Escalate Revenue and Growth With These 5 Strategies Of course you want your company to get bigger, so create a plan and commit.
By Jonathan Long •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Success is dependent on growth, and while we all strive for success, many entrepreneurs experience very little growth in their business.
With the right strategies and plan, revenue and growth can be escalated. Here are five tips that can help you scale your business.
1. Identify your unique selling point and run wide open with it. Your unique selling point is what makes your product or service different from your top competitors. Do you have a lower cost? Do you offer a higher quality product? What do you offer that your direct competitors do not?
Related: 10 Things You Must Do to Grow Your Online Business in the First Year
Once you identify your USP, use it to your advantage. Make it the focal point of your marketing efforts and make sure your target customer is aware of what makes your product or service superior.
2. Tap into additional revenue sources using your existing customer base. Many businesses will focus solely on new customer acquisition and forget that they have an existing customer base that they can tap into and utilize. Creating an effective customer loyalty program, establishing a customer referral program, or launching an affiliate program are all ways to leverage your current customer base to produce additional revenue.
Examples include Groupon launching a partner network that rewards 10 percent of all deals purchased, and Starbucks' loyalty program that resulted in a 26 percent rise in profit and 11 percent jump in total revenue.
Innovation and an enhanced customer experience drove strong comp sales and revenue growth, while a laser focus on improving efficiency and controlling costs enabled us to deliver record margins and earnings. -- Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks
3. Work out all kinks before thinking of expanding. As entrepreneurs, we all have a "bigger picture" that we are shooting for, but it is important that you don't put the cart before the horse, especially when it comes to expansion. Opening new locations and entering new markets sounds great and can potentially equal huge growth, but if you do it prematurely it can result in a complete failure.
Related: 4 Tips for Preparing Your Business to Grow
Make sure there are no holes in your business before thinking of expanding. Creating a winner and then duplicating it in additional markets or locations is easier than rushing the expansion when you have multiple holes in the business. Remember, even the smallest hole can sink the largest ship.
4. Don't be afraid to get dirty. Have you ever noticed a trend among failing businesses? The owner is usually MIA and not hands on. Many entrepreneurs think that having owner, founder or CEO on their business cards means it is time to sit back, kick their feet up on the desk, and bark orders.
When I started Market Domination Media I was working the phones, speaking to prospects and doing client follow-up. I still do those things to this day, and it is something I will always continue to do. There is nobody in your company that knows your product or service better than you.
For your business to grow, you must lead the way for your team. Jump in the trenches and get dirty with them. Show them how it is done, and you will not only gain respect, but you will also gain a more productive and motivated team.
5. Reinvest back into your business. Growth requires capital, so the exuberant salaries and lavish company spending will have to be put on hold to reinvest the revenue back into the business.
Companies will often seek funding and run it dry because they were supporting large salaries and unnecessary spending, only to attempt to secure more funding to pull them out of the hole they dug. Be frugal and concentrate on reinvesting every dollar back into your growth.
Mark Cuban took the value of the Dallas Mavericks from $285 million to about $400 million by reinvesting everything back into the franchise.
What have you implemented that aided in the growth of your business? Share your tips in the comments section below.
Related: Getting Your Small Business to Scale Like a Tech Startup
