VINCE KOSTELNIK
LUFTIG WARREN
The Scenario
What if you want to grow your business 20% more than last year? Let's also say you have a clear vision of how this could be accomplished. You know which key products need increased sales and you know which customers and prospects to approach. You also have a good idea of some of the different approaches you could use to achieve your goal.
But, in order to accomplish this desired 20%, you must rely on certain groups of people in your business --- sales, engineering and quality departments, to name a few. So you set your goal, publish it to the company and away you go.
The Challenge
Even if you tell your key people how you see this happening, you must ask yourself 2 key questions:
- Are they absolutely clear on the goal that you have communicated?
- Will they effectively communicate it to the people that they rely on and then also get them to "buy in" to the 20% increase --- within the guidelines that you have envisioned?
Are you sure that the answer to these questions is "yes"?
Core Goals
In our hypothetical situation, the 20% could be measured in terms of many different things. It could be gross sales dollars. It could be in terms of increased production levels of a specific product --- one that has a higher profit margin, for example. Is everyone clear on exactly what you are trying to accomplish?
Who is in charge of making these distinctions clear to your employees? Is it you? Even if it is, you still need to rely on other people --- whether it is employees in certain departments, suppliers, out-sourced services or a combination of all of these.
But how do you make sure that all of these things will come together? How do you know that all of these different groups will be working toward the same goal?
Core Values
What about the guidelines on how you will accomplish your 20% goal? Are there shift issues, capacity issues, raw material issues, delivery issues or a combination --- do these pose any potential problems with quality? If so, could these issues cause a disastrous end to your plan?
Can you sacrifice quality? Will you sacrifice quality? Who makes that decision? Will that ultimately affect your customer loyalty and work against you in achieving your goal?
So Many Questions
All of the questions listed above must be understood and answered within the scope of what you are trying to accomplish. What are your alternatives?
Let Luftig Warren show you how a simple One Page Strategic Plan can put everyone in your business on the same page.
Visit www.luftigwarren.com and download your Free One Page Strategic Plan or contact Luftig Warren directly.
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Vince Kostelnik is a senior marketing advisor for Luftig Warren, specializing in strategic marketing development.
Luftig Warren is a marketing advisory firm' specializing in business growth strategies and tactics. Luftig Warren applies a comprehensive understanding of marketing principles to solve clients' specific business challenges in three key areas: revenue growth, new client acquisition, and client retention.
For more information on implementing a full marketing system into your organization, contact us or visit us on the web at www.luftigwarren.com
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