Managing a business can be a delicate balance when considering growth, and what you’ll need to do to maintain profitability and long-term staying power. Depending on the type of business, growth can be realized  in many ways. It might mean increasing your advertising, launching a new product or service, adding new locations, or hiring more staff. 

Expansion sounds nice in theory, but the timing can be more like an art than science. With consistent, strategic advertising comes growth, so it’s important to prepare your business and anticipate what growth will mean. If you’re looking to grow your business through marketing, here are ten questions that can help you prepare for that:.

1. Do you have a steady customer base?

The lifeblood of any business are its loyal patrons. While customer activity can fluctuate due to things like seasonality, and the type of business, it's good to assess if you’re  only seeing repeat customers, or new customers as well. . 

Before the COVID-19 shutdowns, chances are your staff and managers had  a system to manage your customer base. Now, small to medium sized businesses are looking for new  ways to adapt to regulations and continue to serve their customers.

If you find customers aren’t satisfied with their shopping experiences, make sure there’s a strong customer service system in place to address their concerns. Also determine the source of their dissatisfaction and see what can be done to correct it. Once you’ve met and exceeded customer expectations, consider expanding client acquisition through your marketing efforts. 

2. Are you meeting your goals regularly? 

Setting goals for your business keeps your team focused on specific results, and the actions needed to achieve them. Look at your key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluate  your current efforts to achieve them. Do you see an increase in sales? Are you gaining new customers? Are you seeing an increase in web traffic? Phone calls? Store traffic?

If you find your business isn’t making progress towards your KPIs, it may be an indication that  you need to review what’s working (and what’s not) and reset your goals. If you’re achieving or surpassing your goals, it may be time to set the bar higher.

3. Are potential customers seeking out your business?

On average, it takes 5-7 impressions for potential customers to recall your brand. Strong brand awareness comes from multiple outreaches that extend beyond customer acquisition. Once customers are aware of your brand, not only do they begin to recognize it, they seek it out and, after trial, may prefer it over the competition.

If you’re not meeting your marketing goals, radio and digital advertising can help you reach both new and existing customers. By combining radio and digital advertising, you’ll be top of mind, when your customers are ready to  make a purchase. 

4. Do you have adequate staff to handle an influx of business?

When you’re in growth mode, it’s essential to prepare for an influx of new customers. Is your staff adequately trained to handle the increase in business, welcome new customers, and handle customer service challenges? Is there a system in place for following up with new online prospects? Do you have the resources available to meet the needs of new customers? 

When your business isn’t prepared, you risk losing  business and may be unable to get those new customers back in the future. 

5. Are you looking for experts to help take your business to the next level? 

When looking to expand your business, collaborate with those who are experts on the subject. Maybe there’s something you haven’t considered that will help with your expansion plans. Working with a successful media partner is a great way to maximize your marketing efforts. With their industry knowledge and insights, an expert’s perspective can be valuable to your business’s growth. 

6. Are there things that could be outsourced?

In his New York Times bestselling book, The Big Leap, author Gay Hendricks is a big proponent of spending your time in what he calls the "zone of genius." The idea is to assign or hire staff members with specialized expertise to enable you to focus on what you do best: running and growing the business. This approach can include delegating projects to an administrative assistant, marketing partner, or freelancer/contract worker. 

One way to help prepare your business for growth is to outsource your advertising. Not only can it free up time for your staff to focus on working directly with customers and handling everyday tasks, but the collaborative efforts can help to create more powerful and memorable advertising campaigns that better reach your target audience.

7. Do you have a recruitment/onboarding process in place?

The more your business grows, the more it’s essential to have the right processes in place to recruit and onboard new hires. For example, you can introduce your company to those who might be a valuable addition to the team with detailed job descriptions and an informative page on your website about your company. 

When it comes time to onboarding new hires, ensure your staff is equipped with the right resources to train them, so you can continue to grow  your business. You don’t want to lose business because of training, or  distractions.

8. Do you have too much business to handle at the moment?

This question may be one of the more obvious ones on the list, but it's an important one. If the influx of business is more than you can handle, have a plan in place to immediately bolster and accommodate the new business. 

9. Do you have a strategy for attracting prospects and converting them into customers?

Your ads should include a call-to-action unless you’re only trying to brand your company name, products, or services. Whether you’re driving them to your website or encouraging them to come in-store, it’s important you have next steps in place to convert them into customers. If you’re driving them to your website, make sure there’s a good process in place for capturing their information. What are the next steps your salespeople will take after gathering that  information? 

10. Is your website user friendly?

With increased advertising, you’ll have more traffic to your website. Customers want a clear and easy-to-navigate website, where they can quickly get their questions answered, get a good understanding of the products or services, and contact you if necessary. It's also important that your SEO strategy is strong to ensure website traffic continues to grow organically during and between marketing campaigns.

Setting Yourself Up For Success

One thing remains consistent for every business: preparation and planning are key to making sure you are prepared for growth. With growth comes new challenges, but those challenges should not deter you from marketing and advertising your business. 

Is your business truly ready to grow? From digital advertising to compelling brand storytelling, working with a media partner can provide you with a tailored mix of integrated marketing solutions to help you achieve your business goals.