When it comes to growing your business, it is important to focus on sustainable long-term strategies which provide increasing benefits over the years. Additionally, these strategies will need to be implemented in a planned manner to ensure they provide the expected returns and help your business become successful. In this article by COACHWARES, we’ll explore the best growth strategies entrepreneurs should pursue and the benefits they’ll provide.
Create a Sales Funnel
As a growing business managing a large influx of patrons, you need to direct them through your sales funnel to convert them into loyal customers. An ideal sales funnel involves the following three levels:
- Top of the Funnel: This includes posting content on social media and running ads to develop brand awareness and direct traffic to your website or store.
- Middle of the Funnel: Patrons in this stage are close to becoming paying customers but need to be educated further regarding your brand through blog posts, webinars, product trails, and more.
- Bottom of the Funnel: This stage involves directly connecting with the customer through sales calls, and remarketing campaigns to motivate them to make a purchase.
Having a sales funnel helps you understand customers better. Analyzing your funnel’s performance will provide a clear indication of where your business can improve and provide better service to customers to increase conversions.
Build Strategic Partnerships
In research conducted by EY, 68% of business leaders reported strategic partnerships as one of the prominent ways for organizations to be successful in the current market. Here are two types of strategic partnerships entrepreneurs can consider to grow their business:
- Affiliate Marketing: Under this type of partnership your business can create a tie-up with an affiliate network or several affiliates who promote your brand and products. Not only is this a great way to improve the SEO score of your website but also reach a large number of new customers.
- Co-Branding: This is a prominent marketing strategy used by businesses to leverage each other’s reach and audience to increase sales and generate greater revenue. Often this is a great method for both parties to establish brand awareness in new markets.
Utilize Video Marketing
While all businesses share content online, the best way to stand out from the crowd is to invest in creating video-based content. According to research by Wyzowl, here are the major benefits of video marketing for businesses:
- 86% increase in website traffic
- 84% increase in lead generation
- 78% increase in sales
If you’re wondering what kind of video content you should make, consider the following options:
- Shoot promotional videos to showcase the key features of your product offerings.
- Create videos covering your manufacturing processes especially if you use green practices and are committed to sustainable initiatives.
- Incentivize customers to create testimonial videos to be showcased on your website and social media. Self-made videos are a great way to develop credibility and brand loyalty.
When it comes to editing videos, there are various tools using which you can combine video online and make necessary changes in just a few simple clicks.
Establish a Limited Liability Company
If you currently run the business as a sole proprietorship, it’s time to make a change and establish a limited liability company (LLC) for the following reasons:
- Limited Liability: Under an LLC, your business will be considered a separate legal entity. As a result, you as the owner cannot be held liable for business-related debts, liens, and other liabilities.
- Tax Benefits: With an LLC, you’ll be able to claim business expenses such as insurance premiums, rental expenses, loan interest payments, and more as tax deductions, significantly reducing your yearly liabilities.
- Ease of Funding: Having an LLC will make it significantly easier to secure loans from banks and other financial institutions. Additionally, you’ll be able to open business bank accounts and reap the benefits of good offers on credit cards and limits.
When undertaking the above-mentioned growth strategies remember to keep your focus on the long term. Implementing a sales funnel, establishing an LLC, and forming strategic partnerships are all projects which will take time to complete, but will accelerate business growth and provide consistent benefits for the foreseeable future.