10 Changes Your Business Should Make To Maximize Growth Opportunities

Searching for the ultimate business growth tips in the digital world? Well, you are not the only one!

Since 2020, the Philippine SME (small and medium enterprise) and startup spaces have seen dramatic, once-in-a-generation shifts.

From a surge in domestic e-commerce adoption to the country’s emergence as a digital payments hub, local businesses have had to rethink how they operate. For local entrepreneurs, keeping up in the digital era is no longer optional.

Falling behind can mean missed opportunities, shrinking market share, and outright irrelevance in a market that seems to now be looking ever forward.

Thankfully, even if you do have limited resources, today’s digital transformation offers a plethora of powerful choices. 

Implement the changes below to tap into new revenue streams and put your business shoulder-to-shoulder with the biggest players in its field.

The Ultimate Digital Business Growth Tips That You Need!

Here are some of the best business growth tips that you need to incorporate right now to maximize your growth opportunities

1. Upgrade To A Modern Payment Terminal

If your business only accepts physical cash, you’re already losing sales.

According to a 2021 study published in Jurnal ILMU KOMUNIKASI, Filipino consumers have almost universally adopted digital payments for an ever-growing proportion of purchases, mostly through digital wallets like GCash and Maya but also through direct bank transfers, credit cards, and other emerging contactless payments.

If you haven’t done so already, integrating a card payment machine like the Maya Terminal, which accepts EMV chip, NFC, and QR code payments in one device, should be first on your agenda.

The best ones connect to your sales systems for instant reconciliation, giving you a real-time overview of your real cash flow while giving customers the payment flexibility they now expect.

2. Strengthen Your Digital Storefronts

Make sure your digital storefront is more than just an electronic bulletin board.

The first order of business is to make sure that it’s appropriately mobile-optimized to match how the vast majority of Filipinos explore the internet. For this, you can work with a trusted web design agency in the Philippines.

Next, you want to integrate a checkout system that lets Filipino customers pay with any of their preferred modes of payment.

Later on, consider adding chatbots and other automation features that keep you visible and accessible, even outside of regular business hours. 

3. Start Using Data To Guide Decisions

You may be missing out on several growth opportunities if you don’t analyze your sales, inventory, and customer purchase pattern data. These genuinely hide the real gem for boosting your growth!

So, remember one thing: if you are not measuring them or tracking them right, these metrics won’t do you any good.

To be more efficient, go for ERP (enterprise resource planning) suites or similar tools that can automatically gather and integrate your operational data in a single platform.

In this manner, you get to save hours of copy-pasting. Additionally, you are also able to fine-tune your marketing strategies on the basis of hard facts rather than feelings and speculation.

4. Streamline Your Inventory Management

As the adage goes, “inventory is money”. This is not just true for retail, but all kinds of businesses, from service to manufacturing.

Inventory issues are a leading cause of preventable business losses, and it’s time you start recognizing them as a financial concern, not merely an operational one

If you’re still doing manual stock checks, it’s time for a change. Modern inventory systems can track levels in real time, issue low-stock alerts, and even forecast future demand.

They can even be set up to provide information such as shelf-life to prevent premature spoilage. With a better inventory system, you can more easily meet customer needs without overstocking, reducing lost sales and warehousing costs.

5. Use Software To Automate Routine Financial Tasks

Look for automation solutions that integrate directly with your bank account and accounting software. This way, you can free up dozens of hours a month while ensuring accurate records and always-on-time disbursements.

6. Invest In Your Staff’s Development

Your team’s skills will directly affect their productivity as well as their capacity for dealing with new challenges. Simply put, well-trained teams lead to better growth.

Don’t limit your onboarding to a one-time session at the start of their tenure only. Plan to offer training on new tools, customer service, and industry best practices every quarter or twice a year.

Think about giving your team members educational help and special training workshops as incentives to allow them to go beyond themselves.

Results will show in the form of increased loyalty and even better customer satisfaction, thus you will have established a foundation for your business to grow rapidly.

7. Unify Your Customer Comms

One thing that frustrates customers more than anything else is repeating their concerns several times to different agents who, in this modern era, definitely should have access to their ticket details.

Whether they are contacting you via chat, SMS updates, or social media responses, delivering single-channel support and being truly proactive will raise trust and position you above most of your competitors.

8. Take Cybersecurity Seriously

Digitizing more and more parts of your business will require you to take measures to safeguard essential business and customer information.

The very basic level will be the following:

• Use of secure payment systems.
• Installation of multi-factor authentication on your tools.
• Keeping software updated to close any obvious security loopholes.

At some point, you may even decide to hire a cybersecurity professional who will give you a tailor-made plan to meet today’s cyber threats.

9. Look Into Strategic Partnerships

Working together with complementary businesses is one of the ways to increase your business territory. And, hopefully, establish new sources of income.

If it fits, consider launching joint campaigns. Or making bundled offers with businesses whose branding and values are similar to yours.

10. Review And Adjust Your Business Model Periodically

Finally, markets now shift faster than they ever did. Set aside time each quarter to review your offerings, pricing, and operational processes within the context of wider market forces.

Therefore, it is best to be ready to pivot your operations if the data clearly shows a better path forward.

Small Changes Today Can Mean Big Results Tomorrow

In conclusion, running a business isn’t easy. Still, Philippine SMEs and startups have never had it so good.

Digital transformation has really opened up the door to small businesses being competitive, especially in the retail and service sectors.

Small upgrades to your tools and processes that are aimed at specific areas can still lead to your business growing in a sustainable way. Yes, even if you don’t have more people on board or money for that matter. And that’s only if you have limited resources.

Therefore, concentrate on the things that don’t cost you a lot. For instance, the things that give a maximum profit to customer satisfaction and cash flow.

Just as an example, let’s say your payment terminal hasn’t been updated to accept the most used e-wallets. In such a case, that’s the first place for you to start.

The sooner you begin rolling out these simple changes, the sooner they’ll build on each other. And ultimately, these will allow you to see real benefits in just a couple of months.