Business growth analysis gives an insight into level of assurance you have, based on the work and resources you’re deploying into your business, are they having a direct impact on your business growth and development? Below are some steps you can use to measure and track key components of your business, and also fully harness opportunities open to you. You can as well identify and mitigate risks.
- Define your strategic goals and objectives, as well as deciding your measures for progress
Make your goals and objectives challenging but achievable, irrespective of your goals and objectives, they should be specific and measurable. Make sure the goals are communicated in simple terms to all stakeholders and evidence of the goals being achieved. It is this evidence that becomes the basis of what you measure.
- Set up important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Ensure your KPIs are pertinent to the objectives of your business and the business processes that must improve to effectively implement the objectives. KPIs are better when kept simple however not oversimplified, and when managers and employees have a strong sense of ownership over them.
- Develop strategies to gather and organize data
Determine a process for tracking and reporting all relevant data. Report on trends that arise from regularly from findings. Ensure that all business processes are included in your data gathering, for example, marketing, sales, market share, product quality, workforce, budgeting and training.
- Track your actual revenue versus projected revenue
Ensure you track your actual revenue versus your projected revenue consistently, (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly). Also, late payments can cause devastation with a business bottom line. Most comprehensive business management software packages will help you track this.
- Track your expense
This is a part of your business you don’t really want to grow. However, by having a holistic view of your business, you can project your income and make more better, decisions on expenditure.
- Track your competition
It’s imperative for you to concentrate on your business’s KPIs and expenditure, but it is also important you monitor what your main competitors are up to. You can source information from the public domain, look through annual reports, internet searches, industry press and trade association publications.
- Measure marketing effectiveness
Effective tracking and measurement is the key to determining which data should be collected to improve your marketing efforts. Your marketing results may be estimated in sales market share, store traffic, number of inquiries or reduced complaint rates, or other metrics.
- Track your employees
Having top employees who are motivated is critical to your company’s success. Track the effectiveness of your recruitment methods and retention levels, as well as employee satisfaction and performance, and then you’ll know when to hire, when to fire, how much you’re spending on your workforce and for what ROI.
- Apply the information
Analyze the intelligence you’ve collected, draw conclusions and make recommendations based on it. Develop a plan for seeking out opportunities to demonstrate your company’s strengths. If weaknesses are critical drawbacks to your company’s success, develop a plan for overcoming them. The old adage that you can learn from your mistakes may sound glib, but when it comes to business growth, it really is the truth.
SOURCE: Sage
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