Local consultants tell this breathless story about how the lion must run to catch prey. The antelope must run to survive. Therefore when the sun rises on Africa, you had better be running.
I have watched game in the bush. They don’t spend the day running. But when they run – they run fast. I suspect growth is like this. We have this anxious sense that if we are not growing we are dying. This is fuelled by shareholders demands. No doubt there should be periods of growth. There should also be periods of rest and gathering. We should also be critical of the criteria and time frames of what constitutes ‘growth’.
Growing is what happens when you connect your vision to your purpose. You answer the question: “if this is who we are, what we do and where we want to get to, how are we going to go about it?”
Here are four precepts you may wish to consider as you consider Growth:
- Effective growth happens as you consider first your clients.
- Growth focusses on opportunities.
- Growth requires creativity and risk.
- Growth draws on the past to move forward.
- Everyone can grow.
As you set out to grow you can look to your products or your Market.
Growth strategy #1: Market penetration
Working with your existing products in your existing market you can find ways for more people to buy your offer. You can increase your present customers’ rate of use. Have you noticed all the goodies lining the queue to check-out of the supermarket that make the tired and grumpy kids have embarrassing tantrums?
You can also attract customers from your competitors. This is the cut and thrust of competitive business with strategies and ploys. No matter how blue your ocean, it won’t be long before someone sets up shop next to you.
Attract non users to buy your products. There is usually a large untapped market waiting for you in the groups of people who don’t buy your products. A tennis-ball manufacturer made them a little thicker, painted them red for dog toys. .
Growth strategy #2: Product development
You may also choose to stay with your current market. You have established yourself there. You have the distribution channels. You know what your customers are buying. If you are prepared to think out of the box you can leverage your experience to develop new products and services. You can meet known or unknown needs.
Nobody thought they needed a camera on a cell phone but now we can’t live without it. You can also add value to an existing product through adding features, upselling, or cross selling.
Growth strategy #3: Market Development
With your experience with the product or service you have created you can enter new markets. You can do this by expanding geographically or by reaching into new market segments. You will need to spend some time evaluating the viability of the new markets and the time you will take to make inroads in the new market.
Is it as attractive as it looks from the outside? Can you adapt your offer? Will you find competitive advantage? Many South African companies are selling their products and services overseas to capitalise on our tragically weak currency.
Growth strategy #4: Innovation
Perhaps it is time to create a whole new offer. This may be related diversification in which your new product or service fits easily with your current offer. This allows you capitalise on your capabilities, your brand and your competitive advantage. This requires creativity rather than blood lust.
You can leverage your brand recognition to enter new industries. You may also decide to step off from a strong brand into a completely different industry. You will probably have some skills to share between the two businesses. But this is not a prerequisite for this as long as you can address the need for information, decisions and leadership. Caterpillar the earth moving company developed a clothing brand.
There is another growth strategy
I have written about red oceans, blue ocean strategy and a more holistic view of growth.
Implementing your growth strategy
Once you have set your strategy for growth you can think about how you can implement it. Are you going to go it alone or are you going to take on a partner and how does that work? A topic for another newsletter.
The nature example makes it clear that companies should care about the “health” of their clients.
Lions cannot catch all antelope, then no food will remain. They cannot catch only the strongest of the antelope,then the antelope’s health will deteriorate (anti-natural selection) They can also not catch no antelope.
e.g. If a client has suffered a short-term setback, rather agree with the client a discount/different payment terms/etc.
e.g. If a client is permanently suffering, rather find another client.
The concept of “it is OK to rest” is refreshing. In our world with instant gratification and increased rate of change, the rest & reflect periods will be critical for survival.
Hey Chris – I agree with your extension of the lions metaphor. The Inuit I believe have a legend that God gave the Elk the Wolves to keep them strong.
Yes and I also agree with the concept of getting alongside clients on the journey through the tough-times. I wonder how usual this is consulting but I know others who operate this way.
And thanks for the ‘rest is refreshing’ comment. I don’t think this is the usual approach either. I remember working for a consulting company in which I was going hammer and tongs in the week and spending each weekend in exhausted stupor. It is probably the main reason I am doing things this way now.
Though of course I love get my back into a push for delivery when required.
All the best with your growth strategy your side