How To Grow Your Business

By Chris Pattas

There are 7 ways to

grow your business

First make sure you...Know your purpose,

Understand your industry

Define your competitive advantage

Choose your target market

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1. Retention & Repeat Business

• Are you growing your “share of wallet”?

• Have you implemented a loyalty program?

• Are you developing great relationships with your existing customers?

• Do you know why customers keep doing business with you?

• Do you have an integrated account management process or retention strategy and incentive program.

• Do you have a regular digital newsletter or seminar?

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2. Acquisition or Partnering

• Have you identified other businesses you could synergistically acquire or partner with?

• Have you thought about vertical integration?

• Do you spend time at board level identifying and developing strategic partnerships?

• Do you have an active engagement program with potential partners?

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3. Referrals from Existing Clients • Word-of-mouth referrals are the

easiest way to grow your business

• Do you have a process or system in place to encourage referrals from existing customers?

• Do you have a customer database that can be segmented and analyzed for potential referrals?

• What is the nature of your recognition or reward program?

• Have you reviewed all your customer contact points for referral potential?

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4. Referrals from Trusted Partners • Word-of-mouth referrals are the easiest way to

grow your business

• Do you have a process or system in place to encourage referrals from partners?

• Accountants, lawyers, financial advisers, IT providers and other trusted service providers can become a great source of new business if this process is nurtured

• What is the nature of your recognition or reward program?

• Do you have a methodology where trusted service providers find it easy and natural to refer customers to you?

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5. Search • Traditionally, people used

directories to search for businesses. These days most people search for information and businesses using search engines like Google and Yahoo.

• Do you have a website optimized for search (SEO)? Does it have a blog or news channel?

• Are you leveraging social media? Are you accessing the millions of people using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest every day?

• Do you have a PR strategy and process? Is it working? Do you have interesting and rich content you can adapt for multiple channels?

• Do you have a process to leverage trade shows and other conference events? Do you participate in digital events?

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6. Outbound Targeting • Are you successful at cold-calling?

• Do you use the telephone, email and traditional mail to reach new prospects?

• Do you outsource or insource your lead generation from your call and mailing lists?

• Are you using LinkedIn to reach the millions of professionals who search for information every day?

• Do you have a call or email script that has a high conversion rate?

• Do you have well trained professionals who create a compelling environment for new customers to try your product or service?

• Do you ignore the prospects who have said “no” or do you have a good lead nurturing program?

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7. Inbound Promotions • How many different advertising channels do you use?

• Do you have different messages? Is the call-to-action compelling?

• If you use Google Adwords and Adsense, do you review your keywords and analytics regularly? Are you advertising on Facebook for B2C and LinkedIn for B2B markets?

• Are your digital banners effective? Do your landing pages work well?

• Don’t believe all the fear about traditional media. If used correctly and as part of an integrated strategy, traditional media can cut through to new markets and deliver you an excellent ROI.

• Are you selective about the print media you use? Do you prefer radio or outdoor advertising? How about the local newspapers or magazines? Is the message consistent and targeted?

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Helping business owners & leaders achieve their vision & objectives...

www.chrispattas.com