Why has my small business stopped growing?
Usually one of four things has changed, and your own records can show which. Fewer people are finding you, so inquiries are flat. Inquiries still arrive but fewer become jobs, often because replies are slow or quotes go quiet. You are already at capacity, so more leads would not help. Or repeat and referral work is thinning. Check a year of inquiries and jobs against each in turn, and fix the one that moved.
Start with a year of numbers
Before changing anything, write down for each month of the last year: inquiries by source, jobs won, the typical job value, and how many jobs came from past customers or referrals. Compare each month with the same month a year earlier, since many service businesses have busy and slow seasons.
If there are no records, start a simple lead list today, with the date, the source and the outcome of each inquiry; a few months of it will answer this question better than any guess.
The four places growth usually stalls
| What the numbers show | What it often means | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiries are flat or falling | Fewer people find you, or one source has dried up | The related answer on getting more leads for a service business |
| Inquiries are steady, fewer become jobs | Slow replies, no follow-up, or quotes that go quiet | The related answer on why leads are not turning into customers |
| You are booked solid | Capacity, not marketing, is the limit | The related answer on having more leads than you can handle |
| Fewer jobs from past customers and referrals | Past customers are drifting, or nobody asks them | The related answer on winning back past customers |
When it is not marketing
Sometimes the cause sits outside marketing altogether. Common ones include:
- Prices that have not moved while costs have, so more work earns less; an accountant can help check this.
- A service list or service area that has stayed the same while customers' needs have changed.
- The owner doing every job and every quote, which leaves no time to grow.
- One large customer or one source carrying most of the work, so losing it shows up as a stall.
Fix one thing, then measure
Change one thing at a time and give it a few months before judging it, so you can tell what worked. The related answer on where a small business should start with marketing gives an order for the basics and what to check each month.
Related answers
- Why are my leads not turning into customers?
- What should you do when you get more leads than you can handle?
- How do you win back customers who have not come back?
- How can I generate more leads for my service business?
- Where should a small business start with marketing?
Lead generation and lead tracking
A lead that waits a day goes cold, and a lead with no source teaches you nothing. Ascent Vision fixes both.