Nothing in this world stays the same: it either grows or it dies.

If you think of it, growth is a natural state of human life.

From taking first steps and saying first words, to learning how to read, write and interact with others, all the way to raising families and setting up businesses – it’s all about the desire grow, to do better, to achieve more.

And when it comes to our professional lives, growth means extending our abilities, gaining new knowledge and skills, and expanding our horizons. This way we increase our value and gain a competitive advantage in the labor market.

The same applies to business: you either grow or you go.

Why growth matters in business?

Growth is not only a sign of a company’s success in business, it’s also the key to its long-term survival. In order to be competitive and stay relevant, a company needs to grow.

No matter how content you are with the results, resting on your laurels won’t take you far, while stagnation can be dangerous for any business – big or small. Because if you’re not growing, you are giving away the lion’s share of the market to your (more ambitious) competition and your customers are likely to choose their services or products instead.

So, it’s no surprise that growth remains the top strategic priority for CEOs of medium- and large-sized companies in 2019-2020, according to Gartner’s 2019 CEO and Senior Executive Survey.

Realizing that standing still isn’t an option, today’s business leaders quote a number of growth opportunities, such as expansion into new geographical markets, diversification of products and services, franchising, cost management, investment in IT technologies and digitalization, hiring new talents, and many others.

Depending on individual circumstances, there are many ways of HOW a business can grow. Yet, the universal reasons WHY growth is important boil down to the following:

• Increasing profits, market share and reaching out to wider customer audiences;
• Enhancing the relevance of your business, products and services;
• Attracting highly skilled and ambitious workforce;
• Gaining more loyal customers.

Let’s take a closer look at 5 key reasons why businesses need to grow.

1. Growth helps you increase market share and grow revenue

The bigger you become the more chances you have to increase your presence on the market and, as a result, grow revenue and make profit.

Bigger companies can also take advantage of “economies of scale” to drive down costs and increase profits. At the same time, revenue growth positively affects the stock market value of your business and attracts investments.

2. Growth reduces competition and builds credibility

When a business grows, it demonstrates the power to compete through increased volumes and diversification of its products and services, as well as physical expansion in the market.

And the longer a business manages to dominate in the market, the higher its visibility and credibility become. This, in turn, makes it easier to attract investors, employees and customers.

3. Growth stimulates technological innovation

In order to compete, you need to stay up-to-date and keep up with the latest innovations. Onboarding of new technologies is a must for the businesses that are willing to increase efficiency and gain more loyal customers.

A KPMG report showed that mid-sized companies see innovation as “a means to offer cost-reduction, increased efficiency, improved products, service and customer-centricity.” In other words, innovation-inspired growth helps you develop an agile and innovative company mindset.

4. Growth helps you focus on the customer

In the end, it all comes down to having enough customers to sell your products or services to. And the more customers you retain, the longer your business can survive.

To maintain the customer-centric mentality, a business needs to constantly improve and expand its products to offer a highly personalized and optimized customer experience. This means you need to invest in customer service, marketing and sales. And to do this, you need to grow.

5. Growth helps you attract talented employees

Finding the right people is critical to any company’s success. A growing business is more likely to attract better motivated and talented staff who value ambition and innovation.

Talented people find it fulfilling and exciting to help a company achieve and earn more when they see the potential for their own growth. Meanwhile, the dynamic atmosphere of a growing company usually stimulates people to do their best.

Change mindset as a secret to business growth

The only constant thing in life is change. And it is change that drives growth.

According to the KPMG Enterprise and Fairfax Media Growth 2.0 Report, 2018, modern growth strategies fuel innovation, new ways of thinking and help businesses stay competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.

The report also reveals that the medium-sized businesses are more ready to adapt to change than larger, corporate “dinosaurs”. Meanwhile, “adaptability, agility and innovation are key to growth and success” for mid-sized companies.

The same idea is echoed by the 2018 EY Growth Barometer report that states that “agility and responsiveness are helping middle-market leaders seize new growth opportunities”. The medium-sized businesses intend to grow by increasing revenues, creating more jobs and embracing disruptive technologies, claims the report.

Recognizing the growth pattern

As you can see, today’s business growth has a distinctive pattern: agility + expansion + people + modern technology.

To put it simply – if a business wants to grow nowadays, it needs to:

• adopt the agile mindset of change, • be willing to take risks,
• invest in people, and
• keep up with the latest technological innovations.

No matter how your company decides to grow – by expanding the existing or adding new products, by venturing onto new territories or by strengthening your current USPs – in order to stand out from your competitors, you need to set the bar high.

You need to make a commitment to seek improvement in everything you do – be it your product, your services, or even your corporate values.

Because, like it or not, today if you don’t grow, you go.

Contact us today to learn more about how to use CRM software to grow your business.