“Growth” is a buzzword among business professionals. Everybody wants it, works for it, and yet very few achieve it. Why? Because they are focusing on the wrong things. This article explores the six business growth drivers that every entrepreneur should know and focus on.
Seeing their business grow is probably the dream all entrepreneurs share. That’s because business growth translates into profit growth.
Now, simplistically speaking, there are only three methods to see growth in your business: to sell more, to more people, for more money. Yet, this isn’t that simple in reality.
To sell more to more, for more, there are a number of other things you need to get right about your business, even though all your efforts should remain focused on these three tasks.
There’s no such thing as the right formula for growth. There’s also no such thing as a one-size-fits-all growth recipe. Each business must determine the right ways for them to grow and develop.
However, a few key aspects are known to drive growth in businesses if they are treated the right way by companies. Keep reading below to find out what these key business growth drivers are!
1. Customers
It’s no doubt that the easiest way to grow your business is to sell more of your products or services. And, for that, you need customers who would pay money for what you’re selling.
So, paying customers is one of the key drivers for growth you need to keep in mind when trying to help your business develop.
So, everything you do must have consumers center-focused. In other words, all your processes and business decisions need to focus on satisfying consumers’ needs, attracting them, engaging them, and retaining them.
Even after becoming a market leader, your business should never stop trying to understand consumers’ needs and how to keep engaging them. This is a crucial aspect that will ensure continuous growth, especially in the numbers you’ll see at the end of every month.
2. People
It is well known that a business can only be as good as the people working for it. This includes everybody from the CEO to IT specialists, marketing experts, accountants, and all other employees in other positions. That’s because everybody does their part in keeping the company’s most important processes running smoothly.
A company’s workforce is like machinery, and every employee is a small but essential part of keeping that machinery work. This should be enough of an explanation of why the people in your business represent a driver for growth.
So, as a business owner who seeks growth, you must not only hire the best people in your company. You should also invest in the people you have. Invest in training, team bonding, and benefits that will keep those people motivated to work hard for your business.
Another essential aspect to keep in mind is to look for people who actually fit in your company. Talented people are good employees. But talented candidates who also fit in your company’s culture and believe in your mission and values are excellent employees. And, they are growth drivers too.
3. Risk
The business world is synonymous with the word “risk.” From the very beginning, when you start a business, you’re taking a huge risk. Yet, taking risks should not stop there. If you want your business to keep growing, you need to keep betting on your ideas and hope that they will work as you want them to.
Risks are drivers that help with rapid business development, whether risk means launching a new product or service, starting a bolder marketing campaign, agreeing on a new partnership, or investing in business extension abroad.
So, when the time comes, make sure that you take calculated risks that you think can drive growth in your business. You know what they say, “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.” This is an excellent way to see risks as drivers for development and improvement.
4. Innovation
Innovation is critical to driving business growth. In fact, 84% of executives agree on this one.
But what exactly does innovation in business mean? Well, for each company, innovation can mean a different thing. But, generally speaking, innovation means doing something in a way it has never been done, preferably a better way.
When you innovate something about a business, be it a product/ service, operation, or strategy, you’re bringing a disruptive change to the table. The main purpose of innovation must, obviously, be to reinvigorate your company and promote growth.
Talk to innovation keynote speakers and ask for their opinions of what innovation could mean for your business. You may find out that you need to innovate your business culture, a specific operation, a product/ service, or how you run your business as a leader.
An objective perspective from someone outside of your business and an expert in business innovation will help you understand how you can use innovation to grow your business.
5. Technology
Speaking of innovation in business, technology is another aspect that is disruptive and has the potential to be a growth driver for your business.
In today’s digitalized world, technology and business are two sectors that developed a solid relationship. All businesses use some form of technology to run their operations better and cater to the modern needs of today’s consumers.
Some businesses rely on very complex technologies like software, AI, or big data. Some use very basic technologies, even if that means a computer or a basic IT system.
Either way, for both cases, technology can drive growth because it is a field that is constantly developing and improving.
So, analyze your business’s tech capabilities and invest in improving them.
6. Feedback
Feedback is one of the best ways to improve and grow. It literally means hearing everything you’re doing right and everything you’re doing wrong and having the chance to fix the things that need improvement.
The feedback that leads to growth can come from many ways, including customers, employees, and other business experts in your industry.
The more feedback you gather, the better you’ll know what needs improvement and what should stay the way it is.
