, for example:

  • Their pricing structure (and do they run any packages, offers, or discount codes?)
  • Their website- what works well and what doesn’t?
  • The copy they use on their website, newsletters, physical advertising etc- does it convert customers, and what’s good and bad about it?
  • What are they doing on social media?
  • Can you find out what their sales figures or profits have been for the past few years?
  • What paid ads do they run online and what dorm do these take?

Remember, if something is proven to work for your competitors, it will probably work for you, too! The main idea is just to do it even more successfully than they do. So, take all of the good bits from your competitors and combine them to create your own super-charged strategy.

Final thoughts

Business growth can be tough to achieve, and it rarely happens overnight! But, with some careful planning and consistent effort, you are far more likely to achieve it and your other business goals. Business coaching is also something that you may find helpful in this situation. Your coach will be able to offer you strategies and advice to help you grow and reach your goals in the most effective way. Here at Chrysalis Partners, I offer growth coaching and more to help business owners and their organisations to thrive. I know that the bottom line is that you want to make more money. So, why not utilise my services to help you do just that? Contact me today at graham@grahamgarman.com or complete the contact form here and I’ll get back to your shortly to discuss your individual requirements.