Growing Your Business – 90 Days At A Time

by Jordan-Ann Powell | May 22, 2018

As a staple at Syrup, we meet every 90 days with our marketing clients. These quarterly meetings are a time to step outside of the business and the day-to-day to look at the big picture. The objective of these meetings is to be reminded of our ultimate goal, see how the world has changed around us and set actions and goals for the next 90 days. We look at the issues that could be obstacles in the way of your destination and the opportunities that could excel you there.

The goals we set for the next 90 days are always working toward the ultimate objectives of your company in both revenue and maturity. In preparation for quarterly meetings, we start with an audit where we look at the key metrics and activity spanning across the funnel. Here are the most common holes we find in companies across the stages:

• At Bats
• Tracking
• Conversion Rate
• Post-Conversion Experience
• Growth

At Bats – What opportunities do you have to tell a qualified prospect how you can help?

Many companies only offer one way for people to engage with their business (Call Now, Sign Up Today, Buy Now). It’s also important to consider the quality prospects that aren’t ready to pull the trigger. Do you offer more than one way for someone to give you their email address and stay connected in exchange for something valuable? (i.e. Get a Case Study, Receive Monthly Biz Tips, etc.) By offering more than one way to engage with your company, you open the door to build trust and cultivate a relationship with quality prospects, furthering them through the sales process to become a customer.

Tracking – What information do you know about your prospects and new leads?

Are you collecting information on your site through Google Analytics? The data through Google Analytics will help you understand the valuable actions taken by prospects on your site. Additionally, the data in your CRM is something you own – it can include all of the information provided by your prospects – who they are, what they buy, when they buy, etc.

“59% of companies that use business analytics say it gives them a competitive advantage. But despite such promising numbers, a whopping 88% of marketers aren’t using data to its full potential.”

With this information at your fingertips, why not use it? The more you know about your customers, the better you can speak empathetically to them and serve their needs.

Conversion Rate – How many of those leads turned into customers?

Your conversion rate of turning new leads into customers speaks into two things for your business: your conversion experience (Is it easy?) and the close rate (How are you following up with new leads?). These two pieces are closely related, but the conversion experience isn’t about slashing your prices and giving away your services for free (of course, that could definitely increase your close rate). The conversion experience is rooted in the process a prospect takes to go from a lead to a customer. One way you can increase your close rate is by guiding customers through the conversion experience. Follow up with new leads, make it easy for them to reach back out to you, include your business hours on your site, organize your online shop so it’s easy to find products.

Post-Conversion Experience – What happens once a prospect becomes a customer?

Are you on-boarding them? Are you staying in touch and do you have systems in place that help build the relationship with your customer…every time with every customer? Do you celebrate wins and milestones along the way? By on-boarding your customers well you can strengthen the relationship and plant seeds for growth in the future.

Growth – How are you growing your business with your existing customers?

By far, the easiest path to increased revenue is your existing customers. You’ve already established trust and when on-boarded well, you’ve earned the right to 1) share about other opportunities your customers could be interested in (cross-sell/up-sell) and 2) ask your Champions to share about their experience. Your Champions are your biggest fans, your advocates, the people who will refer others to your company without being paid or given anything in return. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. Think of the potential if even just ½ of your customers referred your business to someone they know.

Take a step back, set goals, realign on what’s important. Evaluate how the actions we make today will impact the business later and adjust your course if needed. We know the world often changes around us. Meeting every 90 days allows us to get out of the weeds and adjust or create a new plan to meet our destination.

Need help stepping outside of the business to work on your business? We love helping companies grow in both maturity and revenue. Shoot me a message on LinkedIn or here – I’d love to connect.