What business are you in?
Sustainable growth in resilient organizations relies on a clear understanding of current and potential strengths, aligned with current and future opportunities. At the heart of these lie the essential core strengths should be what differentiates the organization in the minds of its customers. There also needs to an appreciation of where exactly the organization plays in the value chain, this will determine where it can deliver, and earn, the greatest value, as well as suggesting how it might grow within or beyond this point in the chain. The external forces affecting their operation must then be considered these can be anything from competitor innovations and market opportunities to dealing with the implications of a full-scale global pandemic (and anything in between).
What can you do better than anyone else?
It is important to step back and be honest about where the organization adds the most value for its customers. This will demand genuine customer insight and understanding. Where is the sweet spot? What makes customers come back for more? The answer to this can be essentially rational (performance advantage, pricing, faster or more reliable supply, etc.) or emotional (brand appeal, personal chemistry, long-term loyalty, etc.) or, most likely, a combination of the two.
Our consulting teams have the breadth of understanding and big picture perspective to help clients clearly identify what makes their offerings special and different from anyone else’s. We can also offer in depth qualitative and quantitative customer research solutions—asking the right questions to help find the most resilient and sustainable solutions.
Should you grow by focusing or extending your position in the value chain?
If the organization has a reputation for, say, outstanding customer care and responsive service, would it make sense to diversify into an area where these qualities could not be maintained? Should the organization grow organically while maintaining its specialist focus or should a complementary M&A opportunity be sought? Similarly, it might have strong interpersonal relationships with customers, but little understanding, or interest in, data driven customer profiling technologies. Should it invest in building these capabilities itself or find a cloud based solution provided by an external specialist?
These are typical of the kinds of future growth options that we regularly help clients evaluate. Our network of specialist partners can also offer a range of practical solutions to help bring any future growth strategy to life.
How will the dynamics of the marketplace affect your future trajectory?
It has been said that change is the only constant we can bank on. Competitors, markets, society, politics and, of course, pandemics, all risk destabilizing any organization that lacks the resilience needed to stay focused on its core strengths while maintaining the responsive agility needed to attend to changing customer needs and remain as relevant as ever.
Our market insights and extensive monitoring and research offerings can diffuse the anxiety of the unknown to enable our clients to take stock of any threat and develop greater resilience.