What is Business Growth: Nissan Nissan CEO of Excellence Finance Explains How You Can Improve Your Business in 2023

New businesses come and go in the Australian economic landscape. In fact, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022 saw a 7% increase in the number of new businesses started. A total of 167,646 new entrepreneurs started their ventures after the pandemic. 

With the emergence of new companies, questions regarding what is business growth and what advice regarding which strategies work best are badly needed by new business owners.

We sat down with Nissan Nissan, the founder of Excellence Finance, and asked these questions that would help new and even established businesses navigate through our post-pandemic era.

Defining Business Growth

What is business growth?

Business growth is a result of companies expanding in the market, developing new products or services, and acquiring or buying other companies.

Is business growth the same for all industries?

Yes, it is the same across different industries. For example, in my finance broker industry, if I wanted to grow my business, speaking from a business point of view I needed to expand to different geographical location. So, previously I was only looking after Clients in Sydney, However now I am looking after Australia-wide clients. 

The reason how I managed the expansion of my business is that I became an online broker 

Another thing I did was provide more service to my existing clients. By going back to the clients who settled their accounts two years ago I can say “Hey let’s review your loan and find out if you are currently at a suitable rate with your current lender or provide them with a valuation report from RP Data to find out if their property has generated any equity.

In today’s current economic situation, is it easy to grow a business now or is it harder?

It’s harder because there’s always competition. There’s also innovation in the business. On the other hand, it’s easier if you adapt those innovations in the business. 

If you started the business ten years ago, and you operated the business the way you needed it back then, then it will be difficult,  today the operating business has changed. Time has changed, and technology has changed. 

So, if you don’t adapt, and move into new technologies you are going to fall behind. However, if you do so. Like what I am doing if you embrace technology, embrace the change. You’ll be ahead of your competition.

So, if businesses are adamant to change or adapt they will find it harder right?

 Yes, they will find it harder.

How To Boost Business Growth in a Post-Pandemic Era

What steps did you take to help your business adapt to our current time?

I became an online Finance Broker. I went from doing face-to-face meetings to zoom meetings.

So, you went from face-to-face meetings to zoom meetings. How did that work out for you?

In the past, for example, if you’re my client you call me and you want a loan. What I’ll do is I’ll collect your address and I will come and see you. When I come and see you as my client, driving from my office to your place takes between half to one hour. 

And then I’ll sit with you for one hour to two hours to find out what you need to do. Then I’ll come back to my office which takes another 30 minutes to one hour. That’s easy three hours I spent there. 

The next day, when I complete my assessment I find out I can’t help you. So, I already lost three hours. But, if I do it online I can just ask you all the necessary questions via zoom. It takes me twenty minutes to half an hour to talk to you. Then I can complete the assessment and if I know I can’t help you I only lost half an hour instead of three hours.

That is how I implement technology in my business.

Different Types of Business Growth

What are the different types of business growth?

There are six types of business growth. Organic Growth, Market Development, Market Penetration, Diversification, Acquisition, and Strategic Alliances.

Can you expound on each one?

1. Organic Growth – is where you keep working with your clients and these clients will come back and ask you to do more business. You expand your existing products and services which increases your market share. 
2. Market Development –growth achieved by expanding the company in other locations. It involves selling your current products to new customers in new demographics.

3. Market Penetration – this is achieved through increasing the sale to existing customers. You have to do client retention. You can’t just sell to them and wait for them to come back to you. So you need to communicate with your client throughout the year. So, next time they need a loan or finance, they know you are available and you can take that.

4. Diversification – you diversify. You offer new products and services. So if I’m selling home loans, I can also sell loans for a car or trucks. I can sell more and more products.

5. Acquisition – this is achieved by purchasing another company. If there’s someone in the area who wants to leave the industry. I can buy his loan book then my business expands.

6.   Strategic Alliances – is growth through partnerships. I can partner with other businesses. At the moment I have an accountant with me in the office and I partner with him.

For new companies, which business growth do you recommend they focus on?

The best one to take is organic growth starting first with your family and friends.

For larger companies, should they also stick with organic as well? 

No. Bigger companies are different from smaller companies. New companies because they just started and don’t have the capital, the resources, the tools and the experience so it’s different. 

So you start organic, with people that you know. Family and friends and you work your way up. Whereas if it’s an existing company, you really have to look at the market. You really have to look at your competition, the technology, all this.

If you’re one of those people, then you need to have an office that’s in a different area geographically. In Sydney, Melbourne, or wherever you need to open other offices or other branches to target other markets. So, it’s different with a small and large enterprise.

Medium enterprises are also different, should they take a different route as well?

Well, the medium will be pretty much in between. They are sort of established but not that strong. So, with them, they can still stick to organic but also include other mediums.

Like I’m a medium-sized business. I’m not injecting a lot of capital that big companies do to open up in other locations and have more staff. However, I’m using technology and tools in the business to enable growth

Do you recommend doing simultaneous business growth tactics or sticking to only one?

You have to implement different tactics because you can’t just implement one tactic and rely on one. I recommend implementing three to four different tactics in the business. For example, you can inject more funds into marketing and advertising at the same time create a system for client retention. You need to implement multiple tactics to increase your business margin.

What’s the most common hindrance right now, post-pandemic, to business growth?

First, it’s a competition, I’m talking about my business of course. I need to compete with banks that are offering online lending and processing in order to keep up.

The second is the lack of access to capital. Coming out of the pandemic, we need to inject money into the business.

Third is market saturation. For example, in 2007 when I opened my office in my area I was the only Finance Broker in the area. Now, there are easily 10 or more of them offering the same service that I do. So I need to operate differently. 

 Fourth is industry regulation. Our finance industry has been regulated so much. It makes it very hard to do business. What that means is that the government has regulated your industry. You have to spend more time completing paperwork rather than talking to clients.

To Wrap Things Up

Business growth refers to the expansion of the business through increasing market reach, geographics, or Diversification. There are six types of growth that you can achieve and the size of the business will determine what type works best for your business.

Lastly, in order to have business growth in our post-pandemic growth, businesses need to adapt to new innovations and incorporate technology into day-to-day business operations.

For more blogs about business growth, digital marketing, and tips on how to grow your business follow our blogs or create your own BAYG account.