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12 strategies for small business growth in Canada

April 4, 2023

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Shaping your SMB growth strategy

The growth of your Canadian small business requires a clear strategy to drive your success. Even with the potential of an economic disruption on the horizon, it’s always a good idea to have a plan to adapt and find ways to thrive. After all, a good strategy will help you find opportunities in new situations.

But before we discuss strategy, it’s important to understand the 5 stages of small business growth.

What are the 5 stages of small business growth?

Businesses tend to go through 5 stages of growth. While this doesn’t always happen step by step, all companies fall into a part of this life cycle at some point. By identifying the stage your business is at, you’ll be able to choose the most effective strategies to take your company to the next level.

Development

In this stage, your business is still mostly an idea. You may be looking for the right customers for your product, and doing a lot of market research. Your main concerns are getting more customers, broadening your offerings and covering your costs.

Startup

Your business is attracting new customers and has established itself as a functioning entity. You have enough customers and you’re able to satisfy them with your products and services. Your main concern is generating enough revenue to break even, with the goal of ultimately earning enough to finance your continued growth.

Stability

Your business is now generating a steady income. The main decision you’re faced with now is to either invest in your company’s growth even more or keep the business stable and profitable. If you choose to expand your business, you’ll need to start finding new ways to grow.

Expansion

Businesses in this stage are considered successful, stable and consistently profitable. This is when business owners explore more opportunities like building a partnership, tapping into a new market, developing a new product and so on.

Maturity

At this point your business is turning in a yearly profit. You might be considering selling your business, or finding new unexplored strategies for further innovation and expansion.

12 small business growth strategies

Once you’ve identified your business’ growth stage, you’ll want to choose a strategy to accelerate that growth. Each strategy has its benefits and potential drawbacks, but the key is to choose the right strategy for the stage your business is at currently. By implementing these strategies, small businesses can increase market share and achieve long-term growth.

Market penetration

This strategy is all about increasing your marketing share by selling more of your products and services to your current market. One way to accomplish this is to charge lower prices by creating special offers, discounts or bundles.

Partnerships

Teaming up with another business can be mutually beneficial when both parties seek growth. A partnership is a more cost-effective option for covering gaps in knowledge, skills and expertise. However, the best long-term partnerships are with businesses that share the same values and culture as your own.

Product expansion

This is a growth strategy that involves creating new products and services for your market. This can include creating more versions of an existing product, updating an older product or marketing a product that’s completely new.

Client retention

Retaining customers can help you cut costs while supporting growth. After all, it costs less to retain customers than it does to acquire new ones. Regular customers also tend to spend more, and some may help your marketing efforts via word of mouth. Some customer retention strategies include regular communication via email or social media, while giving them special benefits and offers.

Market development

If you’re looking to expand your business to new locations, then you’ll want a market development strategy. To ensure good results, you’ll want to thoroughly research your new market, via market segmentation, for example.

Market segmentation

Segmentation is when you divide a market into categories based on demographics, geography, behaviour and so on. You’ll be able to identify the specific sectors that need your products the most while also finding gaps your competitors haven’t tapped into.

Alternative channels

An alternative channel is another platform to market your products and connect with your customers. The goal is to raise awareness and power your growth. This can involve selling products online, social media marketing, paid ads or any other channel you haven’t tried yet.

Diversification

Diversification involves selling new products to new markets.¹ While this strategy has increased risk, it can also result in higher returns if the right market research is done beforehand.

Cost reduction

This strategy involves lowering your costs while providing customers with the same quality of service they expect. The goal of cost reduction is to improve your bottom line. This can be done by tracking your expenses with automated software while moving your marketing operations to more cost-effective options online.

Automation

By automating time-consuming processes, you free up time for your employees to focus on more crucial tasks.² A good automation strategy lets your business focus on bigger growth objectives, while performing repetitive data entry tasks in the background.

Tools and software

Many businesses have either gone fully remote or have opted for a hybrid workplace. These businesses need tools and software to help their employees stay connected regardless of their location. This can take the form of connectivity tools, cloud services or even cybersecurity measures. By implementing the right solutions, a remote or hybrid business can increase productivity and collaboration without worrying about potential setbacks.

Online marketing

All marketing efforts that take place online fall within this strategy. Online marketing is all about creating an effective business website. From there, you can engage customers on social media, build organic traffic with SEO and create online ads. Overall, it’s a cost-effective and powerful growth strategy that almost every business can benefit from.

How communications solutions can help

You may have noticed that many of these strategies involve an online component. A lot of businesses have shifted online in the past few years, and naturally growth strategies have adapted to this change as well.
If you’re looking to take your business online, or provide more support for your current online operations, you’ll want to invest in communications solutions. Whether it’s a faster Internet connection or the latest collaboration tools, taking your communications to the next level can better position your business for new opportunities.

Shaping your SMB growth strategy

What are the 5 stages of small business growth?

12 small business growth strategies

How communications solutions can help

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