Do you feel like you’re treading water when it comes to growing your business? Are you confused about what you should do next? Have you tried some things, but your efforts have fallen flat?

Do not give up!

I’ve been there, and I have clients that have been there too!

And there are things you can do that will turn it all around and get some fuel for your business success.

A great deal of time and effort goes into growing a business successfully, and every business is a little different. However, there are 5 essentials to growing any business, and if you keep these in mind, you’ll be able to make the right decisions that lead to your sustainable growth.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS TO GROW YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

1 YOUR BUSINESS FILLS A NEED

No matter what product or service you sell, it needs to fulfill your target audience’s needs. It must solve a problem and make their lives better in a tangible way. You can’t be general about it. You can’t expect them to just know or figure it out. You have to tell them, and you must be specific.

Most successful products save time, money, or headache for the people who use them. You have to clearly identify how yours uniquely solves customers’ problems.

When I hurt my shoulder a while back, I searched online for a way to fix my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if I needed a massage, a chiro adjustment, physical therapy, or something else.

I found several chiropractors online, but rather than giving me information about how they could help me, they only directed me to book an appointment, so I searched on.

I finally found a place with a whole section on their website devoted to shoulder pain. They talked about the causes of shoulder pain – and I was like, “yes, that is me, that is what happened to me!” And I felt like they understood what was happening with me.

They then talked about all the ways to fix shoulder pain, starting with some DIY strategies like stretching and moving to more advanced therapies; they understood my needs.

Then they outlined some of the things they do to fix shoulder pain and asked if I wanted to come in for free for a consult, where they could build out a custom plan for my shoulder pain. I booked my appointment right there.

Yes, the first places probably did the same or similar things. But they didn’t position their business, their services, their products to my need.

But this last place, which earned my business, spoke directly to my needs and how they could help me.

TAKE ACTION: Are you speaking directly to the needs of your potential customers? You can’t just say what you do (hey, we do chiropractic adjustments). You must speak to your customers’ needs (we help with shoulder pain!)

2 KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS

Great business leaders are obsessed with their customers. They’re hungry to know everything they can about them, their industry, and their competition. And they know things never stay the same for long. Things in your market can change, and you need to now be able to pivot to meet the demands of your customers.

When I started my business back in 2007, I mainly did graphic design – custom magazines, brochures, and logos, that sort of thing, but as my business went along, customers were asking for websites. And I heard them loud and clear.

At that time, websites for everyday businesses were just starting to take off, and though I had done some light website design in college, it wasn’t my specialty.

I didn’t let that stop me. Instead, I dove right in and learned everything I could about website design and how I could offer it to my clients.

And website design is still a core part of our marketing agency to this day.

If I didn’t listen to my clients, I could have continued designing only brochures, logos, and magazines, and I could have missed out on $1M of digital revenue my company has done for small businesses.

And now, customers need sales funnels, automation, and a better grasp of digital marketing, which is my current focus for our clients.

ACTION: You must establish ways to get feedback from the market and use this information to guide critical decisions as you grow. You can do this through surveys, Q&As, or just talking with your clients about their growing needs. How are you getting feedback on what your customers want?

3 NEW VS. BETTER

Sure, people like things that are better than what they have, but what they really like is NEW.

Ah, the allure of a new product or service that is going to be the game-changer.

And the perfect way to grab those early adopters is to announce something new.

The nice thing about new is that you don’t have to actually have a new product, but only need to repackage it as something new.

Think of the Apple iPhone. Often the new model isn’t that different than the one before; it’s really just a little better in terms of speed, features, and improvements. However, each new model is boasted as the newest and best.

The new iPhone 13 is not just a better version of the 12, but a brand new shiny product that leaves the 12 in the dust.

ACTION: How can you continually make your products NEW? How can you repackage what you already have to feel like a brand new experience that will keep them coming back and attract new customers to your business?

4 GET ON BOARD WITH AUTOMATION AND EMAIL MARKETING

Many businesses put off building a list or email marketing to their potential customers, usually because they think it’s more complicated than it is.

Which 10 years ago it was, but not anymore.

It’s easier than ever.

But you can’t just email your current customers, but you need to email your potential ones too. The ones that know who you are but just weren’t ready to buy just yet.

You may be spending all your time trying to find brand new customers and neglecting this powerful group of potential customers that will be ready soon.

A simple email sequence could walk them through the buyer’s journey and get them ready to buy.

Have a slow day or week?

Imagine being able to send out an email to these potential customers and to your current customers and being able to book the rest of the month out?

I think of all the restaurants that neglected to build a list and weren’t ready to contact their customers to tell them about their new procedure when COVID hit.

Imagine if your favorite restaurant had collected your email address and had a simple email funnel set up. They could have emailed you weekly on their pickup orders, when outdoor dining was open or when they were fully open.

Instead, they had no clear and direct way to connect with their customers. The big chains won because they knew the power (and ease) of email marketing.

That is why we build Smart Funnels so that every small business can easily get started with email marketing and automation.

We even built out an easy-to-use restaurant coupon funnel that can be easily customized, really by any business that wants to build a list with a coupon.

That simple funnel could have kept the doors open for some of these restaurants. Or nail salons. Or dog groomers. All they needed was an email list.

ACTION: Get started with getting your list building started now. Check out SMART Funnels to shortcut your list building funnel.

5 A STRONG, CLEAR VISION

To grow your business, you’ve got to have a vision. A why. Even if it sounds cliche, hear me out.

If you haven’t already done so, create a statement that clearly explains your business’s vision.

• How does your business uniquely make your customers’ lives better?
• And why is this important to you?

It’s essential to identify this and keep it in mind as you grow so that you don’t stray from the path. When things get difficult, and it will; when a customer is unhappy, and it will happen; when you have an off day and just want to throw in the towel and quit…and this too will happen, you need this vision and your why to pull you through.

I think about my mom when I was growing up.

She was a single parent that had to go to work.

She had this picture of me pegged on her wall at work, right where she could see it every single day, and on it, she wrote, “Kelly’s reason to work.”

When I was young, I just thought it was a picture of me.

But now I know it was so much more.

Though she was not a business owner, she knew the importance of vision, of a why.

I was her why.

I was the reason she put up with crappy customers, crummy days, and that urge to just throw in the towel.

ACTION: What’s your vision? Why are your customers so important? What’s the big picture? What’s the big why that helps you get up and do it no matter what.

And don’t just think it in your head. Follow my mama’s lead and write it down. Put it where you can see it, and never forget you’re growing your business for more than a day’s wage.

START PLANNING NOW

When you think about your business growing, it may seem like a dream in the distant future. No matter when you started your business, whether it was yesterday or 10 years ago, these 5 things will get you more focused on growth and carry your business into the future. Into success.

Do you want to learn more about the keys to growing your business? Then, check out my course Start Your Business Smart, where you will learn the foundations of starting a business with roots of success.

You can find out more about it here:
https://www.smartarsenal.com/start-your-biz-smart

If you’re ready to jump into list building, check out:
https://smart-arsenal.mykajabi.com/email-list-101

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Here's to working SMART.