10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (2024)

All businesses, regardless of size or industry, hope to achieve growth in their lifetime.

The specific intended outcomes of business growth goals will vary depending on the size of your company, its strengths and needs, and its position in the market.

Unfortunately, although all businesses aim to grow, only 25% of them make it to 15 years of operation. Effective methods and strategies must be executed correctly in order to expand; this is where business growth strategies come into play.

A business growth strategy is a framework of the actions a business will take to meet their growth goals, and can help your organization achieve them for scalable success.

In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about business growth strategies, including what they are, how to develop one, and ten of the most effective ones available for businesses today.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • What Is a Business Growth Strategy?
  • How to Develop a Business Growth Strategy
  • 10 Business Growth Strategies Explained
  • Examples of Successful Growth Strategies
  • Tips for Business Growth in 2023

What Is a Business Growth Strategy?

A business growth strategy is an outline of the methods, tactics, and specific actions an organization will use to meet business goals.

Business growth strategies can help businesses achieve a variety of different goals.

Some business growth strategies are focused on revenue, while others prioritize the size of the customer base.

Some business growth strategies are all about increasing an organization’s physical presence (opening a new store location, for example), while others are about developing new products or marketing to new audiences.

A business growth strategy is basically an action plan, based on relevant market research, that explains exactly how your business will grow. It’s designed to help businesses capture more market share.

Accelerate resultsTrack, analyze, and standardize what’s working

How to Develop a Business Growth Strategy

The specifics of your business growth strategy will depend on the unique needs of your business.

That being said, the process of developing the framework for new business growth strategies is more or less the same each time.

The following steps will help you create a business growth strategy that will help you meet your goals.10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (2)

1. Perform Market Research

Solid business growth strategies are always based on recent and relevant market data.

Thorough market research will give you insight into current and potential customer preferences, industry trends, and your company’s position in the market relative to its competitors.

It’s extremely important to get the lay of the land, so to speak, before you design your business growth strategy. Effective business growth goals need to be created using context from the overall market.

2. Establish Goals

You can’t have a business growth strategy without concrete goals.

Make sure you create your goals using the SMART goal framework. 10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (3) It’s especially important that your business growth goals are measurable and time-bound.

In the beginning, try to plan short-term goals. Your business growth strategies should be focused on month-long or quarter-long periods as you get started. This will enable your team to go through the goal-setting and strategy-planning process quickly and frequently.

3. Identify Your Growth Strategy

There are a number of different specific growth strategies for your team to consider that may meet your growth needs. The growth strategy you choose will ultimately depend on your organization’s budget, opportunities, competition, and goals.

We’ll go over some of the most effective business growth strategies in the next section of this article.

4. Map Out Your Execution Plan

Once the high-level planning is complete, it’s time to outline the exact actions your team will take to meet your growth goals.

The go-to-market strategy needs to be thorough and complete. This is not the place to cut corners by being vague. Clearly define the markets you’re trying to reach, and how you’re going to get there.10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (4)

5. Create a Forecast

Once the business growth strategy is set, you can use it to create a sales forecast (see the example below). 10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (5) Not only will this help keep your team on track, but it can also create some buy-in. If your teams can see first-hand how your strategy will impact performance, they may be more likely to stick to it.

6. Monitor, Measure, and Optimize

Once you start executing your business growth strategy, you need to monitor its progress in real-time.

Make sure you’re measuring your activities and their results at regular intervals, and follow a standardized process for tracking and analyzing data.

Tip: Ensure you have the right tools in place to ensure growth with our free blueprint below.

10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (6)The Optimal Technology Stack for B2B Sales TeamsUsing data from the most successful business-scaling models, we designed a blueprint for the exact technology your business needs at each phase of growth.

10 Business Growth Strategies Explained

Following are 10 of the most effective and common business growth strategies.

10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (7)

1. Market Penetration

A market penetration strategy is designed to help your organization increase its market share. The goal is to sell more of an existing product in an existing market.

One way to achieve a market penetration strategy is by lowering prices or offering promotions and discounts.

Market penetration is a particularly effective strategy for SMB businesses because it is low-risk.

Other effective tactics in a market penetration strategy include:

  • Discounts for bulk/volume purchases
  • Increase the number of distributors/dealers you work with
  • Offer free trials
  • Direct marketing

The bottom line is to sell more of your product in your existing market. In a market penetration strategy, the company is aiming to reach the maximum number of customers in the market until it becomes saturated.

2. Market Development

A market development strategy is all about selling existing products to new markets. This business growth strategy is aimed at growing the customer base. It works well for companies who are still working to find their position in a strong existing market.

Market development relies on astute and thorough market research. Succeeding with this strategy is about more than just beating out your direct competitors. You may need to explore new geography, new customer segments, or new channels. Franchising is also a good option for certain industries.

Market development can be very lucrative; most companies achieve the most profitable growth when they’re able to move into an adjacent target market.

3. Product Expansion

A product expansion business growth strategy relies on the creation of new products and services. These new offerings help your organization increase their market share.

Many teams get creative with a product expansion strategy. It doesn’t always mean that you need to create brand-new products. You could also add updates to existing products, or add new varieties. You could also create bundles of existing products.

Market research and marketing strategy analysis will help you determine the market needs and how you can most effectively tweak your offerings to meet those needs.

4. Acquisition

Most people are very familiar with acquisitions. An acquisition is a business occurrence in which one company purchases another company.

Acquisitions are sometimes lumped together with mergers, but the two are actually slightly different concepts. In an acquisition, one company takes over another one. In a merger, two companies join together.

Acquisitions can be extremely profitable, but they require a lot of capital upfront, healthy cash flow, and significant debt capacity. For those reasons, acquisitions are usually completed by mature companies.

If your organization can manage the expenses, though, they’re a great business growth strategy. Acquisitions reduce competition, give you access to proprietary technology, and expand your customer base.

5. Alternative Channels

One cost-effective business growth strategy is marketing on alternative channels.

This strategy allows you to potentially reach new markets without creating any product changes. Exploring alternative channels is a very popular business growth strategy for small businesses who are just getting off the ground.

Consider the following alternative channels as you grow your business:

  • Website presence
  • Yelp business page
  • New platforms for sales, like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy
  • Paid search ads
  • Wholesalers
  • Email marketing
  • Social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram)
  • Business blog

Omnichannel marketing is growing in popularity and is a very effective way to meet sales goals in the 21st century.

6. Strategic Partnerships

In a strategic partnership, two companies join forces for mutual benefit, while each still maintaining their own brand identity and operations.

Partnerships allow each company to access the other’s customer base. It also allows for the shared use of critical resources like manpower, equipment, and technology.

Because there’s less at stake, partnerships are more common than mergers or acquisitions.

7. Market Segmentation

With a market segmentation growth strategy, sales and marketing teams work to carefully segment their markets based on factors such as geography, demographics, or buying preferences.

This highly-targeted segmentation allows sales teams to focus on and specialize in segments that are less explored than others already served by the competition.

Market segmentation allows sales and marketing teams to create highly personalized campaigns. This is extremely important as most buyers today expect heavy personalization. 10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (8)This is a good strategy for very competitive markets. A good place to start is to evaluate your buyer personas and see if you can define them even further.

8. Organic Growth

The most ideal business growth strategy is known as organic growth.

Organic growth requires little to no advertising, mergers, or acquisitions, and instead represents an optimized set of conditions that allow your marketing campaigns and products to reach many parts of your target audience without much effort on your part.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is very low with successful organic growth. 10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (9)

9. Diversification

This type of business growth strategy can be risky, but also has a high return when executed correctly.

Diversification means that sales teams sell either new products, or sell to new markets — or, in some cases, both.

  • Horizontal diversification: sales reps sell a new product to the current market.
  • Vertical diversification: a business starts competing with its suppliers or customers.
  • Concentric diversification: a company creates a new product that’s similar to an existing product.
  • Conglomerate diversification:sales reps sell new products to new audiences.

Diversification requires a lot of capital and has the highest risk of failure out of all of the business growth strategies outlined in this article.

10. Cost Reduction

A cost reduction business growth strategy relies on organizations to reduce their operating costs. This frees up cash for reinvestment into growth opportunities and improves your overall bottom line.

Here are some strategies for implementing a cost reduction strategy:

  • Use accounting software to reduce or eliminate errors
  • Go paperless
  • Consider automation and/or outsourcing where possible
  • Reduce traditional advertising methods and go digital instead

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to business growth strategies. You may find that several could fit the needs of your team, or that your needs change over time. It’s perfectly okay to use a variety of strategies over time — or even simultaneously.

Examples of Successful Growth Strategies

Every brand with even an inkling of name recognition has successfully used a business growth strategy. Here’s a look at how some of the world’s most well-known companies have used popular business growth strategies to succeed.

Market Penetration: Facebook

10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (10)

When Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, he shared the platform with only his fellow Harvard students. He later opened it up to Stanford, Yale, and Columbia. Later, again, he went on to share it among all the Ivy League schools, and some select Boston ones as well.

This is a perfect example of market penetration. Zuckerberg took his existing product and maximized the number of customers he “sold” it to within his market.

Strategic Partnership: Lyft & Taco Bell

10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (11)

Lyft & Taco Bell joined forces for one of the most memorable (and delicious) strategic partnerships in pop culture history.

During the partnership, Lyft offered riders free access to “Taco Mode,” during which passengers could make a pit stop at Taco Bell on the way to their destination. This drove sales up for Taco Bell, and drew hungry customers away from competitor Uber and into the backseat of a Lyft.

Diversification: Amazon

10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (12)

It’s a well-known fact that the online retailer Amazon started as a books-only e-commerce platform.

Over time, the company expanded to sell toys, DVDs, music, furniture, and — eventually — just about anything you could ever want.

This is a textbook example of a diversification business growth strategy.

Tips for Business Growth in 2023

Here are some of our best tips for business growth in 2023.

Carefully Consider and Combine Strategies

There are many more than the ten business growth strategies outlined here in this article, and each one has advantages and drawbacks.

Take time — and even trial and error — discover which meets the needs of your specific business goals at any given time.

In many cases, it’s also appropriate to use more than one business growth strategy at the same time.

Understand Your Brand Identity

In order for your business to grow, you need to have a very nuanced and thorough understanding of your brand, its identity, and its position in the market.

Your business’s strengths, differentiating factors, unique selling points (USPs), and core competencies will all help your business grow in a sustainable way.

Be Ready to Pivot

Successful and scalable business growth requires flexibility.

Business growth strategies are great because they help sales and marketing teams stick to a plan, but they also allow teams to monitor progress and adapt strategies as needed.

The most successful businesses are the ones that keep a careful pulse on their business progress and are ready to make changes as needed.

Automate Everything

Truly scalable growth requires capable systems running behind the scenes.

Sales reps can’t afford to waste time entering data, manually setting appointments, and collating buyer insights into something actionable.

Sales software like Yesware can help reps save time by automating administrative tasks, so they can focus on revenue-generating sales activities.

What business growth strategies have been successful for your business?

10 Business Growth Strategies + Successful Examples (2024)

FAQs

What is an example of a growth strategy? ›

Examples of growth strategy goals include increasing market share and revenue, acquiring assets and improving the organization's products or services. The growth strategy your employer implements may include aspects such as: Investing in new software. Conducting market research.

What are the 4 possible growth strategies for companies? ›

The four strategies Ansoff identifies are market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification.

Which strategy helps businesses achieve growth and success? ›

Expansion is a business development growth strategy. It focuses on taking your business beyond its current borders by entering new markets. Or targeting different demographics. Tapping into new customer bases and expanding into international markets can offer significant growth opportunities.

What is an example of a high growth business? ›

The quintessential example of a growth company is Google, which has grown revenues, cash flows, and earnings substantially since its initial public offering (IPO). Growth companies—also known as gazelles—are expected to increase their revenues and profits markedly in the future.

What is the most common growth strategy? ›

Market Penetration Strategy

One of the most common types of business growth strategies is market penetration. Market penetration occurs when a company increases its presence in an already existing market. There are two types of market penetration strategies: horizontal and vertical.

What are the three major growth strategies? ›

A growth strategy is a long term approach in business that aims specifically at increasing an organisation's market share. Some common growth strategies in business include market penetration, market expansion, product expansion, diversification and acquisition.

What are the 5 methods of business growth? ›

5 Ways To Maximize Your Business Growth
  • Identify your target market. Knowing exactly who you are targeting is the first step toward scaling your business. ...
  • Develop a strong value proposition. ...
  • Build a strong team. ...
  • Invest in marketing and sales. ...
  • Continuously measure and optimize.
Jan 25, 2023

Which strategy is the riskiest? ›

A diversification strategy involves taking new products into new markets. This is really the creation of a completely new business. This is the riskiest of strategies and the strategy likely to require the most patience in waiting for a return on investment.

What are the seven strategies a firm may consider for growth? ›

Instead, they combine multiple growth strategies to win, including market development, disruption, product expansion, channel expansion, strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and organic growth. Read on to learn seven of the most effective business growth strategies that brands use to topple the competition.

Which type of business grows the fastest? ›

Without a doubt, one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in the world today is digital marketing. After COVID-19, the majority of businesses moved their operations online, therefore, digital marketing will only serve to increase sales and product awareness.

Which type of business grow faster? ›

Oil and gas production and exploration is the fastest-growing sector worldwide. This is due to increasing population, urbanization, rising living standards, and growing economies.

Which type of business are the fastest-growing? ›

10 Online Fastest-Growing Industries To Invest In 2024
  • The healthcare industry and the fitness sector.
  • The home improvement industry.
  • The pet care industry.
  • Travel and tourism.
  • Financial Technology (Fintech)
  • Cybersecurity.
  • Real Estate Technology (Proptech)
  • Artificial Intelligence.
6 days ago

What is a simple example of growth? ›

Growth refers to the increase in mass and size of a body or organs. It typically occurs through the multiplication of cells and an increase in intracellular substance. Development refers to the physiological and functional maturation of the organism.

What is the best example of growth and development? ›

Growth is a process that focuses on quantitative improvement. For instance, a child visibly grows in weight and height. Development focuses on both qualitative and quantitative refinement. For instance, a child's IQ increases with the growing age.

What are the types of growth strategies explain? ›

There are four main organic growth strategies. They are known as market development, market penetration, diversification, and product development. Depending on the specific circumstances of the company, one or a combination of these strategies may be the best option for growth.

What are the two basic growth strategies? ›

Answer: The two basic growth strategies are concentration on the current product line in one industry and diversification into other product lines in other industries. If a company's product lines have real growth potential, concentration of resources on those product lines makes sense as a strategy for growth.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Carmelo Roob

Last Updated:

Views: 5923

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (45 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Carmelo Roob

Birthday: 1995-01-09

Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176

Phone: +6773780339780

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing

Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.