30
JULY - AUGUST
2015
3 Proven Growth Strategies By: Paul S. Pereyra
The dream of every entrepreneur is for his small business to grow big. Although not all of the strategies outlined here may be appropriate for your business some may work for you. Let’s learn from a couple of companies and the strategies they utilized that have catapulted their firms to stardom. 1. Thrive through Innovation: Ciao Bella a New York gelato making shop shifted from foodservice (serving mostly restaurants) to retailing to customers. They introduced unique, new & exciting flavours in colourful containers… these coupled with an endorsement from Oprah made the brand soar to new heights. Step aside Apple & Samsung… Fuhu introduced a tablet, called Nabi which is targeted & made for kids, it is loaded with 17,000 lessons for preschoolers to sixth graders. Fuhu’s focus on discovery, rich and engaging experiences have paid off its revenues have grown by over 159,000%. General Assembly changed the landscape of higher education by opening a center that teaches what businesses in the 21st Century need like digital marketing, mobile development etc. they now have over 10,000 alumni with 99% being able to secure employment in less than a year. John Fluevog Boots & Shoes of Vancouver Canada became tremendously popular due to their unconventional or unique designs. Bateman puts it quite succinctly: “If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.”
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2. Segment the Market: Method is a home cleaning brand from San Francisco that tapped the premium market & capitalized on being “Green”. Combined with very sleek packaging & national distribution they became so successful. Nat Sherman positioned itself as premium tobacco thereby appealing to a very select and sophisticated market: from a small cigar shop it now sells to 31 countries worldwide. Pepsi carved it’s own share of the huge cola market by appealing to a younger generation. Omada Health focused on people at risk of developing diabetes by improving the lives of people through coaching. Omada’s program, Prevent offers weekly fitness and nutrition lessons as well as connects the individual to a personal health coach. Clif Bar a homemade energy bar positioned itself as an organic snack for the active generation zeroing in on hikers and cyclists to reach sales of over $173M. 3. Go for Acquisitions: although it may require more investment. Acquiring established companies can help improve revenues and make the trip to being big faster. The business has to be a good match though with the current company’s core competencies, culture & organizational structure among other things. Jollibee’s acquisition of Chow King, Greenwich & Mang Inasal surely expanded their business in the Chinese food, Pizza & Roast/Native categories and improved their revenues. Android was acquired by Google in 2005, now it has dominated the market with more than 78% share. Whatever growth strategy you employ it is essential that you plan it very well and implement it properly; it has to have the commitment of the people in the organization, must add value to the brand and should be backed up with enough resources to make it successful. For Talks, Brand or WOW Workshops you may reach Paul Pereyra at 09176469857 or email him at pere.branding@gmail.com