The journey of growing a small business can be as exciting as it is challenging. To make the process smoother, here are the top 5 key actions I think every small business should take to grow strategically. These simple but effective steps will help you develop a solid growth strategy, keep your customers happy, and ensure your business continues to grow. Whether you’re at the beginning of your business journey or managing an already established operation, the following practical tips can help you achieve long-term growth.
1. Focus on your top 20% of your customers
In my experience, these customers are usually the most profitable customers. They are appropriate because they have the right issues and the right beliefs. Marketing efforts should focus on attracting more of these ideal customers, so it’s important to understand everything you can about this group. The more you know about them, the better you can serve them and grow your business as a result. Keep in mind that chasing unmatched customers is often a missed opportunity and can be costly in some cases.
2. Promise to solve a problem that matters to your ideal customer
We call this crafting a core message, and it revolves around a promise to solve a specific problem. To discover this core message, talk directly to your customers or analyze Google reviews. The language they use provides great insight into the problem you are trying to solve for them. Remember, customers don’t just want your product or service. They want their problems resolved.
3. Build a complete end-to-end customer journey
The customer journey doesn’t end when someone becomes a customer. In fact, the days when getting leads down the funnel and converting them into customers were the primary goal are gone. Today, the purchasing process has changed dramatically, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. Marketing today is therefore less about creating demand and more about organizing behavior.
I developed a model called the Marketing Hourglass that emphasizes the post-purchase journey. It’s not just about making people aware of your existence, it’s about creating experiences that turn one-time buyers into repeat buyers and advocates.
Seven stages of the marketing hourglass
I believe we all go through seven stages in this journey. know, like, trust, try, buy, repeat, refer to. We want to know who is out there and like them before we venture further. Admittedly, I wouldn’t buy anything until I felt I could trust it. I don’t know about you, but I love getting a little peek into what it’s like to work in a business before I get down to business.
If you do well at these stages, price becomes less important. As you know, people are willing to pay more if they have more trust and experience. Remember that statistic I mentioned earlier? Yes, it’s the golden ticket to building a profitable business.
So here is my challenge to you. Think about these stages – know, like, trust, try, buy, repeat, refer. What are you doing at each of these stages to improve the customer journey? Are there any gaps that need to be closed? focus on the stage of Believe me, the gold is there.
4. Do less, but do it well
Focus on what you do best and strive to excel in that area. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Instead, focus on providing your target audience with the best possible value and experience.
follow three rules
It’s tempting to set 12 strategic goals each quarter, only to find that your efforts are too narrow to accomplish anything. How about narrowing it down to three solid goals for him?
This approach makes it easier to stay focused and allocate resources effectively. If the task is not mapped to any of these goals, defer the task. Remember focus is key to achieving your goals.
Don’t get caught up in the social media frenzy
Focus on one, maybe two social media channels and do it well. It’s convenient to use these tools.
For example, imagine a local small business trying to maintain a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and even TikTok. This means that a small, possibly one-man, team must constantly juggle content creation, audience engagement, and analytics across multiple platforms. It can quickly become very overwhelming. Instead, Target understands where its users live primarily and focuses solely on that platform.
A key part of running a business is recognizing that there is always something to do. However, the secret to effective marketing is deciding what not to do. Don’t fall into the trap of chasing everything shiny new. Doing less and focusing on doing it better often yields better results.
5. Create transformations, not just transactions
The goal is to make a big impact on the lives of our customers. The focus should be on creating real change, not just completing transactions.
What if you started thinking of your customers like members of your business who want to travel and join your business?
Remember, marketing isn’t just about getting clicks and calls. Understanding your customer’s journey and delivering a seamless and enjoyable experience is key. It is important to build trust, deliver on promises and exceed expectations. And most importantly, it makes a real difference in the lives of our customers.
Book a call with one of our strategy experts to help you navigate this journey effectively. We are ready to help chart a path to strategic growth. Click here to book your call now. Our strategy experts are standing by.
