5 Top-Line Growth Strategies for Business Success

Top-line growth strategies are essential for successful business growth, making them critical for companies of all sizes.

Top-line revenue is the line on your Profit and Loss (P&L) statement (also known as an income statement) that references the total sales you made before subtracting your business expenses, operating costs, and overhead.

To achieve top-line growth companies focus on increasing sales and prices. Conversely, bottom-line growth looks at profitability after deducting operating expenses, and is usually achieved by increasing efficiency and cost controls

We’ll explore what to know about building your top-line revenue and how to use these strategies to grow your business.

What is a top-line growth strategy?

A top-line growth strategy drives your business sales growth rate. Successful strategies can help you bring in new customers, retain existing customers, and increase sales.

Top-line growth strategies focus on two main areas: external and internal growth.

External growth

External growth strategies allow you to build your sales and customers through ventures outside your business. This can take various forms, depending on the size and type of your business.

For example, a large business might acquire another company or build partnerships. A growing business might use an external strategy to establish a manufacturing arrangement with an outside company to improve its sales and distribution capabilities.

Internal growth

Internal growth factors refer to strategies you use within your company to build your top-line growth. For example, a business might launch a new product line or extend its target market areas.

Top-line strategies

Now that we’ve covered the basics of how businesses can use top-line growth strategies, let’s explore some strategies for increased sales.

1. Increase sales through targeted marketing and advertising

Improving your ability to reach customers can help you increase sales and drive interest in your business.

Customers appreciate messaging that applies to them, with 71% feeling frustrated with impersonal shopping experiences. The more personalized you can make your marketing efforts, the more success you’re likely to see. You can use data and metrics from market research and customer behavior on your website to better understand your customers.

Break customers down into categories known as buyer personas. Buyer personas help you understand customers’ motivations and priorities so you can better advertise how you meet those needs.

Gather data about existing customers, including what drove them to buy from you instead of a competitor. Look at how customers navigate your website, such as what pages they spend time on and what links they click.

Speak with your sales representatives to learn more about customers’ questions. The better you understand these interests, the easier it will be to build a useful customer persona.

Related: Learn more about building customer personas

Segment your email lists. Send your subscribers information that best appeals to them. Pair your personalized emails with retargeting ads to reach out to customers who left items in their shopping carts on your website.

You can then work with social media consultants alongside your sales team to build effective social media campaigns based on demographic factors and interests that align with your personas.

Alongside any social campaigns, consider using influencers. Research shows that many consumers trust influencers, and are more likely to discover a new brand through them, than traditional brand marketing.

The preference for influencer marketing becomes even more apparent as you work with younger generations.

Working with an influencer who speaks to your target audience and having them promote your product can be a great way to expand your reach and interest. Influencers can create videos on YouTube about your product or use other popular social media platforms to generate interest for you.

Examples of targeted marketing for business growth

KitchenAid ran a successful targeted marketing campaign when the brand created ads centered around cooks and bakers who love to be in the kitchen.

Rather than marketing to those who have to cook, they worked to identify ”marks” of the people who loved creating in the kitchen. The company then built targeted advertising across multiple platforms, inviting customers to post their own marks of their love of cooking.

You can find a different type of targeted advertising with Louis Vuitton. The luxury brand created geotargeted campaigns to reach people near eight of their locations to drive customers into the stores. The targeted campaign brought in 13,000 visits for about $1.50 each.

2. Expand product offerings

Another successful way to drive sales is to find new market opportunities and expand your product offerings. You want to anticipate potential customer trends before your competitors.

You should invest time and resources in market research to understand customer needs to find these opportunities. Research can provide information about customer attitudes toward the market and what they might be looking for. You can conduct surveys, purchase surveys related to your industry, or hire an expert market research analyst.

Getting your product on the market well-aligned with customer interest before competitors allows you to tap into a new market share and boost your sales.

You can also look for ways to capitalize on your existing brand and reputation and expand into markets that complement your current offerings. For example, a business that builds kitchen appliances might shift in a new direction and produce new products, such as laundry machines.

Examples of companies that have expanded their product offerings

When looking for an example of product expansion, you can see the concept demonstrated by Dyson. The company started producing industry-leading vacuums in 1993.

However, the brand has expanded into hair dryers and care products, furthering its reputation for technology-driven, reliable appliances. When the Dyson Airwrap was released, it sold out quickly and had a waitlist of over 130,000 people within weeks.

Red Bull offers another example. While the company initially produced highly caffeinated energy drinks, it expanded to include clothing lines, accessories, and other products related to performance sports.

3. Improve customer retention

Increasing customer retention by 5% can result in a 25% to 95% increase in company profit. Improving customer retention comes down to providing customers with a good reason to stay with your business. You can do this in a few ways.

Start by building a culture of excellent customer service. Customers appreciate this level of service and are more inclined to become repeat buyers, whereas poor service can drive them away.

Half of customers say they’ll leave a company after a single bad customer experience, and 80% say they’d leave after more than one poor experience. Meanwhile, 75% say they’ll spend more with a company that has good customer service.

Working with trained customer service representatives can help you improve this type of customer care.

You can also encourage loyalty through rewards programs. Loyalty programs provide customers with an immediate, tangible value for returning to your business. A successful loyalty program:

• Is easy for customers to use
• Provides customers with meaningful rewards
• Builds customer relationships using emotional connections without appearing too transactional
• Incorporates personalization

To personalize your strategy for improving customer retention, work with customer retention specialists who can help you devise a strategy.

Examples of successful customer retention strategies

Amazon has an excellent customer retention policy. The brand uses its Prime membership to encourage customers to stay engaged with the company.

The membership offers immediate benefits, like free two-day shipping on many products and access to videos and music. It also offers member-exclusive deals, like Prime Day. Altogether, Amazon has built a loyalty program with a 98% renewal rate after the first year.

Uber has also built a successful customer retention policy. The brand offers opportunities for frequent users to accumulate points to boost their level of service. Uber offers referral bonuses and options for convenient payment and savings when using its system.

4. Optimize pricing strategy

Pricing strategies also boost sales numbers. Running a competitive pricing analysis can help you better understand how your prices compare to others in your industry, how that relates to your comparative value, and how customers perceive your products.

You can test a few pricing strategies to see how best to inspire your customers. For example, you might consider bundling different products together.

Related: Learn more about the different pricing strategies available

See which ones work with your products and the competitive market. If you haven’t implemented a pricing strategy, an experienced consultant can help you make optimal decisions.

Examples of successful pricing strategies

One common type of pricing strategy is known as price skimming. With this strategy, a business introduces a new product at a higher price to the market, promoting it as the latest model with top technological capabilities. It attracts buyers who want to seize these opportunities.

Later, when a newer model is released, the price is lowered, driving sales from people who want to get more bargain pricing. Cellphone companies do this regularly with new models.

Another common pricing strategy is bundling. You’ll see this with cable companies. Often, you have one price for different services like internet or cable television. However, if you combine services, you get a discount.

5. Improve operational efficiency

Improving your operational efficiency can help you increase your sales numbers. Streamlining your activities, automating certain processes, and implementing cost-saving measures can reduce business costs while improving productivity.

Driving interest is only part of the equation as you look to build your sales numbers. You also need a streamlined system that quickly and easily accommodates the new product initiatives you release and the sales you bring in.

Technology can help you automate different steps in your system. For example, you can automate sending emails at the right time to engage customers after they visit a particular page on your website, building engagement and sales.

Consultants and management professionals can help you incorporate these strategies into your business operations.

Examples of companies that have improved operational efficiency

McDonald’s showed us a great example of increased operational efficiency to build the top line. Beginning in 2003, the fast food restaurant began experimenting with self-service kiosks.

In the years following, they began introducing them into restaurants, empowering customers to streamline their orders and remove barriers that might prevent them from ordering, such as feeling embarrassed about not knowing how to pronounce a product name.

By 2017 and 2018, the kiosks helped to power McDonald’s stock price and increased its earning estimates. The kiosks have become an important part of the business model as they help restaurants run more efficiently and create a better experience for customers.

Amazon is another classic example of increasing operational efficiency. The retail giant has introduced robots into its warehouses and continually looks for ways to improve the technology it employs.

In return, the company has the capacity to offer one- and two-day shipping options for customers on thousands of items. This improved efficiency increases customers and their purchases and helps the business continue to grow.

To maximize your growth, customize your strategy

Developing top-line strategies can power your business growth opportunities. You can increase your gross sales numbers, bringing in customers and selling more to existing customers.

Consider the methods that will work best for your business. For example, if you pull in only a small percentage of your target market, consider improving your ability to engage these customers with customized marketing.

On the other hand, if you have a substantial market share and pull in a significant number of customers from within your customer base, consider how launching a new product line might fit into your long-term business plan.

As you implement strategies, track the data related to your efforts, including how successfully you bring in greater sales numbers, to see what works and what doesn’t. Use this data to improve your techniques moving forward.

Find talented professionals on Upwork to help improve your top-line growth

As a business owner, creating a growth plan that leads you to increase sales is key for long-term success. And a key criterion for your success lies in working with talented professionals who can help you implement new techniques.

If you’re ready to see where your business can go, consider working with professionals on Upwork who can offer you the expertise you need to thrive.

You can also browse Project Catalog^™ to find professionals who can help you complete specific projects for your business. Discover what your business can accomplish with the help of talented freelancers.