Applying growth strategies can be challenging for small businesses, mainly when they have limited resources by default.
Since small, bootstrapped businesses cannot adapt the same booming strategies as established companies or startups with ample funding.
Instead, they have to employ different strategies that require more time and effort yet less money.
If you take the time to understand and use cost-free strategies, your small business can grow and move out of its default position of limited resources.
This article listed some of the best cost-efficient strategies to increase your growth at no additional budget spending.
Build Brand Loyalty First
It would be best to create a solid and loyal customer base to boost your small business’s growth.
Building a loyal customer base and focusing on the quality of your client relationships is a growth strategy for businesses with limited resources.
Loyal customers opt to buy products from their favorite brands first, which significantly impacts revenue. Targeting existing customers incurs much lower costs than acquiring new ones.
If you are operating with a locked budget but want to see your business grow, figure out how to improve your user experience and increase brand loyalty.
Some things you can do to increase brand loyalty are:
- encouraging feedback
- offering brilliant customer service
- focusing on a smaller audience first
A report by Yotpo has found that 60% of customers are likely to tell friends about a brand they’re loyal to.
Additionally, according to the report, 39.4% of customers will spend more money on their preferred brand’s product even if there are cheaper alternatives elsewhere.
Building brand loyalty requires more of a change in your approach than a difference in your marketing spending.
It might require some work, but it often pays off in spades.
Apply Your Business for Industry-Relevant Events
Leaving a great impression at essential industry events can help your business boom and establish your reputation as an expert in your field.
The most common web events are job fairs, trade shows, company conferences, sales meetings, and summits.
Even when they are conducted online, industry-related events attract many possible customers and potential collaborators and partners.
Even if you have a limited budget, you can still attend or even organize such an event to showcase the quality of your product and create new opportunities for your business.
The benefits of attending business events vary from learning new skills to closing more sales or securing funding from investors.
Since many key industry events are virtual this year due to the ongoing epidemic, there are no geographical limits that would require huge traveling costs.
Industry-relevant online events have become increasingly important, so make sure to use them to your advantage.
A market analysis report by Grand View Research lays out the expectation that the market will grow at a compound annual rate of 23.2% from 2020 to 2027.
Inform yourself of the critical events in your industry and start applying your business for participation as soon as possible.
Create Strategic Partnerships
A strategic partnership with the right company can be a game-changer for your small bootstrapped business.
Building strategic partnerships are excellent for expanding your business since it requires increasing cooperation instead of spending.
When you start a partnership with a different company, you can access a larger pool of customers, gain additional resources, and bring outside expertise to your business.
Before you create partnerships with different companies, you need to know what you bring to the table regarding value and benefit.
Keep in mind that strategic partnerships are all about mutual gain and shared vision.
One of the most famous examples of strategic partnerships is when Uber and Spotify teamed up to create the Soundtrack Your Ride campaign.
Both brands used each other’s technology to create a unique customer experience and gain from each other’s customer base and outside value.
Spend time to identify the companies that you would like to partner with to create a better user experience and grow as a business.
While finding the right partner can be tricky, it can pay off immensely.
Improve Team Productivity
Improving team productivity is a great strategy to increase the output without having to increase spending.
When working with a limited budget, you must figure out how to increase your productivity to get more things done with the same overheads.
That way, your business will increase its revenue with the same amount of input. Since a change of mindset costs nothing, it’s an ideal profit growth tactic for your small business.
There are several ways you can approach productivity improvement:
- use team management software to assign tasks and accountability
- improve your team’s communication
- encourage feedback exchange and employee ideas
- if possible, allow employees to work from home
- increase team morale
According to statistics from FinancesOnline, sources that lead to decreased productivity include low company morale (34%), lost sales (18%), and missed performance goals (25%).
These are all issues that can be fixed with better communication, goal-setting, and team coordination.
When you put in the time to help your team improve and change the way you lead, you can realize every team member’s potential and increase their productivity.
Rest assured that this will result in more significant revenue and new opportunities for your small business.
The Takeaway
It’s challenging to be in a position where your budget is hardly flexible, and your business seems unable to grow.
When you can’t afford to increase your marketing budget or take on more employees, you must make do with the resources you have at your disposal and build your business from the ground up.
Thankfully, there are still many great options available to accommodate the growth of your business.
Some of them are:
- building brand loyalty
- using industry-relevant web events and conferences
- creating strategic partnerships
- improving team productivity
If you focus on executing these strategies, you’ll see your business develop in the foreseeable future and break out of the bootstrapped phase.
