How Can a Small Business Grow Big (With a VA Help)

How can a small business grow big? Scaling can be challenging but with these strategies, your business can achieve its full potential and sustain growth.

No one is starting a business and does not want to increase sales and earn a profit. You’re taking on the roller coaster journey of an entrepreneur for a reason.

To tell you honestly, there is no one-size-fits-all in matters of “How can small business grow big” or “How to improve your business.” However, there are strategies that you can take that’ll give you more chances at growing.

So, how do small businesses expand?

Well, you’re about to find out in this blog post, as well as the entrepreneur's secret to always deliver on time and keep costs low.

What are the Five Stages of Small Business Growth?

Starting your own business is exciting, isn’t it?

However, when running a company, it’s essential that you know where you are and where you’re heading.

In short, you have to understand the five stages of small business growth, so you can come up with a winning strategy.

  • Existence Stage

    This is the first stage of small business growth, where you spark small business ideas and launch your company. It involves planning and creating a product or service that the market wants and needs.

    You’re basically taking care of everything in this phase intending to just survive.

    Find out every entrepreneur’s secret to launching a successful product.

  • Survival Stage

    The next stage is the survival stage. Once you’ve already established your business, the main goal is to make it profitable enough to cover all your expenses.

    You can now earn more time to focus on the important stuff and start delegating to a virtual assistant, which you can easily find through the many VA marketplaces out there.

    This stage can be challenging; you may fail in this period, so always be persistent.

  • Success Stage

    Congratulations! Your business has survived. Now, your business is making money and can capture more growth opportunities.

    In the success stage, the focus has shifted towards expanding your customer base and market share. But be wary; this is still a critical period, and you should be making strategic steps to ensure business sustainability.

  • Take Off Stage

    The takeoff stage is exactly how it sounds: growing and expanding. You finally have a strong foundation to scale your operations and meet the increasing demand.

    As a business owner, you need to make quick decisions—implement effective systems, hire the right people and invest in marketing to keep the momentum.

  • Resource Maturity Stage

    Finally, the maturity stage is where your company has achieved stability. The business is now at a point where the main concern is to maintain profitability and growth.

    But just because you’ve reached your full potential doesn’t mean you’re going to slack on watching the market. This is a maturity phase that requires a more calculated approach.

How to Grow a Small Business into a Large Business

How can I raise my small business?

Here are the 9 ways to grow your business:

  • Conduct Research

    Why do you need to do research? So, you can create a well-thought-out plan and understand your target market better. The data, surveys and market trends will give you valuable information and insight to improve your product or business as a whole.

    There might be a market for similar goods that you could offer. Through research, you can find that gap and fill it.

  • Create a Sales Funnel

    Several stages are involved in your sales funnel: awareness, interest, decision and action. If you can create a sales funnel, you can guide your leads and turn them into paying customers.

    To do that, first, you need to understand the journey of your customers. Create an effective message tailored to every stage of the funnel. You can use social media to boost online awareness or run email marketing campaigns to stir interest.

  • Focus on Customer Retention

    In this very competitive business age, it’s not enough to just attract new customers. You have to keep your existing clients interested as well.

    Increasing sales, which leads to business growth, stems from customer loyalty, which you can achieve by increasing customer retention.

    If you can make old customers, come back, you avoid spending money on (5 times as much as getting new clients) something that might not yield a return.

  • Build Your Online Presence

    Nowadays, when people want to buy something, they go online to search for product reviews and make a purchase based on what others have to say about the business.

    That’s why if you want growth, you should invest in having a quality website for your offerings. Make it easier for potential clients to find you and know about your product. Social proof is everything in situations of uncertainty.

    So, be proactive in listening to your market and solve their issues through social media, where over 4 billion people are scrolling every day.

  • Form Strategic Partnerships

    It’ll be easier to row towards your destination if you have someone to row the boat with, correct? That’s what strategic partnerships are for—helping you get to your goals faster.

    Collaborating with thought leaders and influencers can introduce your business to a market ready for conversions. Just make sure that the partnership is a good fit and that you have a clear understanding of how you can benefit from such an arrangement. Otherwise, you won’t achieve your desired result.

  • Provide Excellent Customer Service

    This one’s a no-brainer. One of the most effective business tips to grow your business is to provide exceptional customer support. According to a survey conducted by Microsoft, 96% of customers say that customer service is a main factor in their choice of brand.

    With that in mind, ensure that your clients can easily seek you out when they need assistance. Get on to their medium of choice and be proactive! Or you can elevate your E-commerce store right now with a virtual assistant.

  • Expand Product Offerings

    If you’ve had success selling your existing product, maybe it’s time to expand your line.

    Offering different products can help you get new customers and increase sales, hence the growth factors. You can do this by doing market research and finding opportunities for a new product, or using different ways to offer your main product.

  • Expand to New Markets

    Appealing to a new market is a step toward growing your business. Seriously, there’s only so much profit that you can reap from a single market. You have to bring in new customers!

    Just remember to do your research first before expanding to new areas. See if there’s a fit and whether or not the target market has the purchasing power.

  • Build a Strong Referral Program

    Bring new people on board with the help of your existing clients. How? By giving them the motivation to recommend your product to others. You can incentivize them and offer rewards for each sale.

    Build a strong referral network to get more earnings at only a fraction of what it would really cost to acquire new clients.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What Are the 3 Ways to Grow a Business?

  • 1. Acquire New Customers

    One of the ways you can acquire new customers is by creating relevant content, which can be in the form of videos or blog posts. If you can provide valuable information that addresses their issues and then position yourself high in that industry, you’ll get to attract new customers and keep them.

  • 2. Increase the Value of Transaction

    You can increase the value of transactions by offering cross-sells and upsells. For instance, if you’re selling online goods, you can offer complementary bundles.

  • 3. Raise the Purchase of Frequency

    The best way that you can promote customer retention is by rewarding customers, either by using discounts or special promotions. These loyalty programs will motivate customers to keep buying from you and boost their lifetime value.

How Can a Small Business Increase Success Rate?

There are several ways to increase the success rate of your small business.

Here are a few of them:

  • Create a clear and accurate business plan.

  • Create a solid marketing strategy.

  • Have a strong team to back you up.

  • Think about the needs of your customers.

  • Monitor your progress regularly and make adjustments when necessary.

  • Be ready to face setbacks.

  • Don’t give up!

Wrapping Up!

How can a small business grow big?

Start with the growth tactics we just mentioned. Then, sprinkle a bit of imagination, hard work and a strategic attitude.

Or better yet, consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant. From conducting research and providing good customer service to expanding your network, they can be of great assistance without going beyond your budget. They can give you more time to focus on really growing your business.

Work smart, connect with us, and let us take your small business to the next level!