Consistent growth has been the Holy Grail of every enterprise. However, it’s not easy to achieve, especially since the financial crisis of 2008. Even major corporations witnessed two times slower growth and enterprises in their fledgling stages.
The situation could be more stable. The threat of inflation is looming over the horizon, the global economy is growing at a torturously slow pace, and political and social unrest have made the market more volatile than ever.
The need of the hour is a sustainable holistic revenue growth plan. Coherent growth strategies can drive consistent growth for both small and large businesses. Want to know the secret behind such a growth blueprint? This is a guide to build revenue growth, so keep reading.
Every company is akin to a plant that is left to grow in a sometimes favourable, sometimes hostile market environment. Given the uncertain conditions, what should organisations do?
Since they are powerless to change the environment, they must be willing and prepared to adopt. Business agility and quick adoption of evolving trends are indispensable, given the changes COVID brought about. That is the real distinguishing factor between a corporate laggard and a winner.
We firmly believe that maintaining brand consistency is only possible when keeping abreast with the trends is treated less as a fad and more as a growth necessity. Brands also find a meaningful opportunity to display their manifesto in a volatile market.
Growth Jockey's expert team takes a highly strategic approach to effective brand positioning – identifying potential market opportunities, conducting individualised analyses to define brand personality, and converting the business growth strategy into action (including content, design, and development).
Just like companies heavily in debt have created a vicious cycle of reverse growth, corporate winners focus on creating a virtuous growth cycle. To secure higher returns on capital, companies need to establish a competitive advantage as the fulcrum on which all operations hinge.
Among the most effective growth strategies, targeting competitive advantage ensures higher returns, which, when invested wisely, generates higher returns. Growth Jockey supports the development of a distinctive business model and scaling from there instead of going the other way around – preceding profits to pursue growth.
We've observed that the market favours companies with a robust business model. Such companies can efficiently recruit talent, attract investments, and motivate staff and management. We help businesses craft a strong model built upon a story customers find relatable; no complex and arcane mathematical formulas are needed.
While businesses can always plunge into adjacent markets, the same is only profitable if there is a healthy core for support. When founders sit down to establish the latest strategy for revenue growth strategy, the company's core activity should top the list of priorities.
It all works a lot like body training. Most people concentrate on the body's visible parts, such as the legs and arms. However, if the training does not accompany a healthy diet and lifestyle (which strengthen the core), there will be no desired effects.
Our team compared companies driving growth in their core industry, those heavily invested in secondary industries, and organisations more focused on smaller sectors. The results solidified our convictions that only a strong core makes expanding into adjacent markets easy and lucrative.
Does this mean it can only grow overall with a strong core? Surprisingly no, but the same is an exception, not the norm. For some companies, strengthening the body would require a complete overhaul of business operations. Others may need to switch resources from stagnant segments to more profitable markets.
Every company's core sector is like the rudder of a ship, steering it in the desired direction. So, companies must now steer towards adjacent markets with the core as the rudder. We firmly believe in the golden rule – the core drives 80% of revenue while the remaining 20% comes from new, profitable segments.
Over time, the new segments may generate higher profits for the company. For instance – An auto parts supplier could break into information systems, brake and safety tech, vehicle connectivity, etc. Gradually, the profits from the “beyond-the-core” markets could amount to 75% to 80% of total company profits.
Growth Jockey encourages this through thorough market analysis to identify opportunities and gaps. For example – the world is currently adopting the zero-carbon emissions policy. This is a door of opportunity for companies in the construction and chemical industries. They can disrupt recycled materials and sustainable construction materials markets, seizing the day.
Our experts recommend that all companies look for ways to increase revenue through expansion, regardless of whether their core industries are strong or weak. The ones with a strong core can prepare themselves to keep abreast with future trends, and those with weak cores can use adjacent markets to offset sluggishness in other areas.
Among the essential strategies for increasing revenue is the need to grow on familiar and similar grounds. It calls for reiteration that the core is still the most important. Then comes the need to break into new markets.
However, the new markets should be familiar to the company in question. Examples of familiar markets include defence and aerospace, broadcasting and cable, etc. Our team has closely monitored companies with similar markets in their portfolios.
These tend to earn higher revenue when compared to those playing on completely unfamiliar grounds. Why does this matter? Simply because similarity allows a company to know whether they are the best owner of the assets they're selling and whether that will enable them to generate the required revenue.
How to build a revenue growth strategy that works? Don’t stop at industry! We at Growth Jockey move on from the industry to geography. So, what would this mean?
The logic is the same – just like generating good revenue without a solid core is challenging, it is without conquering the local market. Generally, only one in every five companies can grow despite underperforming in the local market.
We have also observed that companies that form the exception belong to countries like Japan, where local markets are typically slow-growing. Other regions need more international expansion to offset regional growth.
Once the local market is cornered, key steps strategist use for revenue growth includes expansion into global markets. Growth Jockey has found that most companies in our practice generate higher revenue from markets outside their operating region.
In any case, international disruption is vital to offset any slackness in the local markets. Our team has found that revenue generated from overseas markets can be substantial, incredibly, when highly lucrative, as with regions like North America and China.
Growth Jockey observed that most companies' revenue growth strategy in 2022 was to drive consistent growth. And that is not a wrong goal at all – in fact, consistently growing companies have outperformed their peers, time and time again.
However, we also know that only some companies have the engine to drive consistent growth. In such cases, our experts recommend pruning as it is only a part of the growth process. So, removing investments from less lucrative areas and reinvesting the proceeds into sites that promise growth.
Among the essential strategies for increasing revenue, mergers and acquisitions account for nearly one-third of total profits. But here's the catch – Growth Jockey reiterates that total transactional value does not drive revenue growth. Instead, it is the ideal pattern responsible for revenue generation.
Our analysis found that companies involved in programmatic acquisition outperformed the others. Meaning they invested in at least two medium and small-sized deals with similar themes. Our team also reviewed companies that grow organically but use different merger and acquisition strategies.
The results were again baffling – programmatic acquirers tend to outperform even their organic counterparts.
The efficient strategy for revenue growth among all industries is to leverage capital markets. Not only that, but it also means developing a robust business model. This is true of both slow-growing and fast-growing regions.
In our experience, companies that take the leap of faith, diving into markets away from competitors, are most likely to outgrow expectations in share price. This undoubtedly unbolts higher returns. On average, companies that outgrow their industry can expect to grow at least 5% higher than those that don't.
Sustainable revenue growth begins with developing a growth mindset. The abovementioned ten strategies are an excellent place to start, but organisations must set definite benchmarks to sustain growth.
There is no hard and fast rule that all ten growth strategies need to be applied. However, incorporating as many as possible into the business model will guarantee long success.
At Growth Jockey, we help you formulate RGM strategies to put yourselves in the best possible position to emerge as commercial winners.
At Growth Jockey, our unwavering dedication lies in creating customised models that effectively tackle the crucial challenges confronted by our clients across diverse industries. Regardless of the size of your company, whether a small-scale enterprise or a large corporation, you can now leverage cutting-edge technology to drive revenue growth.
Take the decisive step towards unlocking the next level of growth for your brand by contacting us today!