How to Create Business Momentum Whether you are starting a business or been at it for a while, one key to success is for your business to find momentum.
By Ken Gosnell Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
One overlooked ingredient to successful organizations and leaders is the ability to create and sustain momentum. Businesses and leaders need to both acquire and maintain momentum to grow revenues and enhance market penetration. J.C. Larreche, a professor of marketing at the graduate business school INSEAD, answers that question in his book, The Momentum Effect: How to Ignite Exceptional Growth. According to the author's research, "momentum-powered firms delivered 80% more shareholder value than their slower rivals," he writes. "Momentum leaders are not lucky — they are smart. They have discovered the source of momentum and, with it, the beginnings of a smarter way to exceptional growth."
The momentum model for business success
Momentum is key to any business's success and can often be elusive, which is why it is so important to know how to build a momentum model.
A momentum model
Step 1: Find Your Message. Clarity is king in building momentum. When the leader becomes clear, everything and everyone in the business becomes clear. A company should be able to state the message of their company in four words or less. The right words produce momentum.
Related: How 7 High-Performing CEOs Maintain Massive Momentum in Their Businesses
Becoming clear about what you do and how you do it is a step to building clarity. Clarity produces momentum. Clarity can often be a differentiator in the market, which will lead to increased market share. Every successful business has an important message. The differentiator between successful companies and average ones is that successful companies know their message and stick to it.
Step 2: Share Your Message. Once a message is chosen, finding people who will carry the message is essential. Loyal followers make a bold and courageous decision to engage and embrace the message to take it to the market field.
Find the right distribution channel or channels to be effective with energy and resources. Many companies make the mistake of looking for customers or businesses where their customers don't exist. Marketing alone will never produce results. Marketing to the right leads with the right message always will produce results.
Step 3: Connect Your Message. An essential step in building a momentum model is to get buy-in from the team and customers about the company's message so that they start sharing your message to their networks. Buy-in from others produces momentum. A company working to Well Done will consider how they can attract others to their product and services.
Loyalty to a message is not always easy. Changing a message is often easy but is often the worse thing that a company that seeks to build momentum can do. It is through difficult times that an authentic and transformational message can be developed. In difficulty, leaders discover the authenticity of the message.
Related: 5 Ways to Shift the Momentum of Your Business Like Bill Belichick or John Wooden
The more people you get to carry your message, the more likely they will carry your message. Successful businesses seek to partner with customers, vendors, and team members to enhance their organization's message so that they have a better possibility to make a market Impact.
Step 4: Expand Your Message. When a company's message can be repeated and shared with others, it builds a spirit of momentum to success. This fact is why connecting your message with your customer is critical to the success of your company. When many people begin to communicate about a product, service, or company, those things start to build increased value and brand recognition.
Step 5: Replicate Your Message. When a company can replicate its message through the power of referrals, that company will expand and build momentum. Many companies never consider how to reward their current customers when they help a company find their next customers. Every company should have a proven referral process to encourage and reward customer advocates who help share their brand and message with others.
Step 6: Improve Your Message. New customers provide new opportunities. The right team always helps to build a better message and better momentum. Never stop improving your message in the marketplace. Companies that stay current with their message attract new customers that have not resonated with the past message. Don't be afraid to reinvent your message when you discover a more impactful message.
Whether you are starting a business or starting your company again, your business's key to success is to find momentum. Any business can build momentum, and the best companies will do everything within their power to build their momentum. Follow the steps outlined in this article, and you will be on your way to discovering your momentum and building your business.
