■Startwithashort-termactionplan—Whileyouaredevelopingyourlong-termactionplan,therearesevenshort-termmovesyoucanandshouldmakerightnow:
Resegmentyourexistingcustomerbase—andseeifyoucanidentifynichesofcustomerswhohavespecialneeds.Considerwhetheryoucangenerateincrementalrevenue,cateringtothoseneedsbyofferinghigh-endservicesthatwillhavegoodprofitmargins.
Builddeepercustomerrelationships—andseewhetheryoucandevelopnewservicesthatwillbetterresolvetheirproblems.Lookforwaystoincreasehowmuchcustomersspendwithyoubyofferingnewservicesandproducts.
Replicateyourbestcustomerrelationshipswithyourothercustomers—andconsiderwhetheryoucanmoldthisintoanewwayofdoingbusinesswitheveryone.Havethepeoplewhocurrentlyhandleyourbestcustomeraccountsteachyourotherstaffwhatthey'redoing.
Usevaluepricingpractices—thatis,breakanall-inclusivepriceintocomponentpartsandthenchargefortheadd-onservicesyoupreviouslyprovidedforfree.Oralternatively,youmightusethisinformationtodemonstratetocustomersthetangiblevalueyouareproviding.Seewhethertheseideasbringothernewpricingpossibilitiestothefore.
Movefrommakingproductofferstomakingsystemoffers—byintegratingyourstand-aloneproductorserviceintoasystemthatworkstogetherseamlessly.Youmaybeabletoworkwithastrategicpartnerandgetyourproductorservicefine-tunedtotheproductstheysellinthemarketplace.Withanyluck,youmaybeabletochargeapremiumpricebecauseyourproductispartofanintegratedsystemthatgeneratesaddedvalueforthecustomer.
Wrapvalue-addedsupportingservicesaroundyourproduct—therebyallowingyoutoaddressnext-generationcustomerneedsaswellasincreasingyourproductdifferentiation.Byincorporatingservicesintoyouroffering,forexample,youmaysignificantlyenhancetheperceivedvalueoftheoverallbundle.
Emphasizetheemotionalandaffinityaspectsofyourbrandmore—andredirectyourbrandequityinvestmentstosupportthis.Communicatetocustomerswhatyoustandforandwhereyou'recomingfrom.
Fortunately,manyoftheseshort-termmoveswon'tevenrequirethatyouwaitforapprovaltostartactingon.Theywillalsostartgeneratinggrowthwhilealsoprovidinganopportunityforyoutolearnabouthowtomanagegrowthinitiatives.Allofthesebenefitsareworthwhileandattractivewhileyoudotheresearchneededtocomeupwithyourcomprehensivelong-termgrowthplan.
■3corequestionsinbuildingacomprehensiveactionplan—Onceyougetthoseshort-termmovesinaction,youcanthenbuildamorecomprehensiveactionplan.Thisplanwillcenteraroundtheanswerstothreemainquestions:
·Whatisourcurrentannualrateofgrowth?
·Whatshouldwesetasatargetannualgrowthrateinthecomingyears?
·Whatshouldwestartdoingnowtoclosethegapbetweenourcurrentrateofgrowthandourtargetrateofgrowth?
■Getspecificaboutgrowthinitiatives—Nowisthetimetogetmorespecificaboutthegrowthinitiativesyouneedtotaketocloseinonyourtarget.Ingeneral,mostgrowthprojectswillfallintooneoffivedifferentcategories:
·Traditional—Thesearethegrowthstrategiescompaniesinmatureindustriestypicallyusetoincreaserevenuesandprofits:
Acquisitions
Internationalexpansionofoperations
Priceincreases
Costcutting
·Enhancedproductposition—Thesearethewaysgrowthisusuallyachievedinlessmatureindustries:
Developmentofnewproducts
Extensionofexistingproductlines
Attemptsatdifferentiation
·Transitional—Thesearetheshort-termstrategiesalreadymentionedthatcanbecharacterizedasbeingcustomercentered:
Resegmentyourexistingcustomerbase
Builddeepercustomerrelationships
Replicateyourbestcustomers
Usevalue-basedpricing
Offersystemsratherthanjustproducts
Wrapservicesaroundproducts
Affinitymarketing
·Newgrowth—Thesearethenewskillscompaniesarejustbeginningtolearnaswaystoaddorcreatenewvalue:
Product/serviceintegration
Bundledsolutions
Value-addedoutsourcing
Moredownstreamoffers
·Information—Thesearethekeygrowthareasofthefutureascompaniesmonetizetheinformationassetstheyhave:
Integratedinformationofferings
Performanceguarantees
Saleofinformationtothirdparties
ExternalizedITinvestments
■Takeaction—Thechallengethenbecomestostart,fund,manageanddeliveronavarietyofgrowthprojectsrightacrossthespectrumofdifferentcategories.Toconsiderthisissue,askkeyquestionslike:
·Isourgrowthplanaggressiveenoughtomeettheorganization'soverallgrowthtarget?
·Havewebuiltinabufferfortheunexpecteddevelopmentsofthefuture?
·Doesourplanmakesense?
·Istheplanpracticalandcapableofbeingimplementedgivenallofourtimeconstraints,resourcebudgetsandotheractivities?
·Isourplanrealistic?
·Arewetakingasound,balancedapproachtocreatingourownfutureratherthanleavingeverythingtochance?
·Whatkindofinvestmentsarewemakingtodaythatarealignedwiththisplan?
·Wherearethemostambitiousandskilledpeopleinourorganizationcurrentlybeingsent—andwhereshouldtheybeassignedinthefutureifwearetoachievethisplan?