Business Growth Strategies that have stood the Test of Time

If you take a look at some of the largest businesses today, you will be amazed by the numbers they boast in terms of capitalization. For instance, Walmart (US)  tops the chart with a whopping $485.8bn followed by State Grid (China) at $315.1bn and Sinopec (China) at $267.5 bn in annual revenue. Pretty impressive, huh?

These few large corporations are the big fishes that make the most money and control the largest portion of the market. And one thing that most of these big businesses have in common is that they all started out small in the past. So, my question is, what made them stand out from the crowd to shine so brightly?

The most credible answer, apart from the standard business practices and a strong will to succeed, is the business strategies one applies to its growth. So, without wasting any time, let’s move on to some such business growth strategies that have stood the test of time and emerged out at victors;

Sell More to Current Customers

For gaining more sales without acquisition expenses, marketing to existing customers have always proved to be a successful business strategy. Reach out to your current customer base to find out what problems you can solve and to announce news, events, discounts etc. happening in your company.

Lower the Selling Price of Products/Services

This strategy works best in a market with very little differentiation. Walmart founder, Sam Walton offered his products at lower retail prices than the competitors (one of the main reason his market share went up) and thus effectively applied this strategy to set up his first Walmart store.

Expand your Customer Pool

Another effective growth strategy is marketing to new customer bases in order to increase sales. This can be achieved via communicating with potential customers via social media, signage, your own website etc. Other ways include offering special perks to first-timers and existing customers who referred them, hiring outsource telemarketing services etc.

Expanding Distribution Channels to Broaden the Reach

The usual steps for broadening the distribution channels should be looking out for more dealers, retailers, and distributors, but apart from the obvious, you can also consider making partners out of these major channel players along with nurturing those relationships to make them want to work with you.

Acquisition of Other Companies

Though acquisition can be expensive, it is also one of the fastest ways to help you diversify, capture new markets and increase market shares. This strategy not only gives you an established clientele and operation to add value but also assists you in expanding to a new geographic location.

Acquiring a Franchise

Another powerful strategy for growing your business is buying a franchise. The major benefit of acquiring a franchise is that such a business usually comes with a brand name, massive support from the franchise owner and some serious marketing power. Though it would be better to consider the costs of such an acquisition.

Conclusion:

 As you can see, when it comes to applying business growth strategies, there’s a bit more to it than wishful thinking. However, setting aside some time to conduct a thorough analysis and custom-design your business growth strategy will certainly give you that much-needed boost to help you grow.