6 Things To Consider When Putting Together Your Growth Strategy

When it comes to running your own business it is important you’re thinking about your growth strategy. Whilst it may seem as though you have a strategy that you loosely follow as you run your business, the best way in which to solidify it is to put it into a document that you refer to on a regular basis. It will take a lot of time and effort to create, but at the end of the day, it’s the best way to ensure your business is always on the right track. With that in mind, here are 6 things you need to consider when putting together your growth strategy.

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6 things you need to consider when putting together your growth strategy

What Do You Want To Achieve?

The first thing you need to think about is what you want to achieve as a business. Setting yourself goals is vital when it comes to running a business as it not only allows you to think ahead into the future, but it also motivates you to work towards achieving something incredible. Goals for your business should be something that you know you CAN achieve, at the same time as being something you know you’re going to have to put the work in to get there. They should be measurable, and you should have a specific date in which you want to achieve them. 

How Are You Going To Get There?

Now that you have set yourself goals, you need to think about how you’re going to reach them. The best way to this is to look at each goal individually and break it down into much smaller sections. Once you have these smaller sections you can tackle each bit a step at a time. It may take a little longer than going straight for the top, but you can be sure you have thought of absolutely everything you need to.

What Are Your Competitors Doing?

When setting your business strategy you don’t only need to be analysing your business activity, but your competitors too. It’s important you’re setting yourself a list of about 6-10 competitors, all of which you will monitor monthly in a spreadsheet. You’ll need to look at whether or not they have been in the news, if their social media followers have grown, what new products they have released and any campaigns they may be doing. Doing this will not only give you a good idea of what they’re up to, but it will also give you a chance to see what is working well for them. 

Do You Need To Use Any Software?

When looking at your strategy as a whole, you need to decide whether you’re going to use any software to make running your business that little bit easier. Whether you use software to schedule your social media messages or you want to start using customer success software, deciding this when you’re putting together your strategy is the best time to start looking at features, benefits and costs.

Do You Need To Hire Any External Help?

Although you may not need to hire help immediately, working out whether or not you’re going to need anyone in the future is vital when it comes to your strategy. Not only will it help when it comes to envisioning results, but it will also allow you to see any potential costs you’re going to incur along the way. Make sure you’re factoring in anyone you plan to hire, estimating roughly how much it is going to cost and what they’re going to be doing for you.

How Will You Measure Your Results?

Finally, your strategy needs to look at how you’re going to measure your results. There are lots of different tools you can use in order to measure success, but you need to decide what success means to you. Whether it’s the profit you make at the end of the year or how many sales you have had, determining this will allow you to measure your ROI much more effectively at the end of the year.

Do you have a growth strategy for your business? How could it help you succeed? Let me know in the comments section below.

This is a collaborative post.