The success of growing a small business depends on the efforts you make to use various methods to increase your profits. Every aspect of your business must be accounted for, from employee training to marketing.
Businesses do not grow overnight, but several steps can be taken to keep them moving forward. Here are three useful steps:
Understand your clients:
It is natural to first consider soliciting new clients when thinking of expansion. However, this is not always the best approach.
First, understand what brings in the current customer base. Ask yourself: “How can I give more to my existing customers?”The answer should entail a thorough analysis of your customer base. Understand why they may use your product only for a specific purpose. For example, mothers used to buy Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo only for their babies, because it promised “No tears” while being soothing and gentle to the babies’ hair. When sales reached saturation, Johnson & Johnson came up with the tag line: “Best for baby, best for you” and in this way they broadened their appeal to include mothers as well.
Ask for referrals:
There will come a time when you have saturated your existing target audience and you will need to attract new buyers. The best way to do this is through referrals from your existing client base, because a referral is an opportunity to consolidate existing relationships and acquire new ones.
Break boundaries:
Expanding internationally can give your sales a powerful boost. Franchising, although it requires a lot of commitment in terms of time and resources, can also be extremely rewarding.
For example, Nirala Sweets (a Lahore based sweet shop) opened a store in Dubai to meet the demand coming from a growing desi population who craved local mithai. Many companies may find it even easier to go international through online platforms.
By Arshia Ahmed. The writer is a corporate trainer and a consultant.
