What is a growth strategy, and why does every business need one?
Most businesses don't have a growth strategy. They have a collection of tactics: some SEO here, some Google Ads there, and a social media account that gets updated when someone remembers.
The result is growth that comes and goes, or doesn't come at all.
The short version
A growth strategy is a written plan that links your business goals to the work that will reach them, in the right order, with the right budget behind each step. It covers six areas: market position, how you make money, how you win customers, how you keep them, how you deliver, and how you fund it. Start with your market position, then the two or three channels that will bring in the most growth, then the operations to deliver it.
What a growth strategy is not
01It's not a marketing plan
A marketing plan covers how you will communicate. A growth strategy covers how the whole business will grow, including product, pricing, distribution, operations and funding.
02It's not a goal
"We want to double revenue" is a goal. The strategy is the sequence of work that gets you there.
03It's not a document in a drawer
A real growth strategy is a working plan. It guides decisions every week.
The six parts of a growth strategy
01Market position
Where do you compete, and why do you win? This is your positioning, your target customer and your advantage.
02Revenue model
How do you make money, and how will that change as you grow? This includes pricing, packaging and the mix of one-off and repeat revenue.
03Demand generation
How will you attract new customers? This covers your marketing and sales activity, ranked by return.
04Customer retention
How will you keep the customers you have? This covers the customer experience, loyalty and the systems that stop customers drifting away.
05Operations
How will you deliver as you grow? This covers the people, processes and technology that let you grow without breaking.
06Capital
How will you pay for the growth? This covers cash flow, finance and the investment needed to carry out the plan.
Why most businesses skip it
A growth strategy takes time to build, and most owners are too busy running the business to step back and plan it. The urgent wins over the important.
The catch is that businesses without a strategy spend more time fighting fires. They react to problems instead of preventing them, and they spend money on tactics that don't connect to a plan.
Where to start
Start with your market position. Get clear on who you're for, what you do better than anyone else and why a customer should choose you.
Then pick the two or three channels that will drive the most growth, and focus there. Spreading the budget across ten channels usually means none of them work.
Then plan your operations. Growth without the capacity to deliver just disappoints customers faster.
Strategy before tactics. Foundation before growth. Our Infin8 System sets out that order across the whole business.
Start with one
NOIZE Strategy builds growth strategies with business owners, starting with where the business is today.
Common questions
What is the difference between a growth strategy and a business plan?
A business plan describes the business. A growth strategy is the order of work that will grow it, with priorities, budgets and timelines.
How long does a growth strategy last?
Most cover the next one to three years, with regular reviews. Update it when the market, the offer or the goals change.
Does a small business need a growth strategy?
Yes. Small businesses have less room to waste money, so knowing what to do first matters even more.
What should a growth strategy include?
Market position, revenue model, demand generation, customer retention, operations and capital.
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