Managing Growth

You no doubt have contingency plans in place for when things might go wrong. But when was the last time you thought about preparing for growth and success?

While growth is a great thing, rapid growth can place stress and strain on your operations—and on your brand reputation. Daily deal pioneer Groupon has lost some popularity over the past few years because of this phenomenon. Running a daily deal creates a sudden surge in demand some businesses aren’t capable of serving. This can lead to unhappy customers. This correlation is well-documented. Researchers at Harvard and Boston University found running a Groupon can actually lower businesses’ online ratings and reviews. This is no minor concern. Today’s consumers rely on online reviews when making purchasing decisions, and low consumer ratings can cause long-term harm to a business.

The take-away is that planning for success is just as important as anything else you might plan for. Here are two key areas to keep in mind when developing your own growth strategy.

Evaluate the scalability of your processes.

Can your systems, infrastructure and team accommodate growth?

Today’s technology makes it easier and more affordable than ever to scale a business. Technology increases efficiency, giving you much-needed room for growth.

Think about the manual and perhaps even disconnected processes you have in place, like managing employee time-off requests, documenting the progress of open or backlogged projects or even generating company dashboards. Do you have to manually connect the dots when it comes to your data? Do you know the information you are looking at is accurate?

Systems integration is a prime area for improvement in most businesses. Companies today don’t run off a single system. They typically use multiple systems and tools, like house-made spreadsheets, cloud storage and a customer relationship manager (CRM) service. If those systems don’t work together, they create silos, which can create communication, management and data integrity problems as your company grows.

As you evaluate your systems and process weaknesses and prioritize your needs, consider leveraging the Chamber’s free Advice on Tap program, which gives you access to a series of 30-minute consultations with experts who can help.

Establish key performance indicators.

Many CEOs at one time or another find themselves at a crucial point of realizing they don’t have the information they need to make important, timely business decisions readily available. Perhaps it’s time to update your company scorecard!

Start by reviewing your company’s key performance indicators (KPIs), or establishing them if you don’t currently have KPIs in place, and put a system in place to monitor and report them.

When it comes to KPIs, think big. KPIs are metrics for critical success factors for your organization, which are typically driven by several processes. Here are a few questions to answer when defining a KPI:

  • What is your desired outcome, and why is it important?
  • How can you influence the outcome?
  • Who is responsible for the business outcome?
  • How often will you review progress towards the outcome?

Growth brings both rewards and challenges. A solid plan focused on scalability can help your company flourish during times of rapid growth. And, remember Advice on Tap is a GREAT resource to help you prepare for your season of growth.

What do you think are the biggest challenges business owners face when it comes to growth? I’d love to hear from you.Patricia McKinney is the Chamber’s Member Engagement Specialist, dedicated to helping Chamber members grow their businesses and take advantage of all the benefits of Chamber membership.