Good strategic thinking will bring you this clarity
When the day comes that you want to sell your company, the acquirer will ask how they might continue to grow your business under their ownership. You will want to have a succinct and logical answer for them but you should also know this answer for yourself today.
Ask executives what their growth strategy is and too often they take several minutes to answer this straightforward question. It should not take several minutes to answer, it should take one word. They might then want to add specifics and details or background as to how they reached the one word conclusion, but if they’ve thought through their growth strategy well enough, one word will suffice.
The one word strategic growth summary is one of four options: Market. Product. Presence. Hit.
Any business, no matter the product or service they offer, has the following four growth strategy options. Which will have the greatest near and long-term impact on your company:
Market – expand to new market segments or entirely new markets. You take this step when you believe you’ve tapped your current sand box and need a new, larger box to sell your products or services to.
Product – expand your product or service offering. You take this step when your customers respect you and like doing business with you and will do more, if you offer them more.
Presence – expand the visibility your brand has in the market to your target customer. You take this step if you believe your growth is constrained by your target customer not knowing you exist or doesn’t understand all you have to offer.
Hit – enhance your hit rate, also called win rate. Improve your percentage of wins when your team tries to reel in a customer. You take this step when realize that your market size is attractive, your product and presence are solid but your hit/win rate needs to improve. Your team’s ability to close the work with customers, the timeliness and quality of your proposals going out the door, your team’s follow up, improving your sales messaging, etc, any of which could help grow your business.
That’s it. Just four ways that any company can grow. Which needs more focus at your company in order to drive profitable growth? Identifying which of these four your company should focus on could have you well on your way to growing your company worth.
