We’ll assume you’ve already launched your company or your latest product and that you’ve begun penetrating key accounts. You may have had some upside revenue surprises and are ahead of plan, now what ? You have a few important decisions coming at you and they typically fall into one of two categories > To choose Acceleration plans or pursue reactive spending.
Acceleration Planning:
Most growing businesses would like to pursue revenue or market share growth acceleration as a key objective. It starts with an evaluation of what’s working and what needs to change. From that, you should develop a sequence of activities that deliver acceleration ( including additional sales resources, targeted promotions, channel diversification, dominant customer penetration). Next , you’ll want to set up a simple test protocol , to ensure these changes provide ROI and disrupt success. The key is to have steady communication with sales teams and established customers, both need to be very well aligned and should share a common incentive. Finally , at the end of the acceleration plan , measure and report the results to the stakeholders. Rinse and repeat as they say.
Reactive Spending:
Having enjoyed some early success, you might be feeling “entrepreneurial” and ready to start trying various ideas to “ juice “ the business. There are several risks in this approach, , first being instinct. Acceleration is a planned process whereas reactive spending is based on feel and a little bit of gambling instinct. The problems with that approach are that it usually doesn’t measure results, activities are not repeatable, resources are mis-aligned and customers can become confused. Many initial customers will ask for your support with more immediate spending, but you’ll serve them better with a smart acceleration plan. Hold to your guns an provide them a well sequenced plan that you can deliver and measure. Good luck.