If you want to grow your business – and who doesn’t? – you must first assess your potential for growth. It is important for you to have a thorough understanding of the market space in which you are operating, as well as of your capacity to take on new clients.
“[Knowing your market] will allow you to put measures in place to deal with competitive challenges,” says Mahesh Dwarkaprasad, project manager with Octane Capital Inc. in Toronto, “refine your value proposition and align your resources to take advantage of potential opportunities.”
You must know what you’re up against, adds Aiman Dally, CEO of Toronto-based Copia Financial Solutions. Otherwise, you will continually run into roadblocks.
“You could waste valuable time reinventing yourself,” Dally says, “and re-evaluating your approach to growth.”
Dwarkaprasad and Dally offer the following tips to help you assess your potential to grow your business:
1. know your competitors. Identify those who offer services similar to yours.
“Find out as much as you can about them,” Dwarkaprasad says, “including the products and services they offer, their areas of specialization and any niches they might be serving.”
That information, he says will allow you to implement strategies that differentiate you from the pack.
The more you know about your competitors, Dally adds. “The better you will be able to face off against them.”
2. know your target market. Different markets have different characteristics. Are you targeting the broad market or are you planning to serve a particular niche, such as women or retirees? Do you have an idea of the size of the total market or the segment of the market you are planning to serve?
The answers to these questions, Dally says, will allow you to determine your scope for growth and the steps you have to take to get where you want to be.
3. plan for growth. Dwarkaprasad points out that persuading clients to choose you over existing providers, or to switch their business to you, can be challenging. Find out if there are any unfulfilled needs in your target market, he says, which may give you an opportunity to attract the interest of potential clients.
Once you have developed a strategy for attracting new clients, Dally says, you also should create a detailed plan with clear timelines so that you can track your growth.
For example, how many new clients do you plan to recruit on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis?
4. assess your resources. Executing your growth plan must take into account your ability to handle the increase in your client roster, your assets under management and the services you provide.
Assess whether you have the resources to implement your growth strategy. Do you have the staff, marketing support, systems and funding to pursue and take on new clients?
“If necessary,” Dally says, “fill any gaps.”
Adds Dwarkaprasad: “Take advantage of your strengths and fix the weaknesses that would prevent you from achieving your targets.”
5. measure your success. Devise a process to track your progress, which should help you determine your rate of growth in new clients, assets and revenue. Should your growth targets fail to materialize, your tracking process should tell you why.
“If you are not achieving the growth you projected,” Dwarkaprasad says, “re-evaluate your strategy.”
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