How to grow your business in the UK

What is business growth?

Business owners often have different ideas about what business growth really means. It is important to define what it looks like for you. Are you hoping to grow your customer base or expand your product range? Perhaps your focus is on increasing revenue or improving profitability.

For some entrepreneurs, success might mean gaining a larger share of the market, selling in more countries, or building a bigger team. Having a clear sense of what you want to achieve will help guide your decisions and keep you focused as you look at how to grow your company in the UK.

Use customer research

If you can pinpoint what made your current customers buy your product, you can identify which marketing strategies are working for you and which may not in the future.

It’s also vital to understand your customers' pain points and challenges so you can improve your products and processes, increase loyalty, attract new customers, and ultimately grow your business.

You can gather customer feedback through email, online questionnaires, or telemarketing. You can learn from user reviews and by engaging with customers on social media.

There are also useful resources online, such as:

• Statista: Market and consumer data, including a dedicated section for UK statistics.

• YouGov: Surveys and polls on consumer attitudes and buying habits. 

• Mintel: In-depth reports on UK consumer behaviour and market trends. 

• ONS: Official statistics on consumer spending and lifestyle trends. 

For example, a 2025 study by Statista showed that eight out of ten adults in Great Britain were members of at least one loyalty programme1. This widespread participation showcases how integral these programmes have become in the retail space. 

Such insights emphasise the importance of creating positive customer experiences through ongoing research and feedback mechanisms, helping you maintain loyalty and support long-term success.

And, of course, tools such as Google or Adobe Analytics can help you focus your marketing efforts by showing how customers arrive at your website, which pages are most popular, and how long they stay. With this information at hand, you can optimise your site accordingly.

Boost your customer service

When thinking about how to grow a business in the United Kingdom and increase customer acquisition, some businesses may overlook the importance of customer service.

Make sure you offer the best service possible — and use your customer research to identify areas for improvement. If a customer feels let down, take steps to turn the situation around, such as offering a discount or replacement. 

When you consistently exceed expectations, your reputation strengthens through word of mouth and social media, helping you attract new customers.

Increase customer retention

Did you know it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one2? Some estimates are even higher. Losing customers and having to replace them,  will impact your bottom line and slow your growth.

By contrast, retaining your existing customers encourages repeat purchases and increases their overall lifetime value. A customer loyalty programme that rewards shoppers for choosing your brand can make a significant difference.

Take Tesco’s Clubcard, for instance. It is one of the UK's most successful loyalty schemes, with over 23 million active members. Tesco uses the programme to collect customer data, tailor promotions, and even suggest healthier alternatives based on previous purchases. This personalised, data-driven approach strengthens customer loyalty and drives repeat business by offering value aligned with customer needs.

Introducing a similar loyalty programme or using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track customer data can be an effective strategy for growth. With these insights, you can identify new sales opportunities and tailor your communications to build stronger relationships with your customers.

Use your competitors

Your competitors can be a valuable source of insight. Competitor research is an important part of business growth planning, helping you understand what works well for others in your market — and what doesn’t. Look at their product offerings, marketing strategies, and customer reviews to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities you can learn from. 

If you’re in the early stages of your business, it may be tempting to simply copy what your competitors are doing. But for long-term growth, it’s essential to define your own brand and differentiate your offering, rather than follow the crowd.

Make the most of social media

The digital world offers huge marketing opportunities and one of the most cost-effective ways to grow your business is by reaching new customers on social media platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Here are some examples of brands in the United Kingdom that have leveraged social media to their advantage.

• Gymshark has built a following through engaging fitness content and collaborating with fitness influencers. Their use of Instagram to showcase real people using their products has fostered a strong community.

• ASOS effectively utilises social media for direct sales through features like Instagram Shopping. By allowing users to purchase items directly from their posts, they have significantly increased their conversion rates.

• Oreo is another example of a brand excelling on social media, known for its clever and timely posts that resonate with current trends and events. Their playful and interactive content keeps audiences engaged while reinforcing brand loyalty.

Create a presence for your business on the platforms that best match your target audience, and post content regularly to stay visible. You may also consider influencer marketing as part of your wider social media strategy. 

Beyond marketing and community-building, social platforms now enable direct purchases, giving you another sales channel to explore. They also provide a valuable space to collect honest customer feedback and understand what your audience thinks. 

Whatever you post, make sure your messaging stays consistent with your brand. For more guidance on building your brand presence, explore our article on the six key principles of marketing.

Engage in a strategic partnership

Partnering with another business can help you reach new customers and is an effective way to grow. For example, Starbucks coffee shops integrated into Target stores in the USA. While Starbucks gets to sell to more customers, the retailer has the customers in-store for longer, making them more likely to buy.

A UK-specific example is the partnership between Tesco and Brewdog. This alliance allows Tesco to tap into the craft beer market and attract a younger demographic, while BrewDog gains access to a wider audience through Tesco's extensive distribution network.

Diversify your products or services

Your customer research may reveal a need or desire for a new product, or a variation of something you already offer. Introducing new or updated products can help you attract new customers. You could also consider offering items at different price points if cost is a barrier for some buyers.

Another option might be to find new ways of selling products or services you already offer, for example, bundling together some that are part of the same range.

Extend to new markets

If you’re not already selling your products cross-border, exporting is a reliable way to grow your business. And if you are, why not think about new countries to sell to?

Take inspiration from Unilever, a company from Britain that has mastered the art of global expansion. With a presence in over 190 countries, their diverse portfolio of brands, from Dove and Lipton to Ben & Jerry's, caters to a vast range of consumer needs. 

Unilever's success stems from its ability to adapt to local markets, strategically acquire local businesses, and consistently deliver high-quality products.

Learning from examples like this can be incredibly helpful when exploring how to broaden your own reach. While you could eventually consider opening physical stores abroad, a good first step is to create a country-specific webstore to better understand your target market. You can also read our article on how to grow your business online.

And when it’s time to ship your goods to a new market, fast and reliable logistics are essential. DHL Express can help ensure everything moves smoothly.

Be a socially responsible business

Corporate and social responsibility (CSR) is a key priority for many businesses today. Increasingly, people choose to work with, work for, or buy from companies that demonstrate responsible and ethical practices. This might include reducing your environmental impact, producing more sustainable products, or giving back to your local community.

Publicising these efforts can also strengthen your brand. For example, partnering with a logistics provider that uses electric vehicles, switching to sustainable packaging, or supporting staff volunteering initiatives can all help build goodwill among current and potential customers.

Take Toast Ale, a London-based craft brewery, as a prime example. They brew delicious beers using surplus bread that would otherwise be wasted, directly addressing the issue of food waste. Toast Ale also donates 100% of their profits to charities, demonstrating a strong commitment to social and environmental causes. This commitment resonates with consumers who are passionate about sustainability and ethical consumption.

For more insight on ways to grow your business, check out our top seven business growth strategies.

What factors impact business growth?

There are many factors that can affect your business growth, but according to business.com³, these are the three key elements:

• Leadership. You need to know the ins and out of your business processes and how external forces impact them. Otherwise, you can’t direct your team to drive your revenue and grow.
• Management. This includes the key areas of obtaining funding, resources, and physical and digital infrastructure. While it may be tempting to hold back on these to save money, it could restrict your growth – and the money you’ll earn after growing could cover your current costs. This is where you need to take a calculated risk.
• Customer loyalty. According to research by the Harvard Business Review, a 5% boost in customer retention can increase profits by 25% to 95%!

How to write a business growth plan, step by step

If you search online, you’ll find many different experts offering different views on how to write a business growth plan and what to include in it. However, here are some of the key points that most agree upon.

Step 1. Define goals

Set your goals according to your idea of how you measure business growth.

This could mean growing your customer base, expanding your product range, increasing revenue, improving profitability, gaining a bigger market share, hiring more people, or a combination of these.

Step 2. Decide on a timeline

Some experts recommend starting with long-term goals (for example, 10 years) and working backwards to map out five-year, three-year, two-year, and one-year targets. Others prefer a shorter one- to two-year plan. Ultimately, it depends on how far ahead you want to look. 

Step 3. Plan actions to reach your goals

Once your goals are defined, outline the actions that will help you achieve them. For example, if you aim to increase revenue, this could involve recruiting more sales staff, driving additional website traffic through marketing campaigns, or improving customer retention with a loyalty programme. Consider the tactics and tools available to you. 

Step 4. Add some metrics

Once you’ve set your goals and planned how to achieve them, work out some key metrics to measure your success.

Try to keep them clear, simple and quantifiable. For example, if you’re thinking long term, ‘Increase our customer base by x% within 10 years’, or shorter term, ‘Increase revenue by x% in two years’ or ‘Expand into x new countries within a year’.

You should also add metrics to the smaller action items. For example, “Run a recruitment campaign that brings in x new staff members” or “Launch a customer loyalty programme that increases retention by x%.”

Step 5. Research and adjust as necessary

Once your goals, timelines, and metrics are in place, check that they are realistic. Research your industry, competitors, and customer expectations to understand what is achievable.

This will help you validate your goals, adjust them where needed, and establish a practical timeline for success.

Step 6. Set funding

You will then need to determine how much your business growth plan will cost to implement. Conduct research to estimate the required budget, and either secure external investment or allocate internal funds to support the plan.

How to measure business growth in six different ways

You may have chosen your preferred ways of measuring business growth, but it’s helpful to take a broader view. When assessing your progress, consider the following six measures:

• Revenue: Revenue is a commonly used metric for business growth. However, remember to balance it with outgoings because making more money often means spending more.

• Profit: A stronger indicator than revenue alone. A healthy profit margin is essential, and while minimal growth may be acceptable for established businesses, new companies typically need to grow profitability more quickly. 

• Market share: For newer businesses especially, gaining market share is important for staying competitive and driving sustainable sales. 

• Customer acquisition: Generating new leads and increasing sales volume are effective ways to grow market share and overall revenue.

• Customer retention: It’s far less expensive to keep a customer than to gain a new one, so retention should be a key focus and metric. 

• Employee headcount: As your business grows, you will likely need more staff. However, it’s important to balance team size with operational costs and monitor this closely. 

Want to learn more? Take a look at our wide range of additional tips on growing your business.