Excellent Business Advice: The Growth Trifecta
As many of you know, we are a strong supporter of and believer in the local business news resource, RichmondBizSense.com. Today’s guest opinion is a perfect example of why. Local business owner, Mark Smith (Midas), did an incredible job addressing the three ways businesses and non-profit organizations can grow - new clients, client retention and process improvement - and the importance of doing all three. It’s a great read for anyone looking to grow/strengthen their organization (you can read it here).
Although all are important, I’ve found that it’s hard to truly focus on all three at once - and be successful. I recall a study (from Harvard?) that indicated a success rate around 90% when a single goal is pursued. Adding a second goal to the mix drops the likelihood of achieving either of them down to about 65%, and a third drops it to just over 30%. I’m not a betting person, but even I know which odds are best.
I recommend evaluating the current state of each growth option in your business. Then, strengthen the weakest first before tackling the next. Have great clients who consistently come back, internal processes that consistently deliver quality results, and few new clients? Focus your time & energy (and money) on increasing your new client base. Once you find that you are attracting new clients consistently, go back and look at your client retention and internal processes. Find that all clients (new and old) are returning at the same rate, but your internal processes are starting to falter? It’s time for process improvement.
It’s an ongoing cycle of process improvement that will strengthen your business (or non-profit) while still maintaining balance.
What area are you focusing on now?