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When you grow a plant from seed, you can't afford to miss a step. You must plant it at the correct depth, in proper soil, and give it the right amount of water and sun. Do everything right, and it will grow and flourish. Fail, and it will as well.
Your business is no different. It takes time, attention, and knowledge to help it expand by whatever criteria you think is important. That could be the number of employees, annual sales, profit margins, customer satisfaction, page rankings on search engines, media coverage and more. By whatever measure you choose, you'll need to tend it well.
If growing your business is your goal, determine what will get you there and pursue it. Taking shortcuts may be okay for a minute, but not for sustained growth over the long term. Here are three steps you shouldn't skip.
Related: How to Maximize Your Profits With This Annual 8-Step Checklist
1. Find out who you're up against
Analyzing your competition is one step no business can pass over. The fact is, who your competition is and how they're faring is a moving target. Brands need to be constantly engaged in upping their game if they want to grow.
Currently, content is the tool most companies use to move up in search results, which correlates with success. But throwing out content and hoping something sticks isn't effective. You need to determine where your content strategies are falling short and determine how to fill those gaps. You can start by manually analyzing your competitors' content and comparing it to yours. Please take a look at their blog, social media accounts, internal linking strategy, and more to help identify any gaps.
However, not everyone has the time to spend scrolling through every competitor's website to find out why it's achieving higher SERPs. Leveraging tools like the MarketMuse competitive content analysis feature saves time and money. Plus, it provides granular insights into where your competition excels and where your brand can overtake it.
This technology can examine a competitor's entire website content in a minute and rank strength by site, page, or topic. It takes seconds to see where you can take advantage of your competitor's content gaps to make your own strategy excel. That's time well spent.
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2. Forge a commitment-worthy brand
Businesses used to grow if they sold quality products and services. These attributes would appeal to new customers and help them hang onto old ones. But customers – and employees – are now looking for so much more when making decisions. To grow, your brand needs to address those complexities.
Your company needs to embrace such core values as transparency, authenticity, and social responsibility. You must demonstrably put people before profits and incorporate a worldview in your mission, even if you're small. Lip service isn't enough. Your brand must display its commitment to these values openly, day in and day out.
In a world where technology plays an increasingly larger role in everyday life, customers expect companies to use it to forge more personal relationships with them. Mass-market appeals are passe, and generational differences have become larger divides. You'll need to address every demographic with content, messaging, and values that resonate specifically with each of them.
Growing your business means building a bigger tent and inviting more people inside. There, you have to prove to them why you're worth their time and money instead of your competition. Keeping customers loyal while drawing others in is why you'll need larger and larger tents. But that's the goal.
Related: Want to Grow Your Business? Here's Why You Need Strategic Partnerships to Succeed.
3. Use partnerships to your advantage.
It can feel like your business is fighting to succeed all on its own. And it will be if you aren't forging strategic partnerships that can help you get ahead of your competition. Entering into these mutually beneficial relationships is a step you can't afford to miss. And to avoid a misstep, partner with those who share your core values.
Energy drinks and video cameras may seem dissimilar. But Red Bull and GoPro's co-branding strategy is a winner for two companies that consider themselves sellers of lifestyles as much as products. The partnership opens doors to new customers for both.
Explore your supply chain for collaborative opportunities that could make it more reliable and efficient and save you money. That's the logic behind the long-time union between McDonald's and Coca-Cola. You may use only one shipping vendor or packaging supplier exclusively for your brand.
Look at your accounts payable and gauge the potential for formalizing partnerships with those you're doing business with. Marketing, packaging and shipping, wholesale products, raw materials, and technology are a few areas ripe for collaboration. Once you find them, don't let them wither on the vine. You may need to make some adjustments occasionally to ensure you're both reaping the rewards. If you aren't, find another partner who will deliver.
Related: Most Business Partnerships Fail — 5 Hacks to Make Sure Yours Stays Intact
Get growing
It's rare that a business reaches a certain size and intentionally stops growing. Stagnation is a precedent for shrinkage. If growth is what you want for your brand, take the stairs. Just be sure you don't miss one on the way up.
