Plant Seeds For Growth

BursaSnipers

Publish date: Sat, 01 Jun 2019, 04:42 PM

7 Every organization can grow. You can outgrow limitations, challenge common wisdom, and achieve top results. Here’s the challenge: Few know how.

That’s from Steve Coughran, author of “Outsizing: Strategies to Grow Your Business, Profits, And Potential.”

Over the last decade, Coughran studied firms of all sizes in all industries. He’s finding the mindset, patterns, and processes that lead to stellar performance. A few common traits help companies grow, he found.

Obsess about customers. At the center of every thriving company’s plan is the customer, Coughran states.

He points to AmazonAMZN as an organization that’s powered new ideas through customer-centricity. Coughran quotes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos: “Your desire to delight your customers will drive you to invent on their behalf.”

Coughran says most companies acknowledge the value of putting the customer first. But few do it. “Those that differentiate through customer experience conduct the deep due diligence to understand their ideal customers,” he said.

This process also includes identifying the ideal customer, understanding their values and studying consumer actions.

Capitalize on advantages. Distinguish value from profit, Coughran says. “Strategy is rooted in delivering an exceptional customer experience,” he says. “By pleasing your customers, you capture value.”

Customers will pay more for products or services that bring more value, he adds. You can boost sales by charging more or charging less and making it up in volume.

There are other approaches, such as the Ansoff Matrix. This technique helps you grow by expanding who you sell to. You can do this by selling current products in new markets. Or you can develop new products to sell in your existing market. Another option is selling new products to new markets.

Cultivate a shared vision. Companies that grow urge their teams to succeed with a compelling purpose, Coughran says.

He advises leaders to ask staffers at every level of the company these questions: What’s your company’s purpose? What unique calling are we trying to fulfill? Which plan will achieve this purpose?

The answers to these three questions “will inform you about whether your team is aligned, or whether it is time to reevaluate your strategy,” he said.

In addition, foster a culture that values and recognizes all employees’ opinions, Coughran says. Invite dialogue in any form, be it verbal or written.

Refine your story. Russell Barnett, chief marketing officer of My/ Mo Mochi Ice Cream, which is in 18,000 U.S. stores, says when the company first started out he went on every single sales call.

He wanted to ensure “we were able to tell our story the right way,” he said. “This really resonated with the retailers and the buyers.”

Center on employees. Barnett says My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream’s Chief Executive, Craig Berger, meets with the plant, marketing and R&D teams each day. He also meets with all new employees and chats with them for 45 minutes to get to know every person by first name.

“We invest in training and upskilling and understand that if we take care of our employees, we will see it in our bottom line,” Barnett said.

And Coughran adds that companies allocate less than 1% of revenue to training. “It’s no surprise that only 10% of corporate training is considered effective.”

Foster hands-on mentality. Wherever Barnett travels and visits local retailers, he makes sure My/Mo Mochi ice cream is easily found within the frozen snack section.

In addition he says, “we require every single marketing team member to work on the production line in our plant in Los Angeles.” And regarding training, he says, “It’s the only way to be sure that everyone is intimately involved in our products and what goes into making our My/Mo Mochi ice cream balls.”

Employees’ know-how must keep up with new products. “Our R&D team is constantly innovating, so it’s critical our entire team be aware of the process and our new products,” he said.

Anticipate.

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