Business Profile
Many businesses will have examined their cost base in recent years and now have a much better understanding of their customers and where their profits really come from.
Capitalising on this knowledge is the key to future growth. But how?
The Thames Valley office of Crowe Clark Whitehill recently put this question to Rupert Merson, the adjunct associate professor of strategic and international management and entrepreneurship at the London Business School, and he identified 10 tips on how to plan for growth:
Aspirational:
1 Know what you want.
2 Build alignment between owners and managers.
Organisational:
3 Get the balance right between leadership and management.
4 Change as you grow.
Market:
5 Understand the customer – don’t rely on gut-feel alone.
6 Build on what you know.
7 Watch out for your next competition.
Financial
8 Understand your cash management cycle.
9 Understand your pricing.
10 Understand your maximum rate of sustainable growth.
I believe it’s key for senior management to take ’time out’ to reflect on their businesses. Also, businesses should continue to focus on selling existing products to existing customers – only perhaps in a different way.
Time-out
The common barrier to taking time out is ‘where do I find the time’. But, how many meetings do you currently attend that you really need to? I know one managing director who every year cancels 50 per cent of last year’s appointments and he finds that invaluable to help develop his business.
Changing needs
Thinking more about what your customer needs now and in the future, and who that customer may be is also key. Customers have never been so powerful. They want to ‘buy as they go’ and they want the same quantity but at a cheaper price. Understanding and addressing these changing buying patterns is key.
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