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Achieve tremendous business growth in bad times

Guest post by: Hector Barresi

Article Overview: GROWTH is one of the most critical words in business. Some companies achieve a great deal of growth, others want to grow and another group of entrepreneurs and executives do not really know if it is even a good idea to attempt the risky mission to continue to grow. This typically occurs when the company is evaluating a leap frog expansion which will impact, for example, infrastructure, resources, product offering, geographic coverage, sales channels, going (eventually) public, etc. Regardless of the particular situation, the best time for growth is always NOW ...

Achieve tremendous business growth in bad times

Achieve tremendous business growth in bad times

GROWTH is one of the most critical words in business. Some companies achieve a great deal of growth, others want to grow and another group of entrepreneurs and executives do not really know if it is even a good idea to attempt the risky mission to continue to grow. This typically occurs when the company is evaluating a leap frog expansion which will impact, for example, infrastructure, resources, product offering, geographic coverage, sales channels, going (eventually) public, etc.

Another way to analyze Growth is through the lens of profitability. It is very common to hear the expression "... we need 'profitable' Growth ...", to indicate that the company is not ready to sacrifice their margins to go grow their sales. Now, this is an interesting statement , as long as you can sustain or even attempt to increase sales, on top of market growth and mere price increases justifiable by inflation.

Market growth and inflation do not represent sales growth. So, where are you going to grow then? Well, there is a group of companies out there called competitors, one way to grow is to take market share from those "undesirables". So, if your products are better than your competitors' (and better is different in each case - like for example, try to come up with three reasons why iPod is a better MP3 player than Phillips, Samsung, RCA, Sony, ........, even when the other brands offer way more features like radio, recorder, docking station, etc, and why Apple can command higher prices that its competitors).

Like I was saying, if your products are better than your competitors', then you have the opportunity to take market share while commanding higher prices. Still, you have to find a way to communicate to your potential buyers how your product is better. The answer is all about "customer value", or even better, "perceived customer value". Does not really matter how well you think you developed your product, does not matter how fast the microprocessor runs, or how many gigabytes of memory it has, or what material it is made of, just to cite some examples. If the customer does not see the value of that product he/she ain't gonna buy it. OK? Customers will not pay for your product, more than the value they assign to it. Think about the following questions.

What is the value proposition of you product?

What of value sell do you utilize?

How to create and market the value of your product?

How to develop a robust value proposition?

In summary, you must consider GROWTH in context. The company's growth can be achieved in several ways, and it is influenced by a series of factors, internal and external.

1) The product or products you offer and particularly NEW products that you add to your portfolio breed (as opposed to simply replacing an obsolete product)

2) Your sales channels - Direct, Indirect, geographic coverage, committed, trained, etc.

3) Your profitability - The higher your margins, the higher your cash flow, and also your ability to compete in pricing.

4) Innovation: How are you tracking vis-à-vis competition? Are you listening to your customers?

5) Your ability to delight your customers. Who is the center of your business? You or your customers?

6) and more ......

Each company, like its owner is unique, and as such, each company requires personalized analysis and specific coaching. Canned solutions are out of question if there is a serious objective to grow.

Here is a non-restrictive list of the several areas that can be identified when you look at business performance boost:

- What's your Corporate Strategy?

Define and refine your VISION

Strategic Planning

Partnerships

- Is your Business Effective?

Quality of your Business Plans

Marketing and Communication. Need niche marketing?

Pricing. Above or below market prices? Why?

Sales Channels. Are you using all the channels

Competitiveness and Competitive Differentiation

Productivity

Sustainability

Do you have a business coach?

- Do you keep your customers satisfied?

On Time Delivery (OTD)

Customer Service

Quality

Ethics

Responsiveness

- Ethics?

Values

Practices

Responsibility

- How committed are you to New Products Development?

"If you see it in your mind, you're going to hold it in your hand" - Bob Proctor

Learn to interpret what your customers want (listen to the "Voice of the Customer" or "VOC")

Accelerate your projects

Develop accurate financial projections

Reduce your product costs

Do not leave money on the table

Surpass competition

Innovation. What role does technology play? (again) How much are we listening to our customers?

Conduct the right Alpha/Beta Tests

Continue to improve quality, surpass competition. Exceed your customers' expectations

Accurate and Effective Suppliers selection

- How good are you at Launching New Products?

Pricing (Do not leave money on the table)

Launch Packages

Training

Field Tests

Supply Chain

Manufacturing Readiness

Sales Channels readiness

Improving any or all of the areas above will cause a tremendous impact on the performance of your business.

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Article Tags: business coach, corporate strategy, managerial skills



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