Whichever type of small business you work with, you should be interested in increasing sales and expanding revenue. For such reasons, most people are curious about how to grow a small business. There is no single easy business growth strategy that fits all small business owners. However, there are certain strategies you can utilize to give your business its best chance at growth.
This blog explores 10 strategies that will propel your small business growth in India. These insights will help budding entrepreneurs lay a strong foundation for sustainable growth.
Introduction
Most thriving businesses make profits sufficient enough for owners, depending on whether there are shareholders or investors involved, to sustain and develop their businesses in comfort and financial security. However, whereas small business owners value profits, some of them are willing to sacrifice some portion for a healthier work-life balance, the creation of an eco-friendly product, or a service with a social mission. Every entrepreneur defines business success a little bit differently.
Success can be very different from business to business. It is sales metrics for some companies while, for others, it is social impact.
The Indian economy consists primarily of small businesses. Employment and GDP generation can easily be correlated to small ventures; however, numerous small ventures lack adequate planning and management to maintain themselves over a longer period.
What Amounts to a Successful Business
A successful business makes a profit by selling goods and services, though what one owner considers success, and another does not will vary. Some small business owners appraise themselves successful if they’ve grown their business without accumulating debt.
Others have used debt but feel successful even though they are scaling to become a global brand. Beyond profits and growth, KPIs measure things such as customer loyalty and website traffic in order to be able to properly assess whether the business is reaching different benchmarks along the road to success.
Business Growth Opportunities in India
Before going into specific strategies, we will acknowledge the current scenario. The MSME sector of India is witnessing phenomenal business growth in India, which is backed by factors like:
- Government initiatives– Government is now paying more attention to the MSME sector. It targets positioning the economy at USD 7 trillion by 2030. Hence, programs such as ‘Make in India‘ are becoming highly popular today. Schemes such as MUDRA loans and Stand-Up India are supporting the funding of small businesses to expand their business through Business Loans.
- Skilled workforce- India possesses an energetic and talented workforce. The country provides a competitive edge for all types of businesses from startups to established players. For business growth strategies, it’s the skilled workforce that has proven to be crucial.
- Digitalization- Increased internet penetration allows firms to reach a wider audience base and utilize online tools towards growth. Today, e-commerce platforms are proving to be very popular among business entities. It is because wider customer base is essential for them to grow.
Tips to Growing a Successful Small Business
Scaling your small business efficiently and effectively is difficult. It requires a smart approach and efforts from different parts of your company, including Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Legal.
And for small businesses or startups, you may wear many hats until you can hire the experts. Although it will take time and energy to grow your small business, these 10 tips you can use to accelerate business growth.
1. Create Goals
Create short- and long-term goals and understand the rationale of each to help guide success. Business goals, as part of a good strategic plan, have to be SMART-: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. They could relate to finance, operations, or growth Perhaps one goal for one entrepreneur is to achieve sales of a certain number of units per month over a year.
You can re-evaluate your goals so that you have room to develop and change your business plan. Successful entrepreneurs are also monitoring their progress and look at the numbers behind the business so that they may interpret the data and know whether they are getting closer to the achievement of their goals.
You can also break up your goals into small steps so that you make them easier to achieve. If you feel you cannot do this step, consider hiring a business coach who can assist you create long-term positive habits.
2. Build a Strong Team
A good team is diverse, collaborative, and reliable. There is a reason why it is a precursor to a successful business. Several studies indicate that the productivity of employees improves when there is diversity, such as people from various age groups, genders, and ethnicities, among other attributes. The best teams inspire feedback and encourage a variety of opinions, which can lead to creativity and effective problem-solving.
If you happen to be one of the entrepreneurs who think, “If you want it done right, do it yourself,” then just remember your team is there to back you up and each member uniquely offers skills to help in the expansion of your business.
3. Craft a Gaining Business Plan
A good business plan is your road to success. It details your business model, target audience, marketing strategy, and financial projections. Going through it and updating your plan from time to time keeps you updated with the current market trends, which most fast-growing businesses in India follow.
Your plan should have specific growth strategies for your business in terms of your industry. This is one of the common practices of the fastest-growing business in India’s MSME sectors.
4. Create Customer Satisfaction
Happy customers often turn into repeat customers, sharing with their family and friends the stores, designers, apps, platforms, or services they like. Besides value propositions in any particular product or service that makes your business loved, it often is excellent customer service, knowing how to improve on it that will bring a customer back time and again. Ensure that customer satisfaction by following these-
- Make a return policy easy- Clearly defined policies lessen confusion and customer dissatisfaction.
- Be truthful to customers- Truthfulness works miracles in establishing trust and loyalty in customers. Whenever an error occurs in business, accept responsibility and honestly explain what you can do about the problem in the near future.
- Stay solution-oriented- When there is customer conflict, be polite and patient while using positive language to de-escalate the situation to ease finding a resolution.
5. Analyse Your Competition
You cannot neglect your competitors in order to succeed. Take the time to study and learn from your rivals. Larger companies invest considerable resources to obtain this kind of competitive intelligence.
The way you analyse competition can depend on what business you are conducting.
6. Diversify Your Product or Service Offerings
You’ve managed to sell your key product or service to the customer. And that is, after all, why you wanted to expand your small business. Today, the creation of diverse products or services may get you some new customers. You can achieve this by:
- Identifying new opportunities for new products or services– Make market research on whether there is something else you can sell to the customer.
- Offering your existing products in different ways– This can be through subscriptions or bundles.
7. Stay Focused on Your Goals
It’s not going to make you money overnight simply because you opened a business. It simply takes time to get your name around and what you have to offer so you can stay focused on reaching for your goals.
Even many successful small business owners won’t ever break into profitability for a few years and have to rely on loans or their own savings to keep the business going long enough for it to turn around and become profitable.
With this said, if the business is not generating a profit after a reasonable amount of time has been passed, then it is good to find out why and whether the business needs to go in another direction.
8. Embrace Change
Businesses are constantly bombarded by challenges, from dwindling market demand and competitive new business to difficult clients and point-of-sale (POS) system issues. But when flexibility, adaptability, and willingness to change come together, success ensues.
Determine and measure the pros and cons of embracing new technologies-from as simple as payroll platforms all the way to more advanced, elaborate systems overhauls. Business means doing proper due diligence since new things never necessarily translate into better and faster.
9. Organize Yourself
Financial records, business licenses or permits, tax forms, and other papers (whether physical or electronic) can cause a significant headache when missing, especially in terms of searching for time spent on the business. It also ends up costing you billable hours.
The hiring of an office organization consultant is also possible for those business owners who don’t have organizational skills or the time to tackle it on their own. And even though you can do your bookkeeping yourself, a part-time bookkeeper is another viable way to support running a successful business operation.
10. Give Back to the Community
Business success can be achieved without profitability as well. There are avenues to give back and bring others up in the community even when cash flow may be low. This can involve volunteering for a business-related occasion, donating a product or service for a raffle ticket, speaking at a school, or mentoring. Additionally, entrepreneurs can give back to society by making a decision to use only ethically sourced materials in their goods.
Additional Tips for Business Growth
- Leverage Government Schemes for Small Businesses– Look for and avail of government schemes, such as Skill India and Startup India, etc. All these train, fund, and provide mentorship support to small businesses for promoting business growth.
- Network with Industry Leaders- Attend industry events, meet other entrepreneurs, and participate in mentorship programs. This will give you insights, best practices to share, and a solid network. It may bring open doors to new opportunities and collaborations that will propel small business growth in India.
- Investment in Cybersecurity- As your business grows online, it becomes important to concentrate on data security. Inculcate strong cybersecurity measures that will protect customer information and gain their trust. It will protect your business and help your customers feel safe while doing business with you, leading to successful business growth.
Conclusion
Growing your small business means taking calculated risks. You should consider your business plan and make reasonable and accurate forecasts of how you think certain strategies can impact your business.
Building a highly successful small business in India requires more than just passion or hard work. Instead, it calls for proper planning to achieve success, being within legal parameters and having a deep understanding of dynamics in the market. By following these ten tips, you can get through the challenges of the Indian business landscape and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth. Success doesn’t happen overnight; it is your greatest ally if you are constant and adaptable.
Whether you are a start-up or expanding your business, staying updated and taking proactive measures will set you off on the path to entrepreneurial success.
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