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Keys to Achieving Sustainable Growth
By bpjames | January 25, 2010
Year on year growth is good for business as long as it is backed by periods of consolidation to build infrastructure behind the growth. This produces more stability and contributes towards the sustainability of your business.
The key factors for achieving sustainable growth are:
- Continuing to connect a market demand with your compelling proposition
- Maintaining financial capability and stability
- Actively pursuing what is good for your business, for others and for the planet
Here is a 5 stage process to help keep you on track.
1. Review where you are
Consider how your business is performing. You could take account of trends in customer development and the volume of sales transactions as well as total sales and profitability.
You could identify seasonal trends and main sources of business. How is your business performing against objectives and budget?
It’s a good idea to undergo a SWOT analysis periodically. This involves considering your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths and Weaknesses focus on your internal environment you mostly control such as products, services, pricing, location, systems and procedures, staff, customers and suppliers.
Opportunities and Threats on the other hand, focus on your external environment such as competitor forces, political factors, economic changes, social implications, technological developments, legal issues and environmental considerations.
2. Plan desired outcomes
What is your overall business vision? Based on your review you can set key objectives and identify your top priorities. What kind of resources and skills will you need to meet your objectives?
Set goals for sales turnover and managing costs to maximise profitability. Update your key performance indicators such as sales conversion rates, average customer spend and frequency of purchases.
Decide on your main marketing activities and how you will track ongoing performance. A 90 day plan with monthly reviews is a formula adopted by many successful businesses.
3. Maintain focused activity
Create a compelling market proposition by combining you own unique blend of differentiation points. This might comprise your pricing, quality of product and service, range offered, turnaround times, added convenience, bespoke tailoring and customer satisfaction guarantees.
Identify the customers who would be ideally suited to your market proposition. Connect with them using a range of focused marketing activities. Experiment with methods you haven’t tried before. Be prepared to be open-minded and flexible. Make sure you monitor and track the results.
Expand your activities both online and offline. For example, consider direct mail, telemarketing, email marketing, joint ventures, pay per click advertising, developing public relations, exhibiting at trade shows, public speaking opportunities, referral and loyalty schemes and business networking.
4. Refine the process
Measure the return on investment (ROI) of all your marketing activities. Increase those that are working best and cut out those that are wasteful or non-productive.
Develop a ‘funnel’ of products and services. This involves developing a complete range of products and services operating at different levels of customer commitment. For example, low-cost entry point items to maximise volume sales, right through to the most intensive and enriching items that maximise profitability.
Maintain a balance across the different elements of your business. This involves having a clear development strategy, managing cash flow and costs, winning customer satisfaction, building skills and capabilities, developing winning attitudes, effective sales & marketing, efficient systems and procedures, and maximising profitability.
5. Develop the success mindset
Overall maintaining a success mindset will help to keep you on track. This involves staying positive, keeping active and remaining committed to your goals and all contribute towards achieving sustainable growth.
Brian.
Topics: Customer acquisition, Customer development, Strategic planning, Winning mindset |