BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES

Having owned SIS International Research for over 36 years, I have experienced the pros and cons of business growth strategies from small, to mid-size and to large enterprise firms.

Regardless of the size of your firm, the following are methods to grow your business:

Five ways to grow your business

1

Extend your product and service offerings

The advantages of this is that the customer has more choices whether it is consumer [B2C] or B2B offerings.

2

Expand your business geographically

Do some research and you will find a potential demand for your produces and services domestically and internationally.

3

Find a strategic partner

You can gain significant leverage and gain market share in the marketplace through a strategic partnership.

4

Grow through acquisition of a competitor or a complementary firm

Growth through acquisition of another firm is a sure way to grow, however, do your research on the pros and cons of the selection of a firm for acquisition.

5

Growth through acquisition of technology

Through automation of your business, you can gain scale of production along with reduction of costs. With machine learning and artificial intelligence, the possibilities are limitless in the consumer, healthcare and B2B sectors.

Research Methods to Grow your Business:

There are several research methods that can help you grow your business:

#1 Consumer Products

  • IHUTS – In home use tests
  • Focus Groups – Fade to face focus groups and Online Focus Groups
  • Consumer online surveys
  • Shop alongs
  • Ethnographic studies
  • In-depth interviews

#2 B2B Business Industries

  • In-Depth telephone interviews
  • Customer, Distributor, Supplier Interviews
  • Competitor interviews
  • Evaluation of Distribution Channels

#3 Healthcare

  • Patient interviews
  • Physician interviews
  • Healthcare key opinion leaders
  • Hospital Management interviews
  • Laboratory interviews

Lastly, you need a “Go to Market Strategy” which summarizes the results of the research findings. This document should contain the following:

  • The Market Landscape, Growth and Potential for Expansion
  • The competitive environment
  • Product and Service positioning
  • Market messaging
  • Market entry plan e.g. pricing, advertising, etc.
  • A plan to track the success of the expansion