Our fast growing digital landscape means that businesses are constantly having to adopt and adapt new growth strategies. Innovation in technology, such as artificial intelligence, are becoming commonplace in today’s marketplace, and this is having a dramatic effect on the way a business operates on a day-to-day basis.
Achieving business success in 2018, whether you are just starting up, or in your 10th year of trading, is going to require flexibility and adaptability when it comes to the latest trends in technology.
To help you stay one step ahead, 5 entrepreneurs who have seen impressive growth already this year, have shared their top tips and business success stories on exactly how they are doing it.
Chief Executive, and Co-Founder at Garcon Wines:
Top Tip: Sustainability
“In my view, offering true sustainability in your business model is more important than ever, and in 2018 is vital for achieving business success. At Garcon Wines we achieve this by offering bottles in 100% recycled PET, investing to do the right thing for the long term.”
Sustainability is a successful business growth strategy. Customers want to lead a sustainable lifestyle to help the planet but are often confused about how they can do that. So, if a business invests in inspiring sustainable living, by educating on sustainable choices and encouraging a change of behavior, it will engage customers, develop brand awareness and influence customer retention. The trick is to give customers the tools to be more sustainable.
Managing Director at Bluetrolley:
Top Tip: Good Marketing
“Everything starts with marketing and ends with a customer who’s happy with the interaction they’ve had with your brand or business.
How can you make customers happy? How do you attract the right customers? How do you make customers come back? These are questions which can be largely answered with good marketing. Whether that’s by conducting research to understand your customers, or having a good website which is designed around your customers’ user journey and needs, or post-purchase customer retention and loyalty. In summary, getting the marketing right is all about understanding your customers, targeting the right people, building your product and processes around them, and communicating in a way that turns them into loyal brand advocates.
One of the most important pillars of any business is its customer base. And in order to attract the customers’ loyalty and respect, the business needs to understand its customers and satisfy their needs. Doing market research is an essential step to take towards business growth, as it will reveal who the customers are, what they buy, and why they buy it – this analysis will help identify how the business can stand out from competitors, and therefore develop a smart marketing strategy that attracts customers and reinforces their retention.
Founder of Clementine
Top Tip: Build Relationships and Network
“Build a community around what you are selling. People need to care about you and your product/service. When people care about you and being part of something – it makes it easier to sell to them and keep them for longer.
Network, network, network. Conversations lead to opportunities, so you need to have more conversations. It’s easy to then decide if it’s worth continuing or not. But give everyone the chance to have an initial chat.”
Community building is a great strategy to grow your business. Besides creating brand awareness, building a community will result in engaged followers, future purchases and possible referrals. It’s essential to know the audience and decide how to connect with it. Creating a community forum is a good way to start conversations, answer questions and offer support to the target audience.
Behavioural Optometrist and Visual Performance Specialist at Central Vision Opticians
Top Tip: Adapt and Innovate
“I have a small business, and I find that I have to constantly adapt and innovate just to stay afloat and compete with the large companies and businesses. I listen to patients needs and try and find new solutions or technologies to help them.
We also have to have innovative marketing campaigns and messages. People see a message or hear about an award we’ve won and then forget about it after a month, so having something new to offer helps to make our communications more interesting.
Finally, I try and offer products and services that will make an impact on people.”
One of the secrets to business success is definitely its ability to adapt and innovate year after year. Every business needs to have a strategic vision for development, which can be created by following industry trends, studying the marketplace, analyzing competitors, and listening to customers. Innovation will not only improve the business survival rate but also increase profits.
Founder of The Summerton Club
Top Tip: Social Media
“Be social. Go and engage with your audience, stop selling to them, show some of your personality and get to know them. This will grow your social media presence, helping to build a more engaged audience, which over time will create a more loyal customer base and growing sales.
Becoming an active member of your audience’s social networks doesn’t happen overnight, but if you put the time in you will have a relationship with your customers and the rewards will follow.”
Social media is, obviously, a great platform to engage the target audience, where businesses can connect with potential customers through comments, likes, and shares. Nowadays, it’s essential for every business, no matter the industry, to have a strong and consistent social media presence, in order to increase brand awareness, drive purchases, and improve customer retention rates. Social media is a powerful outreach tool, so it’s essential for any business to implement a social media strategy in order to establish a loyal customer base.
Building a successful startup business doesn’t happen overnight. The patient is one of the secrets to business success – usually, companies that strategically plan their business growth and development can expect profitability only in their third year of existence. So, make sure you follow and implement these expert tips, and remember to keep your business relevant, flexible, competitive in the long run to success.
Abdul Aziz Mondol is a professional blogger who is having a colossal interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, he loves to share content related to business, finance, technology, and the gaming niche.
