Business growth is a part of any company’s business plan that seeks to improve.
Though, choosing the right business development strategies is a hard decision to make. Turning a small business into a fully thrived large business is never easy.
Researchers suggest that only 0.036% of companies achieve $1 billion in annual sales. In other words, a large number of businesses never scale and they always stay small.
But if being small doesn’t satisfy you, analyzing, and perfecting the methods that were used by the most successful brand’s can dramatically benefit your small business to scale up.
Scheming Business Development Strategies
Getting from A to B, requires intense planning that brings the best results with the least amount of risks.
Business development strategies resemble Mountaineering, where the higher you are, the more dangerous is making a mistake.
So, to avoid and maximally reduce mistakes, our every step must be thoroughly planned.
For instance, startups must focus on the lower stages of business growth, then gradually move forward as needed.
So, applying certain strategies will bring possibilities to grow your business faster.
11 Business Development Strategies that Will Help Your Business Grow
Open a Branch Location – One of the classic approach of business owners. Physical expansion is a common way to expand, but not always the best growth strategy without a depth research.
If you feel, that your business isn’t ready to physically grow, don’t take this decision on a whim.
Make sure, that your profit has been steadily growing over the years, your team is ready to handle new challenges and whether the branch’s location will benefit your brand or not.
Offer Your Business as a Franchise – Franchising will give an opportunity to grow your business without managing new locations. This will reduce the time spent on minor things.
Moreover, the franchise also means that your business becomes international.
Consequently, besides building chain stores, your authority and popularity fairly increases.
Improve your Online Presence – Having a good online presence is essential to boosting your credibility and authority.
In 2002, Bill Gates said that “there will be only two kinds of businesses: those with an Internet presence, and those with no business at all.”
So, flawlessly optimizing your website and social profiles is a must, if you plan on growing. Keep in mind, that enhancing your website for search engines will result into gaining potential customers.
Expand Globally – Find a foreign distributor who will resell your product to local markets. If you plan to export in several countries, instead of hiring individuals, find an international distribution company in your country and make an agreement.
Merge with Another Business – One of the common ways to develop your business, is to merge with a competitor. Investigate your market and find companies that are similar to yours, offer them the idea you have and explain how they’ll benefit from merging.
Note, that two is always bigger than one. Consequently, your business will grow faster.
Win a Government Contract – One of the best of business development strategies, is winning a government contract.
“Having the federal government as a customer, is the best way for a small business to grow.“
This requires dedicated work, but the best part of winning a government contract is that when you win a bid, you’re not subject to the level of competition of the outside marketplaces.
So, if you have a chance to work with local Small Business Development Center, don’t make it slip away.
Target other Markets – Is your current market serving you well? Then, look around. If your customer’s age ranges from 18-26, think about where these people spend most of their time.
And determine if you can somehow introduce your business to them.
For example, think of discount coupons or donating a part of your profit to associations.
Diversity – Diversifying is an excellent strategy for business development, because it allows to have numerous streams of income that can solve the seasonal problems (if you have them) and without a doubt, increase profit margins and the number of sales.
Form Alliances with Competitors – You must line up with businesses that have already made lists of prospective consumers.
If spending your own money or commissions for the sake of an alliance makes you feel uncomfortable, then you’re literally shooting yourself because this is the fastest way to success.
So, joining forces with similar companies can be a powerful way to expand.
License Your Product – This is an efficient, low-cost medium. If you have a branded service or a product, licensing will decrease risks and the cost of production (starting your own company that sells and produces its own product is extremely expensive).
In order to find a partner, you should start by researching your competitors because it’s highly possible that they’re already using their service.
Though, before you set up a meeting, hire an experienced attorney to minimize the risk of losing control over your product or a service.
Use PR/Media – Public Relations (PR) increases your authority and builds relationships with important people.
But don’t confuse public relations with marketing (they’re completely different). PR is important to gain customers and increase sales, but also, press releases are an effective way to educate the marketplace about your brand and the field of expertise.