Marcia's Leadership Q and As: Growing Your Business

Q. While we’re not in a recession, it seems spending is tightening. How do we grow our business?

A. There are multiple ways to grow your business. First, don’t buy into “recession thinking.” There will always be ups and downs in the economy. But remember, some of the greatest companies started and grew during a depression or recession. Grow! No excuses! Pivot as needed.

Your current customers are key. The executive team and front-facing people to customers (sales, marketing, and customer or technical service) need to develop relationships with customers. Talk to them, observe them using your product; be with your customers. What do they experience? What frustrates them? Learn from them. Bring the lessons back to your company to solve their problems.

Leverage the needs that your customers have, and create better products and services to improve their experiences. Delight the market. Your customers are your ambassadors. They are part of your marketing arm.

Then innovate! What new and different products and services can you design to create new markets? Keep inventing. Be fast. See what works and throw away what doesn’t.

What is your differentiator? Build better and differentiated products that your customers are excited about, and grow your business.