The answer to this question is quite prosaic: growth is usually already built into your business. You just need to see where you need to apply your efforts. Most likely, you lack focus. We will not be distracted by competitors; we are sure you are already watching them closely. In this article, HLTS co LTD suggests focusing on something else.

Assess current dynamics. Analyse how regular customers behave, how often they make purchases, what advertising they respond to, whether the decline in sales in each segment is related to seasonality or whether there are other reasons. Seasonality is one of the most underestimated factors. Analysis of monthly dynamics over 1–2 years reveals patterns: decline, peak.

What to track:

• Months (days) with minimal activity (and why this is happening)
• Repeated peaks and declines
• Audience response to advertising in ‘low’ months

If you identify seasonal declines in sales in advance, you can not only wait them out, but also prepare products that will be relevant at that particular time.

HLTS dropshipping company managers recommend evaluating not the total number of sales, but the margin. Profitable products and popular products are not always the same thing. Sometimes the products that sell the most bring in almost no profit - there is revenue, but no money. Do an ABC analysis.

• A - key products (usually 20% of the range generates 80% of the profit)
• B - average group
• C - weak positions that distract attention

Often, the point of growth is not in increasing the range, but in focusing on positions that are already working.

How much does one customer spend on average? How many customers visit your shop each month? These two metrics form the basis: revenue = average cheque × number of customers. If revenue falls, it is important to understand: are there fewer buyers, or are they spending less? This will determine the strategy.

• If there are fewer customers, it may be worth increasing traffic or expanding your reach.
• If the average cheque has fallen, review your product range. Perhaps some profitable bundles have disappeared or upselling has stopped working.

And, of course, according to the experts at HLTS company, it is important to track the share of repeat orders and returning customers. They tend to bring in more money at a lower acquisition cost.

Assessing market capacity helps to understand whether there is room for growth in the current segment. Is it possible to scale geographically or across related categories? Perhaps you need to look for new niches, regions, or expand into related categories.

Use web analytics tools from global and South Korean platforms (Google, Naver, Daum).

Cultural differences are one of the main reasons for failure when entering a new market in another country. It is important to analyse: purchasing habits (online or offline), the competitive environment (who are the main players in the market?), economic factors (purchasing power), and legal barriers to market entry.

HLTS Co. Ltd reminds us that it is important to consider not only clicks and impressions, but also the cost per lead (CPL) and cost per acquisition (CPA). It is almost always possible to find an unbalanced combination: for example, there are many transitions from social networks, but real buyers are those who came from a search engine. Or, conversely, traffic comes from one ad, but its budget is not increased.

So, the growth points for increasing sales are:

• new products
• increasing sales of key items (category A)
• increasing the average cheque
• sales training
• reducing the cost of a lead
• additional advertising budget
• expanding geography
• customer return (base reanimation)
• funnel and upselling automation
• rebuilding USP for weak segments