Growing a business can be a dangerous thing and very often is where companies fail, usually the result of a simple principle of 'if you fail to plan, you plan to fail'. We believe that growing a business, whether it is by a small number or a large amount, whether it is through new customers or adding value to current customers, or any number of other ways, is a very exciting time for any business.

Growing Your Business – Best Buys

We are regularly asked how we can help business identify the growth areas in their business or for that matter in organisations not specifically geared for profit but focused on generating new revenues. We take the view that growth is generated by looking at your focus now and also historically and understanding where you were successful or perhaps not so successful. There is always a clear pattern separating these two specific areas. More importantly, if products or services that you offered have started to decline or sales are flat without any sustained growth then this means taking a completely fresh look at your customers and their behaviours.

Customers today are without a doubt a completely different proposition when compared to 10 or 20 years ago. In spite of the consumer boom there were clear ways to identify your customers and also what they would buy and why. Currently the market is fragmented and most if not all customers not only have hundreds of choices but they are fussy, demanding and unpredictable. This makes it increasingly difficult to plan and predict buying patterns and the supply and demand in the pipeline.

Having said this there are other ways now to look at consumer behaviour and understand where the new innovations will come from. A group called TrendWatch have over 1500 persons around the world who constantly monitor new product and consumer behaviours and how they will influence the next generation of products and services. They list all the new behaviours and make recommendations as to how these will turn into products. So go there to see how you might make identify your next massive selling product!

Another way is to simply watch and learn how buyers move and upgrade their products. A good example is the smartphone area. Three years ago only businesses used smart phones like Blackberries. Now they are on the rise why? Because the early adventurous people like me have used them extensively and recommended them to our friends and families. But more importantly with the advent of Facebook and YouTube large numbers of consumers want an integrated phone that now acts as a total communication tool. Result = massive demand.

If I were a betting man, I would say now would be the time to look ahead at what the next wave will be and where the growth will come from. If I take smartphones as a good example my bet will be one identifying all the suppliers of smartphone accessories and ensuring that I have their stock. Once the wave of smart phone customers grows they will be needing cases, attachments, headsets, bluetooth accessories which are very different for smart phones because the makers only make small limited quantities available and the range is limited. Once you have a stable supply of all makes of smartphone accessories there is an open market to sell into at premium prices.

So in spite of many doom and gloom architects there are many bright sparks waiting for the next growth opportunity. Who knows maybe its you...

John Norton – Specialist in sales and marketing helping businesses be profitable and successful