Growing a business is often compared to playing a game of chance. Some entrepreneurs gamble on rapid expansion, hoping for big wins that will instantly grow their business. However, many veteran entrepreneurs will advise against taking this viewpoint, advocating instead for a measured approach that focuses on steady, sustainable growth.
While big, bold wins are often the most discussed, they are remarkable because they seldom pan out in one’s favor. Risky moves often result in overexpansion, financial strain, and operational breakdowns that negatively affect service, the final product, and your reputation. In contrast, a sustainable growth strategy ensures your SME thrives over the long term, with consistent progress.
If sustainable growth sounds appealing to you, you’ll need a business banking solution to do the heavy lifting. With its 2.5% per annum interest rate, Maya Business Deposit is the ideal SME business banking product if you’re aiming for consistent gains over the long term. Aside from the industry-beating interest earnings, you’ll also enjoy free cash transfers over InstaPay and PESONet, giving you significant savings on partner and supplier payments.
If the benefits of a long-term growth strategy sound good to you, keep reading. We’ve prepared a short guide on how to effectively grow your SME for the long haul.
1. Set Clear Medium and Long-Term Goals
A clear vision keeps you from wasting limited resources on things you probably shouldn’t be doing. Imagine where you want your SME to be in five, ten, or even twenty years, then begin figuring out what your next steps should be. This will serve to keep you and your team focused, avoiding the FOMO (fear of missing out) that often causes SMEs to make risky decisions.
2. Strengthen Your SME’s Financial Foundations
Building momentum should be your key concern in the first couple of years. However, you can’t gain positive momentum in the long term if you don’t have financial stability. The main thing is to focus on maintaining a healthy cash flow and keeping any debts in check. It also means keeping your money in low-risk, reliable investments and using SME bank accounts like Maya Business Deposit. Use your Maya Business Deposit to preserve and grow your funds so that you always have a healthy reserve for emergencies and economic downturns.
3. Keep Your Customers Happy—And Coming Back
In the early days of your business, acquiring new customers is probably already enough of a struggle. However, if you take the longer view, retaining existing customers is even more important, since they are probably going to account for most of your income. Loyal customers provide invaluable repeat business and may even act as brand ambassadors, acting as a pathway for others to know your business.
Outside of simply offering better products or outstanding service, there are a few more ways to secure continued business. Setting up a customer loyalty program and a customer relationship management (CRM) system for personalized marketing may further boost return business, if they’re set up correctly. Training your employees to offer better service and after-sales support is also important for keeping happy customers engaged and for mitigating any negative experiences that impact repeat business.
4. Strengthen Your Brand
A strong brand builds trust and sets you apart from everyone else. For that reason, you’ll need to keep your branding consistent across all platforms, be it on your website, social media, packaging, and everywhere else. This allows your business to consistently build its “mindshare” among customers over the years so that they think of you whenever they need your products or services.
5. Invest in Digital Transformation for Better Efficiency and Adaptability
Digital tools such as e-commerce platforms, social media marketing, and small business banking online all contribute to more efficient operations and lower business costs, benefiting your long-term growth strategy. Together, these digital systems also ensure that your business is unencumbered by manual processes and paperwork, enabling it to seize good opportunities when they come up.
6. Invest in Your Employees
Some of your first employees are likely to become future leaders of your business. Their intimate knowledge of how your business works means that it can make more sense to mentor and train them than to hire an outsider with certifications. Just as importantly, even the employees who leave your business will continue to have a big role in maintaining your reputation.
If you’re serious about staying around for the long haul, be sure to invest in your employees' skills development and happiness. Not only is it less expensive than developing replacements from scratch, but you'll also end up with a motivated team. A motivated workforce is more productive and will stay with you through thick and thin, going the extra mile to ensure your SME’s success.
Your Business’s Sustainable Growth Journey Begins with Maya
Maya is your SME’s partner for long-term growth. Grow your business’s crucial financial foundations faster than ever with a Maya Business Deposit. Sign up for Maya Business to enjoy high interest rates and save whenever you pay partners and suppliers.
Signing up for Maya Business automatically gives you a Maya Business Deposit account for settling your payments and growing your savings faster. Maya Business Deposit offers an industry-leading 2.5% per annum interest rate, earning PHP 25,000 per year for every PHP 1 million deposited. Free transfers can also be made via InstaPay and PESONet, saving cash on your daily business transactions.
Signing up also qualifies you for a Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million within 3 months. Use your Maya Flexi Loan to set up important long-term business investments and capture important opportunities as they come. Simply use Maya as your primary processor for all wallet and card payments for better subsequent loan offers.
Get the best SME banking interest rates and access to the best financial tools in the Philippine market. Sign up for Maya Business today to begin your most fulfilling business journey to date.
