It comes with a plethora of responsibilities and expectations that are often hard to satisfy in the initial stages of your company’s growth. Whether it be a start-up, a small local company, or a million-dollar company, reaching your end goals isn’t an overnight process. Don’t let that give you cold feet though, because the benefits you reap from running a successful company are innumerable. As it is to achieve most things in life, dedication, patience, and hard work are a part and parcel of operating a company. While there isn’t a blueprint to build the perfect company, there are methods you can follow that have over time proven to catapult company growth. No matter where you are in your journey of entrepreneurship, these 12 tactics are crucial for making your company grow.
1.Build a Good Reputation
A good reputation is essential to the growth of your company. If you’re seen as a trustworthy, friendly, and dependable company in the public eye, then it's easy to be in good standing with your customers and attract new opportunities to expand your company. Through social media and the internet, word of your company can spread fast. A single review or passing comment can determine whether someone’s choice is to engage with your company or not. Hence the survival of your company depends largely on the image you choose to portray and the quality of service you provide. Catering to your customers’ needs, establishing a good rapport with your employees, and delivering promising work is key to your company’s success. Monitoring your company’s reputation and giving back to your community will help your company thrive.
2.Team Dynamics
Your team is the foundation of your company, and a good foundation ensures stability. Hiring a team that is goal-oriented and aligns with your visions for the company will enhance your company’s functionality. Treat your employees as your teammates rather than as subordinates. Merely organizational growth won’t suffice in achieving your goals; your team’s growth must parallel your company’s. It is your responsibility to lead your team in the right direction. An effective way to do this is through servant leadership. If you want to know more about servant leaders, the Definitive Guide to Servant Leadership can give you comprehensive insight. But to give you a brief idea, servant leadership centers around leading by example and focusing equally on the development of one’s team and company. In contrast to the typical authoritative concept of leadership, servant leaders strike the perfect balance between working alongside their team, guiding them, and taking the backseat. This technique will help you build a community you can always rely on.
3.Customers are the Top Priority
What’s the point of a company that doesn’t satisfy its customers’ needs? If your customers are happy with the services provided by your company, they will surely come back for more and recommend you to others. This goes hand in hand with establishing your company as reputable and trustworthy. It is like the domino effect: keeping your customers happy will increase your credibility, this will open doors to new company opportunities and revenue flow will automatically improve. Maintaining a good relationship with your customers is very easy: provide quality services, ensure top-notch customer experience and work on the feedback you are given. Whether the reviews are good or bad, use them productively. Do not lash out at bad reviews, Rather respond to them and ensure customers that you’ll work on improving your services. It is also a good idea to give back to your customers for their support every now and then. For instance, you could give dedicated customers discounts and premium services
4.Target Audience
Each company is tailored to specific demographics. In the initial stages of your company, focus on the customers that are the primary consumers. Trying to satisfy everyone when your company is in its initial stages is counterproductive. Implement marketing strategies based on purchase patterns to ensure repeat customers. Once you’ve established a good flow of customers you can work on expanding your target audience. This can be done by increasing the services you provide, providing new services, and expanding your marketing efforts.
5.Cost-Efficient Marketing
Marketing is the prime method to increase sales. Put a good marketing strategy into play to attract more customers. However, you don’t need to spend a fortune on this. There are many cost-efficient marketing methods you can implement. Make the most of social media and digital marketing and follow technology trends in the marketing space. Collaborate with complementary companies for cross-promotion. If it comes down to it, even the good old cold-emailing and calling works fine for small companies. Try every method in the book!
6.Online Presence
Making your mark in the online space is an easy way to market your company and attract customers. Try to create and maintain accounts on as many large social networking websites as possible. Social media gives you an unfiltered insight into what people think of your company. You can directly interact with your customers and build a sense of connection and trust with them. If possible, try to get well-known social media figures to endorse your company on their social platforms. Another easy way to build an online presence is by creating a website. An eye-appealing, professional, and user-friendly website can do wonders for your company!
7.Maintain Records
Accounting is a major part of running a company. Keeping records of your company, whether that be accounts of your employees or financial records is crucial. Detailed records of your company activities will help you in understanding its financial standing and analyze areas for growth. If you ever find yourself in a sticky situation, you can always use your records to analyze what went wrong and why. Back up your data and maintain both hard and soft copies of your records for easy access. Also, make sure your records are protected and not susceptible to data breaches.
8.Adaptability is Key
Successful companies are quick to adapt to changes in the consumer market and economy. Keep a close eye on current trends and be open to different approaches to running your company. Developing your company and services in accordance with changing trends will keep you at the forefront of the race. A good example is fast-fashion brands that produce clothing based on current fashion trends. They don’t waste any time in hopping onto the trend, and neither should you! It is also essential that your company keeps up with changes in society. Societies across the globe are advocating for change and social equality, so it is applaudable If your company rides the wave of social change.
9.A Balance between Taking Risks and Playing It Safe
They say without taking risks, your company remains stagnant. While this is true, and taking risks is sometimes necessary for the growth of your company, it doesn’t need to be a constant. If you think your company is in a comfortable position and is growing steadily, then maintain that pace. If you have analyzed all potential effects of taking a risk and are ok with its repercussions, only then go on with it. Sometimes taking risks is worth it, sometimes playing it safe is. While some risks are taken by choice, some come knocking on your door without warning. Risk aversion is crucial for small companies and businesses. Update company policies time-to-time and make sure your company is covered by insurance.
10.Analyze Your Competition
You need to keep track of who your competitors are, irrespective of the size of your company. To stay ahead of the game research your competitors and ask yourself what you can do to stand out. Try to expand your company into niches where you can get a head start. With the help of professionals, you can easily get an idea of what your competitors are up to and can strategize accordingly. But remember, it is always advised to play the game fair and square. You don’t want to get stuck in a lawsuit!
11.Corporate Social Responsibility
Customers and collaborators levitate toward companies that support the causes they believe in. There are numerous ways to be a socially responsible company and give back to your community. You could tie up with a non-profit organization, implement methods to make your company eco-friendlier or you could donate to underprivileged communities. Doing so will put you in the public and your customers’ good graces. At the same time, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped the world become a better place.
12.Hold Events
Alongside attending different community and business events, host events of your own. It’s a great way to network and develop a stronger relationship with your employees, customers, and company allies. From charity events to workshops to free give-away events, there are a number of things you could do!
Time and effort are no-brainers when it comes to running a company but staying agile and adaptive are equally important. The tips we’ve given you will help you become exactly that alongside developing your company in all aspects.