If you have many growth opportunities, that’s good, right?

Well, sort-of.  The trick is focusing on the best opportunities and not getting too distracted.

Here’s what I suggest to pick the right ones:

  1. Figure out who is your customer – the really loyal ones.  Develop a profile of who that is. Is that market big enough to really help grow your business? Can you build a solid financial footing (i.e. – revenue, repeat customers, manageable COGS, positive net income) with this specific customer group?
  2. Figure out the total value that you can provide to this loyal customer. It might be more than just your product. Think about value add-ons to your core product or service, your mission statement, company practices and customer service. The goal is to create a comprehensive value offering that differentiates you from competitors, and delights and impresses your target market so much that they become loyal and repeat customers who give tremendous word-of-mouth advertising.
  3. How do you promote to this loyal customer?  What’s your marketing messaging and marketing channels that would capture their attention?
  4. How do you sell to this loyal customer?  What are the channels where they frequent and purchase?

Start there.  Don’t get distracted by other potential customer groups or sales channels.  Focus on that loyal customer base and do everything in your power to knock their socks off. The best customer is one that keeps buying from you, as it is probably far cheaper to keep a customer than gain a new one.  When you are bigger with more resources, then you can branch out and take on other customer segments and growth opportunities.