Where Growth Comes From
Growth occurs where you have a very simple equation that describes the coming together of demand and supply. The greater the demand and the weaker the supply the faster the business growth develops, similar to the simple equation to calculate force which Newton describes in his second law, Force = Mass x Acceleration or F=ma.
There are however other factors that will impact the trajectory of growth in your business which come from shifts in the market that alter what is now deemed in demand and ultimately where supply comes from.
For example just before the last financial crisis, otherwise known as the “credit crunch”, everybody wanted high return investments and accepted the associated high risk, but due to recent financial failings everybody now wants limited risk investment. So although the product that people are now seeking still remains an investment it has evolved from being a high risk type to a low risk one.
Suppliers and advisor’s of these high risk investments are now considered to be untrustworthy, so customers seek alternative sources of supply to go with their new style of product.
So its not just about getting your product and service right in the beginning, its also needs to be adapted to suit market demands and ensure you continue to supply or you run the risk of turning what was a high growth business into a plummeting growth business as that demand shifts away from you and moves elsewhere.
Demand Meets Supply
The discovery of demand may come as a results of you falling into a new market through circumstance or by the opportunity of chance (right place, right time) triggered by a customer request or a specific event occurring. Sometimes its through careful planning using market research which purposely uncovers hidden demand.
To fulfil this initial demand you may develop a product or service from either a technical point of view to meet that demand and evolve your business operations to allow growth to occur, or you recognise the market needs and create the business infrastructure and if required the means to develop a product or service to meet that demand, or find a suitable source.
Either way you you have identified a need in the market with high enough demand that you can fulfil and you are now at the beginning of your growth cycle.
Moving To A New Plateau
For start-ups & younger business who have growth potential, an effective commercial strategy will make a world of difference in the results you achieve both long term as well as short term and will ultimately govern the speed your business develops.
Established organisations who have already gained a foothold in the market and growth has either reached a plateau or needs assistance to move it towards new goals typically has many hidden sales and marketing assets that if uncovered and realigned correctly can bring about rapid changes in growth trajectory.
For the businesses in turmoil that has a fundamentally sound model, it is often a disconnect with its market or an over reliance on sales and marketing strategies that are not measurable and proven which need to be identified and addressed quickly and systems put in place to improve stability.
Sales and marketing is also a critical tool for taking your business into new territories as it can identify live market changes in demand and provide a closed loop feedback mechanism to your R&D department or product development and supplier selection teams.
Avoiding Sales And Marketing Waste
In the modern world, nothing happens until somebody sells something and that is true of every business, organisation and individual. Without the selling of ideas, concept, visions and beliefs there would be no identify, co-operation or future of any kind as everything would just grind to a halt.
Most businesses recognise the importance of selling and marketing, however the strategies they end up adopting are fundamentally based on traditional approaches that cost most companies an excessive amount of time and money and in turn creates a risky business environment.
Just asking business owners what their advertising does for them in terms of sales results and you will find that most could not tell you.
For reasons I described above a business can find itself in a place without the right strategy which is probably based on sales and marketing ideas that don’t provide the kind of control, insights and financial return that a sound sales and marketing strategy will deliver.
In an attempt to resolve the situation a business may bring in trainers or marketing partners that advise them to select an approach which appears to make sense on the surface, usually because everybody else is doing it that way, however more often that not it is mainly a cosmetic fix up that does not deliver and real longevity.
What you actually end up with is expensive advertising or promotion or being forced into dealing with complex and inefficient sales processes. Worst of all you start becoming reliant on just a few good people or paying for sales and marketing infrastructure that you just don’t need or constantly educating confused customers that just don’t get what you do or trust your company. So just hall ow is anybody supposed to sell anything with this going on ?
Sadly, and in many cases much more could be achieved with far less or as manufacturers would say it can be done faster, better and cheaper.
These problems can eventually lead to the untimely death of a business and the numbers detailing business closures are indeed staggering .
Growth No Longer Has To Be Elusive
The problem is that many of the methods still being employed for selling and marketing just don’t belong in the modern world. Not because of technology, but simply because people are more sceptical and overwhelmed with choice while being more informed than at any other time in history.
Sales and marketing has become separated and disjointed. In many cases it’s wrapped around the suppliers business and not around the customer.
The sales and marketing functions should be treated like the human body in more effective medicines and therapies as a complete system. Where you get down to the root cause of the problem and treat it directly, not just the visible outlying symptoms.
This will enable you to focus on what really works and delivers results which directly affects the growth of your business.
Looking at your business like a system will help you to uncover hidden opportunities and by using a systematic approach to develop your sales and marketing as a whole, activities can be compounded generating larger and faster returns over traditional methods.
Employ A Systematic Approach Based On Proven Formulas
In manufacturing systems are used to guarantee quality and cost. In distribution logistics systems are also used to guarantee supply. So why in business are we not using sales and marketing systems that can deliver real leads and customers ?
One of the biggest steps you can take towards achieving sustainable growth is systematising your sales and marketing approach, so that you have repeatable and predicable outcome that keeps the business focused on results, enabling staff to spend time where you biggest return for both the customer and you as the supplier.
Sounds simple, yet its the one step that is mostly overlooked, avoided and misunderstood because its creates transparency and accountability that most sales and marketing approaches try to avoid.
Written by Nic Windley, a Business Development Consultant, Marketing Consultant and Sales Consultant you’ve been reading post Business Growth Cycle
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