Most business people do have an idea for growth somewhere in the back of their minds when starting a new business. Few are satisfied to just stay and maintain the way they are. Most new businesses are owned by young and enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and one of the characteristics of being young and enthusiastic is biting off more than you can chew. So when it comes to business expansion, this is a serious decision and needs to be done with a plan which means it needs to be evaluated first.
Before you decide on any growth strategies, it’s important to be 100% sure your business is already running efficiently. Your recent business success isn’t the only thing you should look at.
Here are some ways to telltale signs if you are ready to start business growth.
Regular Customers
Your customers are going to be an excellent indicator if you should expand or not. This is especially true of your returning customers who often prove to be the measurement; they wouldn’t keep coming back to you if they were unsatisfied. A regular flow of customers shows that your product or service is on-demand. The keyword here is ‘regular’, so don’t rush into growth when you notice a spike in customers. Markets fluctuate, so you need to access what that spike is due to.
Customers Asking for Growth
What are your customers asking for? More products? More service? More working hours? Taking note of their requests can help you decide not only to grow but which way to grow. At this point, it would be a good idea to get more familiar with sales funnels. A sales funnel describes the journey customers go through on the way to purchase. There are a few steps consumers make before purchase. If they don’t make the purchase, it means they’ve dropped out of the sales funnel. But a professional ClickFunnels affiliate program can make sure that would happen less often, and they can optimize your digital marketing strategies. Whether you know it or not, your business definitely has a sales funnel, and each stage has an impact and influences the consumer. If you don’t know about AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action), a funnel program is essential to help make you more aware of what it is and how it will benefit your business.
Profits
If your business is receiving regular profits, that could be a cue for you. What is your business’s net income? The net income is what you have left after paying all you need to pay for your business; salaries, utilities, etc. Your business might not yet be making huge profits, but a regular income with some profit might be good enough to expand in small steps. The important thing here is to focus on long-term success, rather than short-term. This could mean opening a second branch of a physical store, for example, for customers who live too far from your main store. Whenever customers make requests, take note of those requests. You might find a pattern going on, or most of the requests leading you to a certain factor of your business that can grow. More growth can mean more customers, which means more money.
Industry Growth
Your business is a part of an industry. You really need to learn as much as you can about the entire industry before making any decision to grow. The industry might be expanding, or it might be diminishing. A fading industry is not a good sign to expand in it. But you also want to know why is it fading? It could be the general trend, or it could be for totally other reasons where you might spot an opportunity for growth.
Solid Team
If your team is solid and is meeting the goals you expect of them and of the business, you can enter growth with a braver heart than with a team that has high turnover or not fully reliable. The right teams mean they should be sharing the same vision you have of how you envision your company to be. Working with the right team also means you should all be on the same page and know how to communicate and express different views and opinions without getting into conflict.
These are some factors to take into consideration before thinking of expansion. You don’t want to take on too much too soon, which could lead you to a financial downward spiral. There is a right time to grow, but when that time is will be different for every business.