What is the purpose of any business? It is to grow. People start businesses for many different reasons. Most start businesses to make money, while some do it to help people. No matter what the drive behind a business, its objective will always remain to grow. All businesses, of all sizes, work for the same reason. They develop new products and provide better services. We see that many phone service provider has a sustainable business model. Its customer base is also quite big. Then why does it need to come up with new products? That is right; to grow.
It isn’t difficult for a business to grow, but how do you measure that growth? A business strategies can employ many to measure growth. Some methods are simple and direct. Others offer results that are more detailed but require some serious work.
Let us look at some of the strategies you can employ to calculate the growth of your business.
7 Ways to Calculate Your Business Growth
Calculating their growth is key for any business. It allows a business to ensure it is heading down the predefined path. When you start a business, you need to set upper and lower limits. Too little growth and you are not going to be able to sustain. On the other hand, if you grow too quickly you might not be able to deliver. Both results are failures. Regularly testing for growth keeps a business in control of its outcome. It the growth rate is too small, a business can further its marketing aggressiveness. Too much growth and the business could dial back on marketing to stabilize its success.
Here are 7 ways a business can test for growth:
- Study Your Current Market Condition
- Go Over Your Books
- Check How Your Competition is Reacting
- Set-up a Growth Hacking Department
- Check for Organic Growth
- Social Growth Analysis
- Analyze Customer Feedback
1. Study Your Current Market Condition
This study is different from your market analysis where you define your market and learn of the market potential. Your current market condition will aim to see where your business currently stands in the market. If you are enjoying more market share than you originally anticipated or if you can be doing more.
2. Go Over Your Books
Your financials are going to be able to give you a good idea of your business growth. Going over your books with your financial advisors can show you how much you have grown in numbers. You can find out how much you have grown in sales and production. Any businessperson knows, business is a numbers game. It helps to know yours well.
3. Check How Your Competition is Reacting
One of the best ways to analyze your growth is to see how you are affecting your competition. Analyzing changes in the marketing strategies of your competition are a dead giveaway of your effect. If your competition is changing their marketing strategies in line with yours, it could be a sign of growth. Businesses follow those that are successful. If your competition is unreactive to your business practices, it could mean you are not growing fast enough.
4. Set-Up a Growth Hacking Department
A growth hacking department can do wonders for your business analysis. Your growth hacking team should consist of product managers, engineers, developers, and marketers. The aim is to develop innovative ideas to enhance and manage the growth of a company. These talented individuals study your product, the market, and the business model. They collaborate and develop growth statistics and strategies in line with your business goals.
5. Check for Organic Growth
Another simple way to check for growth is by looking around your office. If you see more “new hires”, it shows growth. However, this is not a strict sign of growth. Just because your business has newer recruits does not mean it is enjoying sustainable growth. It could just be poor planning.
6. Social Growth Analysis
Some businesses can check for growth by looking at their community. Most businesses, regardless of size, have some impact on their surroundings. A growing bicycle retailer will see more people in his community riding bikes. Or a growing restaurant can see more people talking about his restaurant on social media.
7. Analyze Customer Feedback
Customer support does more for a business than meets the eye. Yes, it provides a crucial service to customers but it also collects data from customers. Businesses can use their data to better understand themselves. If a growing number of customers report issues with getting in touch with customer service, what does it mean? In some cases, it could just be that customer support is understaffed. However, it could also mean that the number of customers has grown enough that customer service is unable to tend to them.
Providing good and consistent customer service is crucial for any business. There is a reason why big businesses, like service providers, are investing in their customer support. If you call the customer service phone number, your call will likely be answered quickly. It is the same if you call your bank’s phone number. These businesses realize that among the most important things for sustainable growth is good customer care. Ultimately, it is all about your customers.
