As a business owner or manager, you’ve always imagined a booming business where sales and revenue will be at an all-time high, now you have it. The next hurdle is how to sustain and achieve more successes. This begets the question, how do I manage business growth?
This is a stage where a lot of retrospection needs to be done, you also need to balance keeping the core values and objectives that brought the success, and also tweaking some things to manage business growth successfully. In truth, this is a whole new set of challenges that can be tasking. But it comes along with opportunities.
If this is new terrain for your business, you and your team need to develop a plan on how to move forward with the same upward trajectory of success you’re experiencing. I’ve got some tips for you.
Steps to Manage Business Growth
· Understand Your Business and Where the Growth is Coming From
For you to experience this kind of growth, simply means you’re doing something right. Find out what this is in its actuality. A good way to start is by seeking answers to questions like,
- What is setting you apart from the competition?
2. What are the business policies, models, and processes that are driving your workforce?
3. Is this a sustainable growth or a one-time surge?
4. If it is sustainable growth, can we continue to do what is fueling the growth? And so on.
It is important you find the values driving your business. Because it’s very easy to lose focus when your business is booming.
Another aspect of you need to look into is how you stand financially, while also estimating the impact of the growth. This will help you avoid excess spending out of excitement.
· Setting Growth Objectives
This is a point you need to start taking action, a step in this direction is for your business to set clear goals or plans that are S.M.A.R.T (Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-framed). Without doing this, it is either you get carried away with the business growth, or some aspects of the business grow while neglecting some areas.
As a stepping stone, below are some aspects of your business plan you can start on
1. Is there a need to expand the team to accommodate more workload?
2. How do we handle customer support and experience due to an increase in customer base?
3. Is there a need to get a larger workplace?
4. What is the customer lifetime value?
5. Is there a need to get additional assets? And so on.
Once you’ve identified these areas, it is advisable you have a plan with a timeline to achieve them, while also using milestones to track progress. Don’t also forget to take cognizance of the resources it will take to achieve these objectives.
Interestingly, I have written an article on how to prepare for business growth. Click here to read it.
· Taking Care and Understanding Your Growth Market.
The growth you’re experiencing couldn’t have happened without your paying customers, which makes it necessary for you to give them listening ears, and understand them. As part of the steps to manage business growth, it is necessary you research your growth market.
1. What do your customers want?
2. What is the demography?
3. Where are they?
4. What is the buying patterns/behavior? And so on.
These insights will help eliminate customer issues, get feedback, and ultimately improve your product and services offerings.
As the saying goes, “customers are the bedrock of any business”, keeping them happy is keeping your business in existence.
· Assembling the Right Team
Businesses don’t grow by themselves, it is the people within the business that grows it. With this growth, you’ll need more hands to plug some skills gaps. In a bid to fill these gaps, it is pertinent you recruit people who will fit into your company’s values.
Outsourcing to freelancers is another way to fill in these gaps if you have too much on your plate, or you don’t want additional costs to your payroll.
After assembling a great team, retaining, and ensuring they feel valued while making their jobs something to look forward to is also important.
Also, to manage business growth, you need to consider moving from, micro-management style to macro-management. Before this growth, you probably have different roles at once, devolve some of these roles to specialized managers to handle them, and don’t get obsessed with overseeing every detail.
· Cashflow Management and Sticking to Budget
Amongst the ways to manage business growth, is to caution spending. Most businesses feel the urge to spend more, when business is booming, which can hamper further growth potentials. Yes, you can recognize the team’s success, but only pay for what you need, can afford, and are going to get a return. It is necessary you put in place limits on costs.
Having a budget is a good way to start, as this allows you to prioritize spending while giving room to save, and pay off debts (if any).
· Using ERP (Business Management Software)
Another way to manage business growth is through the use of business management software. It brings all aspects of your business from accounting, operations, human capital, sales all under a single dashboard. It unifies all units of business, giving you a 360-degree view of your business.
This software also automates business processes, by saving up man-hours, reducing the risks associated with inefficiency or human efforts, enhancing business process consistency, improve customer satisfaction, and lower HR costs, since it needs less human intervention.
To get started, reach out to SOFTCODES (a trusted Sage Business Partner with over 25+ years of experience).
Conclusively, being able to manage business growth is in how you can adapt to change, and taking of bold steps. You will be faced with difficult choices, in a very volatile environment, where you will make decisions that will determine your future.
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