Whether you are an entrepreneur or an investor, you are constantly pondering over possible strategies to create and increase your revenue growth. At this point you are probably wondering what is the difference between increasing your revenue and increasing your revenue growth. When we talk about revenue growth we are not talking about the rate of increase of revenue but the increase in the rate of revenue growth.
You are probably thinking that each business is different and the same strategies won’t have the same results and for the record we totally agree but like the 1930’s Hollywood movies, this isn’t all black and white. Some strategies have been shown to increase success and resulted in increased revenue growth. Using our experience and research as a base we would like to share a few ideas that might help. By implementing these ideas in your own business, you can create a process with which you provide your customers with proper information, converting them into active members of your business. Ultimately paving the way for increasing revenue growth while establishing your company as a trusted brand.
1. Strengthen Your Sales Predictability:
Your sales process has to be a well designed system that can be scaled, measured and repeated as often as necessary. The procedure cannot be built on a whim for your company and it cannot rely on a sales system that is not replicable in the future. In order for a system to be well executed, it must first be well defined. Once you have an impeccably designed sales process that is executed with at worse only minor inconveniences, you increase accountability across sales reps and decrease loss of sales opportunities. All of these combined contribute to increasing revenue growth over time.
A basic sales process consists of the following components:
- Lead qualification: Ever noticed how car salesmen always run up to the guy with the nice shoes. Shiny new shoes usually point towards two things, one, the person just bought a new pair of shoes or two, said person doesn’t walk much making him a qualified lead. This system exists in every company and you must analyze trends to find your qualified leads. These leads will give you a higher contact to sales ratio than your regular leads, helping you increase your revenue growth.
- Proposal and negotiation: Can’t we just shake on it? No, you can’t. You have to have a formal quotation ready to be submitted to your clients. Always make sure that you leave some space for negotiations and clear set of terms. Be precise and avoid ambiguity. Don’t start popping bottles just yet though.
- Execution: This is the part where you show what you are made of. Needless to say, this is where the fakers disappear and champions rise. Divide the work, follow a set of guidelines, make sure you follow a strict timeline and prioritize quality control.
2. Focus on Generating Consistent Leads:
If you want to increase revenue growth of your company, having a steady flow of leads is a must. Inbound and outbound marketing are two main ways of generating such consistent leads.
Inbound Marketing: With an attractive website that features relevant and interesting content, you draw in the customers. These possible clients are more aware of your market response and in general would be more susceptible to your charms. Inbound marketing works to increase revenue growth in the long run. This strategy is implemented through the following methods:
- Content Marketing and targeting the right audience attracts a clearly-defined target audience to the company website. By creating valuable and relevant content, you set an immediate good impression with prospective customers.
- Search Engine Optimization is the task of structuring blogs and articles on your website in such a way that when a prospective client searches for certain keywords, your company website appears as an organic result of the search. If you know what your clients are likely to search for, then you are more than capable of getting to them before the competition.
- Social Media Marketing is the process of gaining website traffic by promoting your business on social networks. Every social media platform works in its own unique way. The social media marketing strategy that works on Facebook will not work on Instagram or Pinterest. But this is one of the best ways of getting word of your services out into the world and get people to start talking about your business.
Outbound Marketing: The idea of Outbound marketing is to reach out to the potential customer on your own. The most practiced Outbound marketing strategies are discussed below:
- Cold Calling is a widely used approach of making calls to qualified leads in order to sell services or set appointments.
- Direct Sales is another traditional approach where a sales representative visits the potential customer in person and briefly presents the services the company provides.
- Events are a strategy used in B2B companies to capture leads and generate sales. For the most part, events are used by companies to present, display, and educate prospective clients about the company’s services.
3. Employ Diverse Marketing Tactics:
Finance 101, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You needs to implement at least 5 to 10 different marketing systems on different platforms in order to become visible to maximum amount of prospective customers. This is done by using various marketing channels, to increase revenue growth. Don’t just focus on the conventional marketing tactics, put your thinking hat on and brainstorm some ideas, no matter how crazy they seem. If you are doing amazing things on social media kudos to you but don’t just stop there, hit your leads with mails, call them, send them ebooks and case studies, take part in events and webinars, basically do everything you can to ensure that you spread the word and bring in interested parties to consider. If you keep only a limited number of lines open for marketing, chances are one or more of them will become obsolete; and with no backup strategies, you will be left without any feasible marketing options. The more platforms, the higher chances you have to increase revenue growth. The right marketing tactics can help you grow your business exponentially. Follow the trends intricately and make sure to see progress separately for each platform. See what makes the difference for you. Focus on that but don’t give up on the rest.
4. Increase Your Conversion Rate:
Converting maximum number of leads to active members of your client base is the ultimate goal. In order to increase revenue growth, you will have to have a high rate of conversion. Higher conversion rate can depend on a few key factors. We have discussed them below:
Ever wonder what Apple is without the name? It’s a phone that no one buys. If you have a startup then you’ve looked at major players in your industry and asked yourself why is it so easy for them to get clients while you must swallow your own tongue just for a chance to stand up and make your case. Brand value and goodwill are features that allow your leads to feel relieved. This works as evidence of your capabilities and trustworthiness. It tells your clients that not only are you able to take the job but also complete them efficiently. If you can provide your customers with the proper commitment, support and quality that was promised, you can push your brand high and reduce client uncertainty.
Another method of pulling in clients and increasing your revenue growth would be, to provide a service or an added feature that precedes your competitors. Now don’t go jumping in the ocean just because you don’t have a revolutionary concept, it could be your price strategy, quality control, automation, geological presence or could be something as simple as your salesmanship. If you haven’t found it yet, then take some time and take a step back, take feedback from your current clients. Look at trends and find out what sets you apart and then advertise that as heavily as possible, triggering a market response and watch your sales revenue jump through the roof.
5. Increase Frequency of Sale Per Customer:
Leads are expensive to determine. The list of potential customers is created after a lot of hard work and after applying many filters. You have to keep in mind that attracting new customers is always difficult and expensive. Returning customers, on the other hand, help you build a steady client base and spread good word-of-mouth. It is important to develop an ongoing relationship with your customers; this way your company is the first one they think of when they require a service you are capable of providing. The more customers you retain, the more you ultimately increase your revenue growth. When you develop your company as a brand that consistently delivers quality service, your customers keep coming back and don’t think about switching service providers. Customers seek high value and by providing that you increase your frequency of sales to each customer.
Improving any aspect of your business requires patience and each step you take must be deliberate and carefully thought out. You will have to dedicate a lot of time and effort to find out what works best for your company.
Did you find a strategy you would like to try out with your company? Let us know in the comments section below. You can also share this article with your friends using the share buttons. We post blogs regularly, subscribe at the top right corner and you’ll be the first to receive updates.