Expert Opinion: How to develop a growth strategy

Ahead of their upcoming Rise with Xeinadin seminar in May, Stockport business advisors, Hallidays, part of the Xeinadin Group, explain how to develop a growth strategy that builds your company’s best future.

A common mistake business owners make is to say their strategy is to become No.1 in their field, or to sell 50% more.

Those aren’t strategies. Those are goals. So to be clear on what the difference is – if your goal is to be first across the finish line, your strategy is how you run the race.

In his book ‘Jump Start Your Business Brain’, Doug Hall researched over 4,000 businesses and hundreds of variables, and finally identified the three crucial elements to a great business strategy:

1. A Clear Benefit

Get into the mindset that your customers aren’t interested in what you are or what you do – whether you’re the largest independent whatever or sell more than anyone else – They’re thinking “What’s in it for me?” So, you need to identify what they need, what you do to satisfy this need, and then find the clearest possible way to express this. Get it down to a short, memorable promise – in three words, if possible. Think ‘Get Brexit Done’ or ‘Persil Washes Whiter’ or ‘We never let you down’. Bear in mind – you’re not trying to write a tagline, so it doesn’t need to be clever. This is a sincere promise about what you will do for your customer.

2. Reasons to Believe

Offer proof that you can deliver the above. These might take the form of:

• common sense explanations
• a “see for yourself” experience (a free sample, free trial, invitation to an event)
• setting out your pedigree (why you set up your company, why you do it your way)
• testimonials from existing customers
• guarantees (put your money where your mouth is)

Use one, a combination, or all of the above to build confidence in prospective customers – you can never have too many Reasons to Believe!

3. Your Dramatic Difference

What makes you truly stand out? Don’t look at what your competitors are doing – look at what they aren’t. Match that against the skillset and capabilities in your company and what your customers say they want, and you have a winning formula!

Most important of all – keep it simple. Your strategy should be no more than a paragraph – a page at most.

Long strategies are only ever looked at twice – the day you write it, and the day you clear the drawer it’s in and throw it away.

Long game plans are harder for everyone to buy into, harder to apply tactics to deliver them, and impossible to measure. Concise plans can be reviewed regularly, adjusted and shared easily around the business, so everyone can understand and own the same vision.

And don’t forget: it’s a roadmap, not a railway track – a guide and not a rulebook. It’s firm enough to lean on, but yielding enough to be adapted to a changing business landscape.

But as tough as it is to write a winning strategy, it’s not nearly as tough as not having one. So, take the first steps now, and start building that better future.

Join Xeinadin’s step-by-step growth programme

Hallidays, are inviting local businesses to explore how to develop their growth strategy in the latest installment of their Rise with Xeinadin seminar series.

Presented by the Phil Jones, a Director at the firm, the session will help you design a strategy that gives your company a competitive edge and shapes your future. 

‘How to Develop a Growth Strategy’ takes place on Tuesday 16th May, 9:30 am – 12 noon at Hallidays’ office on Kings Reach Road in Stockport town centre.

Hallidays offer a complimentary first session to meet the team and include a money-back guarantee on the whole programme. Places are limited, so sign up for the next Rise session today via the Xeinadin website.