Businesses fail because they don’t set growth goals, and even when they do, they don’t properly follow through on those goals.
I want you to be successful. I hope you’ve decided to partner with my company, Total Life Changes, but even if your efforts are directed elsewhere, I want your small business to grow. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.
Hopefully, by thinking about how to set growth goals for your business, you’ll be set on the raid to success.
Goal Management Not Time Management
Many of us have our day planned out to the last minute. A fury of meetings and appointments, if we’re lucky, trips to the gym or one of our children’s recitals.
Take a moment to see how much of what you’ve planned feeds into your growth goals. What actions are you actually taking that feed growth, or are you devoting all your energy simply to maintenance?
What Gets Measured Gets Done
Have clear objectives, and a way to measure how you did, or didn’t, meet those objectives. Plan to measure more than just sales numbers (though measure those, too).
Then make sure everyone involved with your business knows the plans and knows how things will get evaluated. Without a clear articulation of the goals and the measuring tools, you’ll find it’s unlikely your goals get met.
Think of this as the business equivalent of studying for the test in school. Take the steps you need to follow to achieve your goals with a laser focus.
Explore Your Existing Market
As Drew Greenblat writes in Inc., one way to encourage growth is to focus on what you’re already good at taking care of your current customers.
Find out from your customers how else you could serve their needs. Offer incentives for responding to surveys about product offerings, and then follow through. You already have your existing customers’ attention, so don’t let it go to waste.
Push your most successful products. Many businesses try to increase their bottom lines by shoring-up underselling products, but successful businesses recognize their hero products and ride those products’ successes. If you already have people happily using a product, make sure you tell the world.
Seek Out New Markets
Kabir Barday, the founder of technology company OneTrust, was able to find success by anticipating potential customers’ needs and building what he knew they’d want. That requires a keen eye for business maybe you think you don’t have.
Don’t sell yourself short. In addition to operating a business, you are also a customer. Think about what kinds of products and services you need but can’t find, or think you could provide in an easier, less expensive way.
As for your current offerings, think about the people who could use your products but aren’t being reached. You’ll need ways to contact these prospective clients: mailings, email blasts, social media campaigns, word of mouth. If you set acquiring new customers as one of your growth goals, remember to establish a tool to measure it.
Jack Fallon
