Welcome back to the Growth 101 Email Bootcamp. If you’ve been following along, you’ve already: 

• Looked at your past performance, and

• Set realistic, S.M.A.R.T. growth goals

Now let’s get to the root of it all: Do you know exactly who your customer is? And why do they buy from you?

Trying to force growth without product-market fit is an uphill battle. It's wasted spend, and nobody needs more marketing messages out there that are irrelevant and waste their time. 

On the other hand, when you find your fit, growth compounds. Your marketing clicks because people are interested. Sales convert because they want what you have. Customers stick around and buy again.

Here’s how you can ensure you have the best market fit, in 4 steps:

Step 1: Map Your Market (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)

Even established businesses can lose sight of the landscape they’re playing in. So take a fresh look at:

• Total Addressable Market (TAM): What’s the full size of the market you could potentially serve?

• Key competitors: Who else is serving your target customer? What are they doing better… or worse? (Look at their Google reviews to see actual feedback).

• Trends & shifts: Is your market growing, shrinking, or shifting? Are customer expectations evolving? How can you get ahead of the next wave?

If you don’t know the rules of the game, it makes it that much harder to win. You can plot a winning strategy from the get-go by simply seeing where you best fit in.

Step 2: Identify Your Real Target Customer

Get hyper-specific. It’s not enough to say your audience is “small business owners” or “mid-market manufacturers.”

Ask:

• What size are they?

• What industry or vertical?

• What triggers them to buy?

• Who’s the buyer vs. the end user?

• How long is their buying cycle?

• What pains or desires make them need what you offer?

Use your CRM, past sales data, and customer interviews to get real answers. If you try to operate on assumptions, you’re crippling your intel.

Step 3: Define Your Value Proposition 

If a competitor copied your pricing and product tomorrow, would your customer still choose you? Hopefully, the answer is yes. If it’s not, you need to develop an edge and get a value proposition that reminds people why they’re with you (and not the company down the block).

It could be:

• Superior service or support

• Proprietary tech or process

• Trusted brand or reputation

• Niche market expertise

• Convenience, speed, or access

Figure out what makes you different and what your customers love. Then build everything around it.

Step 4: Choose Your Growth Path

Once you’ve nailed down your fit, there are a few primary growth strategies to consider:

Keep doing what works

If you’ve got a profitable, proven model, sometimes the best growth strategy is just to do more of it. As they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” See how you can get more disciplined and focused to repeat your winning formula. 

Raise prices

For some companies, this is easier than for others. As long as you’re not trying to be a low-price leader, and you’ve built trust and delivered consistent value, your customers won’t drop off too significantly if you simply raise prices. 

Expand your market

To reach more customers, you can try:

• Selling to a new customer segment

• Expanding into a new geographic region

• Opening new locations

• Launching new products or services to your existing base 

Take market share

If you’re ready to compete more aggressively, consider:

• Undercutting weaker competitors on price or service

• Raising prices by adding more value or something unique

• Launching a loss leader offer to win over new customers (a long play if you have cash to burn)

• Running targeted campaigns against your competitor’s weaknesses 

Just be careful, because growth for the sake of growth offers little ROI. Stay anchored in your value and capacity and ensure that you’re still focusing on your margins over just revenue. The last thing you want is to work twice as hard to double revenue, only to see expenses rise and profits stay the same. 

Next week, we’ll show you how to turn this strategy into a repeatable, trackable sales process that doesn’t rely on you, the owner, to close every deal. 

Until then, take 15 minutes to ask yourself: “Do I really know why my best customers buy from me? And how can I find more of them?” 

If your answer isn’t what you hoped for, that’s the perfect place to start your growth plan. Get guidance in a complimentary session designed to explore the best strategies for your business: 

👉Book a call with a Growth Advisor