New Markets

Perhaps you are in a good place. Your business is doing fine. Your established customers are returning to you and you have a good name and reputation in the area you work. We’re very happy for you. Remember, inevitably, at some point, you will be overtaken. So if you are happy right now, actually, now is the time to plan what to do next. This might well be to enter new markets.

Defining this is the third and final strategic workflow. As with the others, it can be defined in a week. Here, the focus is on which of perhaps multiple directions makes the most sense. As before, your people make the decisions – we provide objective review and process. This is critical, because what you don’t select is just as important as what you do, so it is absolutely critical that you look at multiple options and then define the best fit.

Where next? Growth may be geographical or it may be into new users for your offering – it may be that you have space to grow locally or in your current niche. Or, when you look at it, there may be new (more valuable) applications for the skillsets or techniques you have. The key issue for any business unit – especially for an SME – is to decide on one, and do it. If you try to grow in multiple directions, your resources will be stretched too thin and you will never gain critical mass.

This version of the process places a strong focus on getting your team to look at what they can offer in new markets and taking that as the driver to decide which markets to focus on.