You can’t afford to stand still in your business. Continual growth is key if you’re to get ahead and stay ahead. There are many ways to build your business and many strategies that will help along the way. Whichever business growth and development methods you choose, there are some basics to keep in mind.

Below are five quick tips that will help drive your business growth strategies.

1. Get clear on what success looks like

If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? Define what success looks like for you and your business. Do you want a stronger, more loyal customer base, an increase in profits – or both? Getting a clear picture of where you’re going will form the basis of your business growth strategy.

2. Have Key Performance Indicators in place

Once you have your long-term vision, break it down into smaller time frames – three to six months, or even shorter. Keep your long-term goal front of mind, but ensure you know exactly where you are month by month. Identify which key performance indicators are critical to achieving each of the goals in your business performance strategy. This will enable you to track your progress so you can more easily shift focus if that’s what’s required, especially during challenging times.

3. Really know your business

Even in an ever-changing environment, you can still make decisions that will impact the future outcome of your business. Dig deep to really understand your business. The more you know about every aspect of your business and how to measure outcomes, the more in control you will be and the more easily you will be able to track your progress. Keeping on top of your costs, finances and business impacts while factoring in seasonal changes, key trends and external impacts will help drive your business forward.

4. Ensure your targets are effective

Again, it can be helpful to chunk your goals down into realistic time frames, so they are easier to manage and won’t overwhelm you or seem unachievable. For example, setting a target of 1000 sales for the year can seem a bit daunting. When you break it down to monthly, that’s a little over 83. One step further and your weekly goal becomes just over 19. Making your targets easier to reach can be a worthwhile exercise in your business growth strategy.

5. Involve your team in the process

 Unless you’re a sole trader, you don’t need to go it alone. Get your team involved. In fact, get them on board early! They’ll take more ownership of the process which will lead to greater outcomes and a sense of satisfaction for everyone. Be transparent with them, listen and help them achieve their personal goals which in turn contributes to the overall goals of your business. Be sure to celebrate your wins – not just the big ones, but the small targets along the way.

Grow your business

Setting clear goals, both long and short term, putting key performance indicators in place, understanding your business, setting effective targets, and involving your team are all excellent areas to focus on when building your business growth strategy.

For more great tips on how to grow your business, visit our blog page.