After consulting to multi-million dollar global brands for over 20 years and helping female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, I’ve learnt that most business growth problems stem from businesses not having one or more of the following 6 business steps in place.
I call these the 6 S’s in buSineSS SucceSS because they will help to ensure that your business is geared for growth…
1. Spark: Research is the foundation upon which all great businesses are built. By obtaining sometimes just one piece of category, consumer, customer or competitor understanding, that nobody else has, you can uncover an opportunity that puts your business ahead of your competitors.
2. Specific Focus: By finding your niche and focusing on a clear target market with relevant products or services to meet their particular needs, your business will grow. You cannot be all things to all people. By focusing on too many things at the same time, you dilute your efforts and resources and most importantly, the impact of what you do out there!
3. Stand Out: There is only one way to stand out and attract the right clients and customers in a very competitive world and that is to build a brand. This starts with defining a very clear brand blueprint and then using that to drive all your marketing activities. If you’d like my free Brand Blueprint template please click here for a Product Brand or here if you have a Personal Brand
4. Synergy: Once you are clear on your brand positioning it is essential that all elements of your business are aligned for greater impact. This includes things like your products/services, your packaging, pricing, communication etc.
5. Strategy: A business without a strategy is like a ship without a rudder. You need to put together a very clear business growth strategy with clear goals and objectives. This will guide your actions and ensure that you only focus on the things that will really move the needle in your business.
6. Sales: At least 80% of your time should be dedicated to sales. If you’re not selling you won’t be growing your business! A very clear 12 month business action and marketing plan is what you need to ensure that you map out exactly what you need to do every month to hit your goals.
If you’d like more details on each of these steps, please take a look at my 6 Key Steps to Business Success