6 Business stages to know that will keep you focused
When I started GrowCo, I didn’t know how to run a business, so I was winging it most of the time. I have ambitions and being an ambitious person you want to see the progress you are making in your business. Like everyone else, I was judging my progress based on the number of clients, the things I could afford, let’s just say it was a very frustrating time because those things weren’t there. I was using a wrong method to measure my progress. I was using someone else’s ruler to measure my progress. As an entrepreneur, I’ve been frustrated lots of times and have been looking for a way to measure my progress in my standards, and my search was sparked by the book How to measure anything.
What you need to have to achieve this?
I won’t be sharing anything mathematical, the book laid a foundation on how to look at things and this helped me deal with myself and not beat myself up too much. I got direction on what to focus on when it comes to the business and where I should spend the money. All it takes is knowing where the relationship that you have with your client is, based on the stages that I am going to present to you.
Why you need to know where your business is?
- You need to know so that you can know which marketing tactics to implement
- You need to know what to communicate in your marketing
- Which people to sell to and how to approach them
It’s hard to focus when there are always 100 things to do, and it’s hard to choose which one to do in a day. You plan to do this one thing but while you are busy with it, you bump into an article related to what you’ve been doing. You read and then begin contemplating abandoning your plan to follow what you just read. Because of this, projects take longer to happen because we want the guarantee that what we are busy with will succeed hence we’d rather throw out our plans and do what that experts tell us to do.
Here are the six stages businesses go through to help you prioritise what needs to be done at each level in your company as it grows. These insights have helped me have a clear direction about where my business is and what to do about it. As an entrepreneur, you need direction. You need to choose what to focus on earlier in your business, and this is crucial for your success.
These are the stages:
- The Unknown stage
- The Known stage
- The Known and Considered stage
- The Known but Unconsidered stage
- The Known, Considered and Hired stage
- The Just Hired stage
The Unknown stage
You’ve just started a business and only you, your friends and parents know about it. Your business shouldn’t be here for too long because if it stays here, it will die very soon.
What should be your goal be at this stage
You need to work on making your business attractive for trade. There are lots of companies out there, and most of them look the same and often do things the same, so you need to work hard at attracting the market you want to serve. Find out what they value, what are they currently struggling with, add those things to your offer.
Examples to make your business attractive
You can target a niche market that big companies can’t serve. A niche market can be a market that big companies can’t cater for because of distribution or any reasons. It might be people with a geographical problem.
You can use a risk-reversal technique when pricing your products. A risk-reversal technique like a money-back guarantee; customers look for any reason not to buy because of the risk that comes with the purchase but when you use this method you lower the size of risk they bear.
The advantage of being at this stage
Experiment! Experiment! Experiment! Try things out, use what works and discard what doesn’t. You have the opportunity to learn and refine what you are selling without worrying about who is looking. Lose the need to be right all the time and teach yourself to look forward to learning.
The Known stage
There’s nothing that will get you known than having a good service. Because of that, your clients tell other people about their experiences with your service. People love sharing good experiences, and this is how your business gets known beyond your clientele.
What should be your goal be at this stage
Stand for something and integrate that into everything that you do in your business. We usually call this a Unique Selling Proposition.
How can you stand for something & integrate it into your message
You need to have a convincing and compelling vision of the marketplace/industry you are in. If everybody is focusing on how fast the service should be, you can concentrate on a tailor-made service to customers willing to pay. Therefore, you will communicate that you offer a tailor-made service compared to other businesses.
The advantage of being at this stage
You have an opportunity to carve your path in the industry, so you need to continue to explore more ways to add value to your service and your relationship with the client.
The Known & Considered stage
If you are known and considered, that means you are doing something right. How your business is perceived, gives the prospect a sense of confidence and hope in getting something they need from you. Being known and doing a good job is good, once you are here the possibilities are great, more people need to be exposed to your awesomeness.
What should be your goal be at this stage
The goal is to market your business with the purpose to sell, sell and sell as much as you can. Sell what you do and what your business stands for.
Examples of how to Sell! Sell! Sell!
- Give discounts – when you know your customer lifetime value, because this will help determine how much profit you want to make over what period.
- Up-sell & Cross-sell – not just to make money but to offer the customer what is best for them. For example, if you are running a hardware and a customer comes in to buy nails. Asking them if they need a hammer isn’t taking advantage but helping the customer because they might not have thought that far. If you are selling frames and every purchase of your frames comes with a packet of nails, you are saving your customer time to drive to the hardware as well to buy nails.
The advantage of being at this stage
You have a client base that you’ve already established a relationship with so build that relationship and don’t let all your efforts go to waste.
The Known but Unconsidered stage
If your business is known but unconsidered, then there’s something you are doing wrong. It’s either you are over promising but you can’t deliver on your promise or you haven’t built enough credibility for prospects to consider you. Prospects want to work with people they can trust.
What should be your goal be at this stage
You may be good at what you do but when there aren’t many people to back you up on how good you are then that won’t help you be considered. You need to build credibility. Get trusted.
Examples of how to build credibility
- Ask for testimonials & stories from your happy clients
- Sign up with relevant associations in your industry
- Ask for endorsements from influencial people that you done business with. You can also get businesses to endorse you.
The advantage of being at this stage
You begin to learn about the perception that your clients have about suppliers, what turns them off, what they are looking for in a supplier. Armed with this information you will be able to sell better. Once you understand what they value then you will be able to serve them better.
The Known, Considered & Hired stage
Clients have benefited from your service, your business is attractive to trade with and you’ve built the credibility, but in order to be hired you need to show the client what you can do for them. Even though they might have come to you because you’ve offered a discount the reason they will stay is when you give them the best.
What should be your goal be at this stage
Move your focus from what you want, to what the client wants. Shift your perception from “we are doing this client a favour by being here” to the attitude of serving the client. Most of us get to this stage and become egotistic, but just being egotistic here won’t get you anywhere. You need to deliver, actions speak louder words.
How can you serve the client
Give them clarity & reveal needs that they didn’t even know exist. E.g Sometimes when a client comes to you seeking a logo; they might not know what exactly is branding but if you explain & show them how branding works better than just having a logo, then you are serving. You put your client’s needs first.
The advantage of being at this stage
You have an opportunity to serve the client well and make sure you are the only one that can satisfy their needs. This is good because every time when they need a service they will come to you. You’ve built a relationship and now you are heading to…
The Just Hired stage
This is when you’ve built a close relationship with a client that you don’t even need to prove yourself anymore. You just get hired because of what you’ve done before and what you’ve been doing for them. They don’t even consider other businesses because they know you and they know that you deliver.
What should be your goal be at this stage
Don’t be comfortable once you are in such a relationship, you need to constantly sell ideas to them which will help their business grow instead of waiting for them to come to you with problems. This will create a perception that they are always top of mind and you want the best for them.
What to do.
Be proactive. Pitch ideas to your clients which will help them grow even further.
The advantage of being at this stage
You can make more money from a current loyal client instead of spending more money trying to get new clients, so treat your current clients like royalty.
Use this framework to judge where your business is. But judge yourself from the client’s point of view not your view. To some clients you are already hired but to some you are unknown. So treat your clients based on how they view you, if they think you are just hired treat them how a ‘Just Hired’ business should, if they think you are unknown treat them the way you an ‘Unknown’ business should.
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