You have heard all the great gist about growth strategies and business success. And now, you want to create one for your business. But uncertainties involving where or how to get started keep holding you back.
At Be The Boss, we understand how overwhelming the idea of creating a growth strategy is for most entrepreneurs. So, today, the focus is on helping you feel more confident by demystifying the process.
In this post, we will take you through 5 steps to follow when creating a winning/effective growth strategy.
Note: The steps in this post cover the fundamentals of devising a usable and effective growth strategy. Still, there is a need for expert-level help if you want to see optimal results.
Okay! It is time to get the ball rolling. Here are five steps to follow when creating a growth strategy for your business.
Step 1: Identify Your Purpose and Set Key Objectives
Identifying your business purpose and setting key objectives should be the default first step in creating any growth strategy.
Purpose vs Objective
Whatever you do or pursue as an entrepreneur has to be driven by purpose, as it dictates your business objectives.
But how can purpose dictate objectives? Aren’t they the same thing? Not quite.
In business, your purpose is your idea or vision. You can think of it as the overall goal you want to achieve or your reason for venturing into business.
As you know, actualising a vision or goal in business requires taking action and implementing specific tactics. And here is where business objectives come in.
Your objectives are the actions, strategies, and short-term goals you smash through to reach your purpose. Essentially, they serve as a compass, guiding you to your desired destination. That explains why establishing key objectives is crucial in creating a growth strategy.
How to Set Your Key Objectives
One of the best strategies for setting key brand objectives is following the SMART System. SMART is an acronym that stands for the following:
Specific: includes a clear outline of desired results and the action plan for achieving them.
Measurable: facilitates accountability and performance tracking.
Attainable: realistic and achievable, showing possible paths to success, and not driven by mere wishes.
Relevant: must align with brand purpose and identity.
Timely: should include and follow a schedule.
All of the above are characteristics of the ideal business objective. So, be sure to account for them when setting yours.
Step 2: Identify the Right Tools and Systems for Your Specific Objectives
Business growth relies heavily on using the right tools and systems. When creating your growth strategy, you need to put time into identifying resources that can facilitate your cause.
Don’t spend too much time figuring out the exact details of what you need from the get-go. You only need to focus on what you need to get started.
For instance, if your strategy includes email outreach, it may be worth investing in a tool that helps you do that. You may also need to map out a system for how and when you want the emails to go out.
As you gain more knowledge and experience, you can make more informed decisions about tools and systems that align best with your objectives.
Step 3: Get Relevant Details About Your Ideal Customers
There is no way to create a growth strategy that doesn’t involve understanding your ideal customers/market.
You have to provide clear answers to questions such as the following:
Who are your targetting?
What do they want?
How can your product/service improve their life?
Your growth strategy should include information about your ideal customers’ needs and what you can do to deliver them.
The more accurate the information you work with, the higher your chances of achieving growth. And that is because modifying your service approach to satisfy the wants/needs of your target audience is a strategy that will always keep you one step ahead.
Step 4: Analyse The Competition
Another vital step in creating a winning growth strategy is to analyse your competition.
Take out time to identify who your competitors are. You can go the extra mile by focusing on indirect and potential future competitors. Analyse their strengths and weaknesses and what differentiates your business from theirs.
Working out these details will help develop a growth strategy that prepares you to outmanoeuvre your competition and claim your position in the market.
Additionally, you will better understand what you need to do to compel your ideal customers to choose your brand over the competition. And you can do this by highlighting your unique selling points or making more relevant offers.
Step 5: Develop an Action Plan
Growth strategies go awry for several reasons, but one of the more common ones is the absence of a good action plan.
An action plan will serve as the core of your business growth strategy. When developing one, ensure you include specific instructions and operational guidelines on what steps to take and when to take them.
Your action plan should also include a list of available/acquirable resources and how you intend to use them to achieve your objectives.
The idea is to work with a roadmap that directs all your business undertakings. This way, you can track progress and identify when there is a need for adjustments or total change.
Again, your action plan has to address specific situations. You have to avoid vague suggestions as much as possible.
We have reached the end of this blog post. Congratulations on reaching this point. You can give the task of creating a growth strategy for your brand a try now. Feel free to come back to this post if you feel stuck while at it.
You can also contact Be The Boss for professional assistance in your growth strategy development process. We are rooting for you and would love to see you secure your growth goals. Book an application call now to find out how we can support your growth ambitions. Book Now