How to Successfully Incite a Business Growth Spurt

 In the far left corner of my garage, there is a small spot on the wall that is all marked up with Sharpie.

If you take a closer look you'll see that the variegated lines are accompanied by names and dates.

Serving as a documentation of the Stec children's change in heightthroughout out years, I am forever reminded that my short stature will never measure up to that of my brothers.

While my growth spurt may have fallen a bit short compared to my brothers, I have come to accept that it was simply out of my control. However, not all growth spurts are unalterable. In fact, as a business owner, the potential for advancement is almost entirely in your court.

It's common for start-ups, and small businesses to feel discouraged during the initial stages of their marketing implementation, after all, who doesn't love to see immediate results?

While we can't promise you overnight results, there are a few things that we suggest you consider putting into action if you're looking to set up your business on the right track for growth.

Innovate

No business is going to get ahead by beating the same product over and over again to a pulp.

Consumers are interested in innovation, and products or services that they didn't even know they needed until they surfaced.

New products have the ability to generate a buzz that sets itself apart from the half-hearted hype the surrounds the release of something we've already seen before.

However, it is important to keep in mind that not all innovation has to come in tangible form. Websites, webinars, social media campaigns, and events can all be innovative in their own way.

Rather than sticking to the industry standard when it comes to these marketing efforts, strive to exceed your customer's expectations. After all, innovative ideas encourage people to spread the word about your business, which can help drive your business growth rates. In terms of word-of-mouth marketing, talk isn't cheap, it's profitable.

We encourage you to find the time to sit down with your team at least once a week to bounce ideas off one another. By brainstorming on a regular basis, you will increase your chances of coming across an idea that is truly remarkable.

Here at IMPACT, we have designated an entire room to creativity. Cleverly referred to as the "Creative Room", our team members make use of the room on a regular basis. Fully equipped with a record player, white board, beanbags, and mood lighting, some of our best marketing strategies were born in this room.

Delegate

Are there too many cooks in your marketing kitchen?

While we encourage businesses to take advantage of the creative power that fuels collaborative marketing effort executions, sometimes assigning one project to too many people results in stifled productivity.

Keep in mind that if there's a lot going on it your office, it's a good thing! Don't let an influx of projects consume your ability to get things done, but rather take the time to plan things out accordingly.

Delegation has everything to do with your team's ability to carry out a task that are reflective of the type of work that is expected of them, by both you and your customers.

Here at IMPACT, we employ two different delegation methods that have proved their ability to streamline the way in which we go about our day-to-day tasks.

In an attempt to get the most work done, in the least amount of time, we have implemented what we like to call a pod structure approach. What this mean is that we have created several teams consisting of account managers, developers, and designers who work side by side to carry out their assigned clients tasks in the most efficient way possible. While strong individually, the collective group is able to strategize, design, brainstorm, create, and execute remarkable projects that simply could not be achieved by just one person.

Our second method is a tool that the pods utilize to make project management, more manageable. The project management tool, Trello, provides our pods with a digital bulletin board to organize projects, visualize tasks, and eliminate confusion. With a divide and conquer mentality, our pod leaders are able create cards that represent a task at hand, and proceed to divvy the cards up amongst the other members of the team.

These simple changes have resulted in an immense increase in productivity, team moral, and business growth.

Automate

I think we are all in agreeance that there is simply not enough time in the day.

While we will stress the importance of social media marketing until the cows come home, we understand that it is not something that can be carried out quickly.

If your business does not have the luxury of designating one person to create, post, and monitor all of your social media efforts, it can be easy to fall behind in your efforts.

Social media marketing require a lot of consideration, and maintenance, which is why many businesses choose to rely on automation programs to expand their reach in half the time.

If you're crunched for time, and your ability to work on other aspects of your marketing strategy are beginning to fall by the wayside, we encourage you to try out automation. The less time you have to spend posting each update individually, the more time you have to devote you energy to the advancement of your business.

Here at IMPACT, we utilize an automated tool to schedule out some of our social media on a regular basis, to ensure that we are left with enough time to prioritize other equally important marketing efforts. Although we automate, we try our best to avoid falling into the “set it and forget it" mentality that comes with this type of streamlining.

Too much automation can negatively impact your social media presence, which is why we advise businesses to remain in tune with their social media. It is important to monitor your engagement, and add in a touch of personality and humanization from time to time.

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