Business Growth Plan Example – A concrete growth strategy is more than just a marketing strategy, it is very important to your business engine. Without it, you are at the mercy of a diverse customer base and market differences. So how do you plan to grow? If you’re not sure about the steps needed to create an effective growth strategy, we’re here to help. Business Growth Business growth is when a business reaches a point where it becomes larger and requires more ways to generate revenue. This can happen when a business increases its revenue, offers more products or services, or expands its customer base. For most companies, growth is the number one priority. With this in mind, business decisions are made based on what will contribute to the continued growth and overall success of the company. There are several methods for controlling growth, which will be explained in more detail below. Types of Business Growth As a business owner, there are many ways to grow your business. Business growth can be divided into the following categories: 1. Organic With organic growth, the company expands its own operations with its own internal resources. This is in contrast to seeking external sources of growth. An example of organic growth is better production so you can produce in less time and increase sales. The advantage of using organic plants is relying on self-sustainability and avoiding debt. Additionally, increased revenue generated through organic growth will help support more strategic growth strategies. We’ll explain below. 2. Strategic Plan Develop a plan that will help your business grow over the long term. An example of strategic growth is launching a new product or developing a marketing strategy to target a new audience. Unlike organic growth, these projects often require large amounts of resources and funding. Companies often participate initially in the hope that they will have enough capital to invest in future strategic growth initiatives. 3. The internal growth strategy is aimed at optimizing internal business processes to increase revenues. Similar to plant growth, this strategy relies on companies using their own internal resources. An internal growth strategy involves using existing assets in the most efficient way possible. An example of internal growth is reducing wasteful costs and making business easier by automating some operations instead of hiring employees. Internal growth is more difficult because it forces companies to find ways to improve and improve their operations, rather than focusing on external factors such as entering new markets to be successful. 4. Mergers, Partnerships and Acquisitions Although mergers, partnerships and acquisitions are riskier than other forms of growth, they can bring significant rewards. Strong numbers and a good merger, partnership, or acquisition can help your company break into a new market, expand your customer base, or improve your products and services. Business growth strategy A growth strategy enables companies to expand their operations. Growth can be achieved through actions such as adding new locations, investing in customer acquisition, or expanding the product line. A company’s industry and target market influence the growth strategies it chooses. Create a strategy, consider the available options and build them into your business plan. Depending on the type of business you’re building, your growth strategy may include things like: adding new locations investing in customer acquisition opportunities expanding product lines selling products online across multiple platforms your industry and target market will influence your decisions, but almost universally, the acquisition of new customers plays an important role. Not sure what to look for in your company? Here are some practical steps to achieve growth. How to effectively grow a business using a growth strategy model. Choose a growing area. Conduct market and industry research. Set growth goals. Do your job. Determine your growing equipment and needs. Make a plan. 1. Use [Toolless] Growth Strategy Model. Image Source Don’t start work without planning and documenting the steps for your growth strategy. We recommend that you download this free growth strategy template and follow the steps included to outline your strategy for growing your organization. 2. Choose a specific growth area. It’s great if you want to grow your business, but what do you want to grow? Your business growth plan should focus on growth areas. Common foci of strategic growth initiatives may include: Growing headcount Expanding existing office, retail and warehouse space Adding new locations or branches to your business Expanding into new regions, areas, cities and countries. /or service Expansion of sales locations (i.e. sales in new stores or launch of an online store) Growth in revenue and profit / or profit Growth in customer base and customer acquisition rate Your growth plan may include more than one of the listed projects. above is the rule – good growth does not happen in a vacuum. For example, an increase in unit sales will increase your revenue, and other areas and receivables will support the increase in sales. 3. Conduct market and industry research. After choosing what you want to grow, you need to decide why you want to grow that place (if it can be grown). Researching the nature of your business is the best way to determine if growth is necessary and possible. Examples include conducting surveys and focus groups with current and potential customers, or digging into current industry research. The knowledge and facts you uncover in this step will create expectations and growth goals for this project to better define your schedule, budget, and end goal. This brings us to step four… 4. Set growth goals. Once you’ve figured out what you’re growing and why you’re growing, the next step is to figure out how much you’re growing. These goals should be based on your ultimate ambitions for where you want your organization to be, but they should be achievable and realistic – which is why setting goals based on industry research is so important. Finally, take steps to measure your goals based on metrics and a timeline. The goal of “increase sales by 30% per quarter over the next three years” is much easier than “increase sales.” 5. Organize your work. Then write down how you will achieve your growth goals and growth strategy. Also – we suggest writing a strategic growth plan for your team’s awareness and onboarding. Download this template. This action plan should include a list of work items, deadlines, teams or people you need to be responsible for, and resources to achieve your growth goal. 6. Determine your growing equipment and needs. The last step before working on your plan is to determine the requirements your team will need in the process. These are unique resources that will help you achieve your growth goals faster and more accurately. Some examples may be: Funding: Organizations may need to invest capital or allocate internal resources to achieve this goal. Tools and software: Consider what technical resources are needed to accelerate or make sense of the growth process. Services: Growth can be enhanced with the help of consultants, designers or planners in a particular field. 7. Make a plan. With all your planning, resources and goal setting, you are now ready to execute your business growth plan and generate revenue for your business. During this time, be sure to keep your stakeholders engaged, keep the line of communication open, and compare initial results to your projected growth goals to see if your projected results are actually being achieved, or if there is room for improvement. Your growth plan and the methods you use will be very specific to your business, but there are some universal strategies you can use when starting out. Sample Unrealistic Growth Strategy Presentation Complete this form to access your sample. Companies can use different growth strategies to expand their business and revenue. Examples of growth strategies include: Growth Strategy Model Viral Loops Milestone Word of Mouth Referrals ‘When They Cycle, We Wait’ Approach Personal Market Penetration Product Development Development of Growth Alliances Organic Growth Social Media Customer Service Topic 1. Viral Cycles Some Breeding Strategies were developed to be very durable. They need initial momentum, but ultimately depend (if not only) on user enthusiasm to continue. One strategy that fits this bill is viral surfing. The basic principle of viral circulation is simple: someone will try your product. This gives them a great incentive to share with others. They agree and share it with their networks. When new users sign up, view the incentive for them and share it with their network. repeat For example, a cloud storage company trying to get off the ground is offering it to the wrong users