Expanding a business is no easy feat, but it’s necessary to survive in a competitive industry. And this is especially true when growing a coaching business, as the life coaching market was worth around $1.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to post 4.85% growth over 2023–2030.
Although there’s no universal method for growth, you can use proven strategies that, when applied in tandem with each other, help drive old and new businesses forward and improve in every metric.
Learn how to grow a business through seven essential strategies and take your company to the next level.
How do I know it’s time to grow my business?
Every business is unique and should aim for constant and gradual growth. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And sometimes, taking the next step is the right decision. Here are a few signs to look out for:
Finances exhibit profitability
Before anything else, ensure your coaching business is financially secure. Look for positive signs such as constant or increasing income, profits, and a growing client base. All these highlight a market for your services. Plus, consistent revenues allow you to serve clients without hassles and sustainably expand the business.
Growth in your market sector
If your coaching niche is predicted to constantly grow, it’s a suitable opportunity to expand the business. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data on multiple occupations in the country with growth rate projections compared to the industry standard. Another way to gauge whether the market is on an upward curve is by looking at the number of competitors –– a higher count usually means the industry is set up for great returns, with potential entrants.
Supply surpasses demand
Remember, if you note a significant increase in demand for your services, it's time to expand. However, ensure this demand is erupting periodically and not sudden, because spontaneous spikes aren’t always the best indicators of increasing demand. It could be the holiday season or competitors offering heavy discounts.
If the demand is here to stay, understand client needs. Are they satisfied with the new services? Are there other services you could provide to keep them happy? Do you need more resources to meet their current demands? Surveys and interviews yield valuable feedback, so examine any common patterns you see in clients’ answers and act accordingly.
{{mid-cta}}
7 effective strategies to boost business growth
It's time to move forward with your business. Invest time, effort, and resources to see maximum results. Follow these tactics to create genuine value for clients and meet their demands while scaling your business model:
1. Analyze your target market and identify your competitors
Conduct market research to understand the coaching industry and learn about your target audience as well as their needs. After this, you'll know how to develop the company to suit those needs.
It's also crucial to identify competitors early on. Is there a coaching business with outstanding marketing and branding? Did a coach report a record number of clients in one quarter? What are other businesses' pain points? Research reveals this data and helps you make informed judgments to compete and adjust the business plan.
2. Hire a productive team
A business is only as good as its employees, as productive and positive individuals create more output, increase conversions, and boost monetary gains. Hire a solid group of people with the right skills to accomplish short- and long-term goals. And reinvest your profits in more human resources and repeat the process to generate dividends. Plus, achieving and celebrating milestones with a supportive and hard-working team is always rewarding.
3. Design a sales funnel
The sales funnel is a great strategy for small businesses. It’s divided into four major categories –– awareness, interest, decision, and action. The strategy helps form a clear image of a customer's journey, highlighting clients’ habits, wants, and behavioral patterns.
Picture this: a client visits your website and interacts with your coaching business. Here, they're at the top of the sales funnel. They complete the funnel when they book a session or click a call-to-action (CTA). With time and experience, you'll know how to tweak the journey to get more clients from the funnel’s top to its bottom, resulting in higher conversions.
4. Focus on customer retention
Acquiring new clients isn't enough. You must also encourage existing customers to come back. A great way to do this is via customer loyalty programs, including regular discounts, coupons, and rewards. Sometimes, gaining new consumers — called customer acquisition cost (CAC) — is more expensive than retaining existing ones, as many users like to use private accounts, making it difficult to gather customer data.
Plus, client retention prevents you from spending money on resources that aren't guaranteed investments. Building a loyalty program helps keep the current client base and incentivizes new clients to approach your business.
It's also worth investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system, such as Practice’s, which helps manage current and potential customers. CRMs keep you abreast of consumer data and identify opportunities to boost sales.
5. Grow your network
Networking is a fantastic way to increase brand visibility and make your business seen and heard. You can also build strategic partnerships with other companies, allowing you to connect with an entirely different target audience immediately.
Look out for local events on LinkedIn, invite famous coaches on your podcast, or host workshops and webinars. Attend coaching seminars in your area and promote your company. Keep a few visiting cards handy, give out social media handles, and follow up.
6. Be sustainable
Practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) to acknowledge your company's impact on society. Being transparent paints your business in a positive light and encourages clients to associate themselves with your brand.
Consider going green by creating sustainable and environment-friendly products. We also recommend giving back to society through volunteering programs and events that benefit the local community.
7. Track your marketing efforts
You can employ all the strategies in this list, but you'll closely recognize the company's growth when you measure it. For example, you might develop a customer loyalty program only to discover that it doesn't increase customer retention. It's essential to analyze market trends and consumer behavior and strategize accordingly. Measure, market, and manufacture whatever it is your business needs.
Measure business growth with Practice
Like any journey in life, growing a coaching business requires risk-taking, patience, and ambition. Add that to a list of efficient strategies, and you’ll be closer to success.
Another feature that contributes to your business’ growth is a CRM tool, because organizing processes and client data is essential to smoothly run a business.
At Practice, we offer professional CRM tools to help measure success. Our system handles client management, automation, payments, and more. Whether it’s customer loyalty programs or sales funnels, Practice covers you through all business endeavors. Try it today.
