Business Growth
Business Growth never happens by accident, ok, in times of economic growth and global stability it may be possible to do well, even prosper. However these circumstances rarely last for ever and neither prevail today.
It is important to know that no single thing, product, person, promotion, etc, will generate continuous sustainable growth, there must be congruence with all aspects of people, business administration and business development planning, forward thinking today, means your business will be here tomorrow.
Growth of business is wholly dependant on taking fast decisive action. Far too many businesses fail because they procrastinate, spend to much time on unproductive tasks and waist valuable resources on ineffective projects.
SME managers must recognise and accept that "they don't know, what they don't know"
If the business is not growing or progressing as hoped or expected then unforeseen circumstances are at work and the most cost effective action the business owner can take is to call in the business development consultant, do this early and work together on a business development strategy.
Small Business Growth
Growth for business is only a few steps of consistently good business planning away. A sensible, timed and reasonably achievable business growth plan must be drawn up from which a business growth strategy will develop and take shape. When this happens the business will grow.
The Marketing Mix
The Marketing mix is generally accepted as being the 4P's: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Product - A physical product or a service.
Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product.
Place – Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical "shop" as well as online stores or even the office of a buyer.
Promotion – Promotion represents all of the communications that an organisation may use in their marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements;
- Advertising,
- Public relations,
- Word of mouth
- Point of sale.
Whilst the four P's are ideal for the mass market the four C's business model, consisting of:
- Consumer,
- Cost,
- Convenience,
- Communication.
Is more consumer oriented and fits better niche product or service marketing.
The product part of the Four Ps model is replaced by consumer or consumer models, shifting the focus to satisfying the consumer.
Another C replacement for Product is Capability. By defining offerings as individual capabilities that when combined and focused to a specific industry, creates a custom solution rather than pigeon-holing a customer into a product.
Pricing is replaced by cost, reflecting the reality of the total cost of ownership. Many factors affect cost, including but not limited to the customers cost to change or implement the new product or service and the customers cost for not selecting a competitors capability.
Placement is replaced by the convenience function. With the rise of internet and hybrid models of purchasing, place is no longer relevant. Convenience takes into account the ease to buy a product, find a product, find information about a product, and several other considerations.
Finally, the promotions feature is replaced by communication. Communications represents a broader focus than simply promotions. Communications can include advertising, public relations, personal selling, viral advertising, and any form of communication between the firm and the consumer.
Business Growth Strategy
A complicated business growth strategy is doomed to failure, working with the principles of the 4P's and the 4C's keeps things simple and allows the business manager to categorise tasks and to make metaphorical boxes into which each "P" or "C" can be focused on individually and then brought together to form the business growth strategy.
All of the above points are covered in our Business Accelerator Programme.