In the world of business + growth, sometimes you need more than just a solid marketing plan and a strong coffee to grow your empire.
This is exactly where acquisitions come into play—a bit like finding a ready-made veggie patch instead of planting all your seeds from scratch. Acquisitions offer a fast lane to expansion, allowing you to tap into new markets, extend your reach, and bolster your competitive edge without breaking a sweat.
Why Should You Consider Acquisitions as a Growth Strategy?
Picture this: instead of building a new customer base from scratch or testing, developing and launching a new product line, you simply buy a business that’s already got what you need. Easy. This approach can not only save you time, but also help you sidestep some of the usual risks of entering uncharted territory.
Here’s 6 ways we’ve seen business owners use acquisitions to supercharge their business growth:
- Expand Your Client Base: By acquiring a company, you instantly inherit its customer base. That’s like doubling your database overnight—more people to reach and more opportunities for cross-selling and upselling.
- Add New Services and Products: Acquisitions let you diversify your offerings quicker than you can say “innovation”. Done well, this can be a great strategy for growth – almost like adding a new recipe to your book.
- Enter New Markets: Why fight your way into a new market when you can just walk through the front door? Acquiring a company with a strong foothold in a different region or industry gets you positioned in the market without the usual hassle.
- Achieve Economies of Scale: Combining resources can lead to cost savings and efficiency gains, making your operations smoother and well-positioned for growth.
- Enhance Competitive Edge: Acquisitions can bring in cutting-edge tech, industry expertise, or unique intellectual property that can propel you to the front of the pack.
- Increase Business Valuation: With your business now bolstered by the acquired company’s assets and profits, your valuation can shift to the upside overnight.
Are You Ready to Take the Leap?
Before you dive headfirst into the world of acquisitions, take a moment to check your bearings.
- Make sure the target company aligns with your strategic goals and that you’re ready to tackle the challenges of integration – if you’re not sure if you’ve got the right foundations in place yet, take our “Ready to Buy” scorecard now
– in 5 minutes you’ll get a tailored report on whether you should be on the hunt tomorrow – or if there’s work to be done first (and where to start). - And remember… it’s not just about finding a good deal; it’s about finding the right deal. Before you begin searching for businesses for sale – make sure you can answer this key question: Does this acquisition align with our long-term business goals? How will it increase our multiple?
In other words – Does 1 + 1 = 3 ?
When you are acquiring for growth, you’re not buying to get a business – you’re buying to get better performance out of the two businesses together. Acquisitions work so well in the context of growth because the business you’ve bought on board + the business you have already together have greater value than the sum of either independently (1 + 1 = 3).Its absolutely critical you have thought about HOW the acquisition will enhance your existing business and it’s future growth – this will form your game-plan around the acquisition and your hunt for a target.
If you’re not sure about how your multiple will be affected (or even what a multiple is..) great news – our Business Sales & Acquisitions Jargon Buster is the best place to start! It covers everything from multiples to EBITDA and Due Diligence – Get it [FREE] here.
Here’s how we can help:
If you’re already on the lookout – Book a meeting with us now
If you’re on the same page and want to know more because we’ve got you thinking of an acquisition – Watch our Exclusive Ready To Acquire webinar.
If we’ve piqued your interest, but you’re only new to the idea – Check out the Deal Room Podcast for our best tips, tricks and first-hand experiences of buying and selling businesses.
