Every business owner has passed through the phase where their businesses flourished at the beginning but grew to a point where it seems like the end of the road. The entrepreneur is left with two choices at this point; to quit the business or make it grow. So, if you are ready to restart and make your business grow, below are steps to take.
1. Revisit your business plan
Every business has a business plan. It acts as the roadmap of the business and helps when raising venture capital or loans. Your business plan might need a little change to unlock the growth potentials of your business. Find out the nearby competition that gave you trouble and steps you wrote down to combat them. This time, revisit the plan with the intention of making each and every forecast or projections more realistic. There may be factors you did not take into consideration that has now become a challenge. But you should know better since you have been in the business for some time.
Effect change from within
Your business may need just the right talent to pick up. And until you find the missing piece, growth will be slow. In addition, know the performance of each employee and what could be done to get them to deliver their best. Do they need some form of motivation to go the extra mile? Build good rapport with them and be someone who is open to contributions. One or two suggestions from your employees may be that which will help to restart your business growth process.
Change the internal policy to suit your growth strategy. But do not forget to effect the changes on employee manual or to notify the rest of your team. Price change can also bring growth in revenue. So, you can inform your old customers after making the changes through email and other platforms. But if your price is above what your competitors are selling, make sure you have a good explanation otherwise some of your customers may leave you for them.
3. Win back your old customers
Do not be ashamed to rebuild your relationship with old customers. After being inactive for a while, most businesses come back only to start looking for new customers. They forget their old customers that have been with them all these years.
Do not be afraid of letting your customers know the reason your business has been inactive. Customers are always curious and love doing business with companies that are honest with them. Tell them the reason and offer free services just to win them back. You may decide to place a deadline for the offer to convert their interests into action and speed up growth.
4. Leverage the power of social media
You can grow your business, increase awareness and build a solid reputation with social media. Lead generation is also part of the growth process, and social media is important in that regard. Interact with your existing customers on daily basis, and advertise your products and services on the various social media platforms. You will be able to generate more leads and convert them to customers.
5. Focus on the business goals
Each and every individual, employee or department should have a goal. Their collective goals will become the goal of the company put together. Your marketing and sales team should have a defined goal in the area of lead and revenue generation. And results should be evaluated monthly, quarterly or annually.
Your goal for each department should be SMART. Also, work out modalities on how to achieve these goals with each department.
6. Find the right path
You have to figure out what works best for you and the business. Put on your start-up shoe and think like you are just starting the business. Rekindle or bring back the zeal and energy you had at the start of the business. Also, pay more attention to strategies that is working well for you.
Conclusion
Your business may have been inactive for some or experiencing poor growth. But these steps will get you on the right track if followed correctly. Most of the companies or individuals you admire today once had the same challenges in the past. It does not matter how long the situation has been. As long as you are ready to do the right thing, the result will manifest.