How to grow your business

How you grow your business will depend, first and foremost on what kind of business you are running. However, all businesses have one thing in common: customers. Getting to know your customers is paramount. There are many tools that can help you with this – from compiling a simple list of contact information, to sophisticated customer management systems. The key to growing your business lies in retaining your existing customers, and also finding and keeping new ones.Finding new customers can be expensive in terms of both time and money. An easy way to grow your business is to sell more to your existing customers, perhaps by adding new products or ranges. Another top tip is to provide excellent customer service. That way your clients will be happy to come back to you time and again. A third tip is to start a loyalty programme – these have been shown to improve customer retention and are generally very cost effective.

Expanding your customer base

Of course there is a finite amount of extra growth that can be achieved with an existing customer base. Therefore, it really is paramount that you attract and retain new customers. One great tip is to expand into new areas. If your business deals mainly with a local market, look at a national one. If you are already a national company, could you break into the international market? If you mainly deal face-to-face, consider having an online presence.Sound research into potential new markets will pay handsome dividends in the long run. It also pays to get to know your competition! Advertising can be expensive, so a top tip is to make use of social media. Get the word out that you are a reliable business; that you have a wide variety of products/skills; that you care for your customers, and highlight points where you differ from competitors, so potential new customers can see why they should choose you!