Success in business is not always linear. There are times when you would hit a few bumps and roads ahead.

But, one thing is for sure, you need to keep going and keep growing.

As we progress, purchase new assets, increase employees, and acquire more customers, it is important that our strategy scales and improves as well. So in order to help you, we have listed a few tips on how you can naturally and sustainably grow your business.

Explore Different Types of Growth 

An article published on the Missouri State University website suggested different alternative growth scenarios. Rather than look at growth from a general perspective, they proposed seven different ways to grow and develop a business.

Oftentimes when we think of growth, we usually think in terms of the market and income growth of our business. But according to the mentioned article, growth can also be network growth, quality growth, product growth, volume growth, and financial growth.

Market and income growth generally refers to new market entry and an increase in profitability, respectively. Whilst network growth means additional partnerships, quality growth is for research and development, product growth means innovation, volume growth is an increase in production, and financial growth means an injection of more capital.

Once you look at growth this way, you would be able to unlock more potential and opportunities for your business.

Setup an eCommerce Store

Many startups found success by setting up their own e-commerce store. Since building customer relationships from the ground up can be difficult, most e-commerce platforms simply take away this burden from you. They already have a repository or access to customer data that you never had before. Because of this, it is much easier to target customers and generate leads for your brand. 

Remember that there are tons of ways to set up an e-commerce store. You can either create your own online store or just simply set up an account on an e-commerce platform. Most startups often opt for the latter because it is much more convenient and less costly. Given that startups are still new in the industry, it is more practical to set up an account in an eCommerce platform rather than splurge their entire budget on creating their own online store. 

Startups are able to greatly benefit from their e-commerce store because they are able to generate more leads and explore new markets without having to burn a hole in their pocket. With that said, you should consider this as one of your options to grow your business. 

Find a Niche

Look for your target market and start building from there.

Think of a niche as your starting point. Since you are still new to the industry, it is much better to build credibility and reputation in a niche market first. Quickly jumping and marketing to a more general market might just lead to unfavorable results. Keep in mind that consumers are still unfamiliar with your product and they have not fully trusted you yet.  So pandering to the general audience might just be ineffective and a waste of resources.

To maximize your growth potential, you should instead gain the trust of your niche market first. Thereafter, you can then think in terms of growth and how your brand can serve other related markets. Potential customers outside your niche would be more trusting of you if they know there are other sets of people who trust you as well.

Pander to the Community

Aside from your niche market, you should also consider your local community as a target market as well. There are different ways to pander to your local community and one of which is hosting events.

If you are planning to have an actual store, then the best way to start is to host an in-store demo. Even though e-commerce is growing increasingly popular these days, in-store demos are still an effective way to bring in more loyal customers. The great thing about this type of event is that you can also do it along with your other marketing strategies as well.

For instance, in-store demos are a great source of content for your social media campaign. You can even hire an influencer from a promotional modeling agency as well. Doing so would help generate buzz around your brand.

Besides, no matter which marketing campaign you decide on, it would certainly enhance your reputation and image within the community.

Embrace Changes

As cliché as it is, the best way to achieve sustainable growth is to adapt to changes. Keep in mind that consumers’ attitudes and behavior are ever so changing. With that, your business needs to catch up as well.

For instance, most businesses today are now switching their marketing campaign from print to digital. They have noticed that consumers are spending and dedicating more of their time online. These businesses now see digital media as a crucial element in their marketing campaign.  

And this does not only apply to the marketing aspect of the business, many companies today are now starting to embrace innovative changes in tech like AI for their day-to-day work,  FinTech for their business transactions, and e-commerce for their marketplace.

Because at the end of the day, your business needs to be agile to progress and innovation. If you fail to catch up and welcome these changes, both you and your business would not be able to overcome stagnant growth.