A client’s business had been growing at various UNPREDICTABLE rates until it hit stagnation in growth rate. They needed a plan to gain funding to expand: Within a year of putting a tailor-made Total Potential Plan in place, the business grew 40%, along with secured funding.

The Full Story

Client Issue: This client was having difficulty with Lack of Control over Growth- which had been haphazard.

2 main reasons:

1. They were not sure what the growth drivers/levers were (what was working, what was not) so it was hard to predict further expansion/staffing /cash flow needs. This also made securing necessary growth funding almost impossible
2. Having been founded by an entrepreneur, most of the know-how lay with that 1 person. There was also no clear delineation of tasksbetween roles and no clear path forward for staff – so performance was sub optimal.

IMPLICATIONS: Growth had slowed dramatically

1. They did not, or indeed could not, know how or where  to get the best return on effort, or spend (ROI)
2. Lack of a clear Strategic Plan meant difficulty in raising capital for further expansion; or assessing value for sale

A systematic marketing growth plan with a future view was needed

What We Did

We worked with them in a series of face to face workshops and behind the scenes research. The result was a clear written strategic plan right down to the action item level, so the business was clear what needed to be done (marketing, sales, service, structures, goals and actions with KPI’s) each month for the following year ( demo available)

The Client`s Result

This plan was used to gain bank approval for finance to to expand and grew 40% in the year following the plan, by following the actions agreed. They were able to fund the activities identified in the plan with the additional investment they had managed to secure.

Problems/Challenges

The market dynamics had changed over the last few years and our successful family business was under threat from a shrinking market and more competitors (some manufacturers) entering the market with cheaper alternatives, thus eroding our market share. We needed to think out the box and do something different as the current manufacturer/distributor model was starting to not work. We needed some innovative ways to accelerate sales and customer demand and were looking to bring skills into the business which were lacking, such as marketing. We needed someone who could look at the issues from another viewpoint as we were too close to the coal-face.

Solution

With the above challenges in mind, Tessa Plen has introduced thinking frameworks that have helped us look at our business in an entirely new way and have allowed us to analyse market size, share and structure to ascertain where our relative strengths lie, where we can add margin and differentiate, and what are essential bread and butter products to stay viable. She is also helping us to forge closer ties and cooperation with key suppliers and to best meet end customer needs collaboratively via a bottom-up approach. Tessa is showing us how to best rationalise our range to concentrate on a profitable basket of goods, while ensuring we cater to key customer needs. The research she conducted with our customers has also provided good insight as to how to strengthen ties with customers and we have gone back to basics to cement and renew our customer relationships.

Results & Benefits

Two months into the project and the work with Tessa has leapfrogged my learning of a new area: marketing and understanding the market in more detail. Key to this fast-tracked learning with the way she quickly and practically downloaded her years of know how into my head that was relevant to me, and I quickly learned new critical thinking and evaluation systems and frameworks to make better business and commercial decisions. Were it not for Tessa’s assistance, I might never have been exposed to this way of thinking or, like her, would have taken years to learn on my own. In addition, she has set up some important meetings with key suppliers, and we are on the road to regaining lost clients, finding new clients and entrenching and cementing our current client relationships. Most importantly the client research reassured us of our technical and service strengths and pointed to the gaps that we need to fill. The market and pricing analysis will help us generate profitable sales. All in all, it has given us renewed confidence and a sense of renewal with a clear roadmap as to how to grow. We will continue to work with Tessa on an ongoing basis as a hands on coach, strategist and marketing/sales partner. Neil Ismay, Managing Director Quick Tint (Pty) Ltd Cape Town, South Africa

This program has taught me how to change my mindset and literally grow the sales of my practice as business and not to prioritize my assumptions about patient’s finances over the their healthcare needs.”

RESULTS ACHIEVED –FROM JUST 6 BUSINESS GROWTH COACHING SESSIONS-

1. Found & set up a better /the right location: discovered and commenced a new practice facility with medical colleagues in a medical centre
2. Identified and built action plan around 3 new target markets
3. Booked 3 large institutions hearing screening: potential for tens of thousands and to become preferred service provider
4. Set up my social media facbook marketing direct to patients, which is getting traction
5. Secured  a new retirement home as client (20 patients)
6. Established a professional network with 18 gp’s and ent’s, 15 of whom set me up as a preferred supplier!
7. Set myself up as a community speaker: secured two top rotary speaker events where i am guest of honour (perfect target market)
8. Last but not least, this has changed my mindset : given me the confidence to keep going,  to stick my neck out and try new things

Our Customer and Competitor research helps you find your Unique Point of Difference

Issue

Most businesses have only a vague idea what their competitors are doing and where or how they could improve. Without this knowledge, growth is severely stagnated. There is an extra 20% out there just by finding this out. And an extra 40% by planning and structuring well.

Customers are comparing you all the time to your competitors.

So if you don’t know your areas of strength or working on areas of weakness how do sell or reassure?

Total Potential Diagnoses and Researches the competitive strengths, weaknesses of :

• Your business operations, financials, products, services
• Your brand
• Your customers
• Your competitors

Then we map the gaps to find a unique point of differentiation

We Reasearch Competitors, Customers, Brands and Staff

• Stakeholder Interviews- Internal (Company/Brand image)
• BenchmarkCustomer Research (Brand Image, Customer Satisfaction)
• CompetitorResearch
• Lost CustomerResearch
• New Products/ Service Research- concept, usage
•  MonitoringResearch to measure progress

We Use A Variety of Methods

• Depth 1:1 interviews
• Experiential research
• Focus groups
• Set & Measure KPI’s

So You Can Discover

• What is really going oninside your business
• The starting point from which to improve in customers’ eyes
• How to be better and different vs ‘me too’
• Where and how to improve in customer attraction
• Which New products and services to develop vs ditch
• Your Customer & Consumer Buying & Usage Habits and Attitudes 
  • To better target and cater to your market
• Their Needs – Unmet Needs are  opportunities for growth