Building a brand takes time, but with a killer strategy for product development and market growth, you can build a supreme brand that competes with the largest industries out there in the market. Growing your brand comes down to a strategy first and foremost, but not just a single-minded plan for improving sales or adding products. In order to really see growth in your company, you need to identify a core selection of business processes and work out how you will develop each silo of the expansion process in order to find maximum success across the business. This is the best way to go forward, and it starts, of course, with a long vision of the future.
Planning
A strong business plan needs to take all aspects of the business into consideration, from how to sell liquidation pallets that aren’t moving on your storefront to adding new streams of advertising into your range of media exposure.
Working to get over the fear of cold calling customers is one major aspect of launching and growing your brand. A business takes a village, and you’ll act as each member of that initial community during the launch process; this includes the dreaded salesman that reaches out unannounced to clients. This means that you’ll have to wear many hats as the business owner, customer service agent, and procurement and fulfillment specialist. If you’re up for the challenge, you can expect to see great growth, but this will take a lot of hard work and late nights in the early stages.
Growing your business plan takes a vision of the future that many people simply can’t muster. Sitting alone with your thoughts is a great way to put yourself into this headspace and really focus on where you would like to see your brand in the coming months and years. Meditating on the future is a wonderful means of contemplating growth strategies, and it can help you stay focused on the path ahead with minimal distractions.
Procurement
Included in your plan must be a procurement section. All great brands deal with a constant influx of products that will be used to create the flow of capital for the future. Gaining access to a liquidator and pallet sales is perhaps the best way to secure the materials you need for business without the hassle of expansive expenses in the early days.
Liquidators work with businesses and individuals to move products that are having trouble selling. When a distributor like Amazon cuts its losses with a product or the raw materials needed to create additional units, they often work to auction off or dump the pallets leftover at whatever price they can get back. These sell for a loss, of course, but any cash coming in for the materials is better than nothing, and big-box distributors are able to recycle the unused product as an added benefit. Tapping into this liquidator market is a great way to float the initial purchasing that your brand will need. Many home-based brands are built in the garage or backroom, with the construction or fabrication processes taking place by hand in the first months of business. This means that getting your hands on materials for a low cost is crucial to maintaining high-profit margins.
Contact with Customers
Cold calling is a core component of any new business. In order to grow your client base, you’ll have to reach out to prospective customers in order to convert them into business relationships. This is where the art of the cold call comes into play. Most people hate cold calling, and for good reason; it’s abrupt, it conveys a sense of slimy salesmanship, and cold callers typically have an abysmal sales record.
Still, turning cold calling on its head can really spark interest in your business, brand, and products among your community. Cold calling doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. With the help of market research and a contact strategy, you can approach clients who are already in the market for the types of services that you’re offering with your new brand. This will improve the receptivity of those potential clients on the other end of the line and give you an in to discuss how you can help make their lives better with your merchandise. Every brand has to start somewhere, and while clients remain ignorant of your great services and merchandise offerings, relying on a cold call strategy is the best way to get your name out there. Remembering that this type of contact is designed to put your brand on the map in addition to any sales goals will help you move through this phase of trading in a hurry so that you can focus on contact with clients who are ready and excited about your business rather than those who have never heard of you.
Legal Records
Whether you’re operating a fabrication floor out of your home or running deliveries with the help of a friend’s van, there will always be a legal component to your new brand’s success. Keeping the number for a Chicago workers compensation lawyer in your address book is a great way to head off any potential issues with your growing workforce. Workers’ compensation is something that many businesses have to deal with, and it can be a prickly situation for those who aren’t prepared for depositions or settlements. Keeping your legal needs covered is a crucial part of any growing business and must be included in your early draft of the business plan.
Similarly, your brand may require legal assistance in order to protect your intellectual property. Learning how to find someone to serve court papers is an equally important step as your business begins to take off and attract attention in the wider market.
Think about downtime.
As your business begins to grow and becomes self-sustaining, it’s essential to think about yourself as well. Getting to Hawaii without flying, for instance, is a great vacation idea for a hardworking entrepreneur. Travel is one of the best ways to unwind after a long, hard quarter of business development. Traveling will give you and your family the break you so desperately need and prepare you for the coming months of work that lie ahead.
Growing your brand is a full-time job that requires a number of different tasks in order to succeed. Don’t forget to build your business plan early in the process in order to achieve the success you deserve.