Growth is about more than boosted revenue figures. It is about the increased sustainability, competitiveness, and success of an organisation in the long run. Growth can come from acquiring more customers, new products, new markets, and improved operations, and it can provide meaningful benefits to organisations of all sizes and types. Growth is an important part of every organisation’s strategic vision and is, therefore, worth discussing in more detail.

1. Additional Profitability and Revenue Streams

The simplest and most obvious of benefits is heightened profitability. Expanded access to clients and contracts also means access to new revenue streams. This means even the most value-volatile businesses can experience reduced risk. Businesses with multiple diverse income sources can weather negative economic events that hit those businesses that depend on a single, less diverse, market or product line.

2. Improved Market Position and Competitive Edge

In every industry, enhanced competitiveness is a direct result of growth. Expanding market share provides greater control over the market and the ability to more permanently shape and distort the market to the firm’s advantage through pricing and contract terms. Enhanced competitive advantage provides the means to capture more of the market and earn greater revenue and profitability.

3. Broader Opportunities for Innovation.

Innovative capacity expands when a business grows. Within any new market, new consumers and/or clients will mean more human and financial resources directed to R&D. These resources will allow the business to more quickly respond to the needs of the market and dynamically reconfigure the offerings of a business or diversify the business’s services and/or products. In a rapidly evolving market, stagnation encourages obsolescence.

4. Refinement of Operational Processes.

Growth of a firm, particularly when the business is starting to consolidate market share, will allow a firm to streamline its costs and improve the profit margins for various services and/or product offerings. Assisted by new technologies, the flow of goods/services of an internal supply chain will optimise the business’s delivery of client services, thereby reducing operational costs. Advances in the flow of goods can also directly improve the market margins.

5. Improved Talent Acquisition and Retention.

As a business grows, more human capital will be directed to the business’s various activities. Top professionals in the market will be eager to join an expanding business for the unique opportunities afforded by new market entries or product/service diversification. High retention can also be achieved by quality job offers aligned with the market or ideal job designs for the professional.

6. Enhanced Brand Recognition and Credibility

Customers are more likely to trust and choose a business that is perceived as growing and stable over time. A bigger branded presence is more likely to build a business’s credibility, attracting customers and clients. Well-established brands tend to garner attention for partnerships and collaborations, building even more global growth.

7. Increased Access to Capital and Investment

To lenders and investors, growing and expanding brands tend to be lower risk. As a result, brands that can demonstrate growth are more likely to get loans, attract investors, and establish joint partnerships. This investment also acts as a catalyst as it promotes further growth and faster scaling as a business.

8. New Market Opportunities

Geographic and industry growth provides the business the ability to segment their audience even more. Creating multiple revenue streams and reducing the reliance on a single stream allows businesses to mitigate risk during economic downturns and other shifts in consumer behaviour.

9. Greater Resilience and Greater Range of Positive Impacts

The degree of resilience to challenges of the market, competitors, and even an economy is a function of the proportion and scale of an organisation’s growth. Market change, even the negative forms of change, can be addressed and strategies adjusted accordingly when an organisation has diverse resources to draw from, a varied marketplace, and a brand that can command a considerable market. Witnessing the rapid change and volatility of the global economy, the ability to change and adjust rapidly is often a point of a business’s survival.

10. Building a Legacy

The expansion of a business is, in part, a reflection of the growth level of an organisation and the degree of influence the business can have over a community, a global structure, or even the economy of an industry. Expansion of a business can also mean the ability to create diverse and dynamic jobs that can stimulate an economy.

Conclusion

The positive effects of growth on a business far exceed the growth in profit. The growth of a business offers positive and constructive tools to address and respond to the challenging and dynamic environments that can influence a business. Careful and thoughtful planning is often required, and that in itself can be a risk. The need to address the competitive and challenging world is a positive motivation that business leaders must respond to and often allocate resources to for growth.