When you’re running a business, it’s easy to get stuck in the daily grind, with little time to assess how to grow your business. Whether your business has a strategic growth plan that’s been overlooked for years or you’ve never considered a growth plan as a priority, here are some tips to get you back on track or get started.
You might be thinking, “I’ve got a business plan, that’s enough…” But a business plan and a strategic growth plan have some differences. A business plan lays out how your business runs on a daily basis, while a strategic growth plan maps out an achievable way to increase your market share.
A strategic growth plan will help you define:
– Business considerations, such as a niche or choosing a direction to take your business.
– Any future challenges and how to approach these obstacles.
– Realistic business growth goals.
If you’re in the process of creating a strategic growth plan, there are four main steps, which will help you complete a plan that can be used to help your business grow.
1. Define clear, achievable goals
When working on a strategic growth plan, one mistake many businesses make is setting out too many ways to grow their business. It’s better to focus on a few achievable goals and set a timeline to achieve those goals. With clear goals and a realistic timeframe, the right strategies can be boosted and used to grow your business.
2. Look at your staffing needs
When creating a strategic growth plan, it’s important that you factor in your staffing needs to achieve business growth. By defining your growth goals, you will have a better understanding of what staff is needed and where. It’s also important to include your staff in the planning process, to gain insight into their current work processes. If your plan includes increased production, perhaps more staff are required or other processes can be automated.
3. Do your research
There is a saying – hindsight is foresight – and this can be applied to a business growth strategy. Take time to assess what in the past has worked to achieve business growth, as well as what is currently driving your business. If certain tactics aren’t working, perhaps it’s time to drop those and focus your attention on other key areas.
Speak to clients, and find out where there are potential growth areas that perhaps your competitors aren’t focusing on. This will help you develop better tactics to reach the goals outlined in your strategic growth plan.
4. Key Performance Indicators are a must
Without Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) how will you know if your strategic growth plan is working? KPIs are a must because without them it is impossible to gauge if your business is hitting the growth goals that you have set. The KPIs need to be set out in your timeline with achievable and realistic deadlines.
If you would like to know more about strategic growth plans, you can find out more information here.
How can Acacia help?
Acacia specialises in providing businesses with assistance in strategic growth. We understand the importance of gaining a thorough understanding of your business and its processes, not only for today but taking into account your strategic goals and future needs. We provide tailored and site-specific solutions to ensure you see immediate and tangible benefits in your business by automating your processes and integrating your systems.
If you are interested in finding out how Acacia can help your business grow, please contact us to find out more.
