Every business is different. Every market is different. However, the principals are the same.
Similarly to how human beings are all the same structurally – we all have a brain, heart, lungs etc, – yet we are all so different. That 3% difference or so is what makes us unique and special.
Businesses, particularly as it relates to small business growth, are also 97% the same. The difference is what makes your brand unique.
So what is the path to growth that is the same for most businesses?
We believe it’s Research X Strategy X Tactics.
Most companies reach an inflection point. The point in which they cannot grow organically anymore. They need further help. Every company reaches this point.
Amazon, who never used to advertise, is now one of the largest advertisers in the world because they reached that inflection point. They were the monopoly in the eCommerce space but now have quite a bit of competition. Walmart, Alibaba, Shopify to name a few.
When looking at the process of growth there are a number of ways to present and articulate how a small business can achieve this, however, much of the discussion is in hindsight.
The owners that are in the thick of it need a process that is simple, repeatable and gets results.
Research X Strategy X Tactics is the best way to achieve this criteria.
Research
- Where is the gap in the marketplace?
- Is there a gap where your customers are not being served and perhaps could lead to great opportunity?
- How much of the share in the market do you have?
- How are you currently perceived within the marketplace?
Strategy
- Who will you target?
- What are your objectives?
- What will you position?
Tactics
- What’s the best product/service that can be offered to meet the needs of said gap?
- How will you price that product/service for the most profit?
- Where will you distribute this product/service?
- How will you promote this product/service?
The quality of the answers to these questions will force the other categories to perform better. Aim to get 8/10 in all categories in terms of quality.
The savvy small business owners do this continuously in their head. The great entrepreneurs have done this their entire life. They are the ones we read about in the papers.
Have a simple, repeatable process that gets results.
