Grow Revenue: 10 Musts for Profit Creation
Problem: Unfortunately, even before the economic crisis, increasing revenue was hard with outmoded paradigms.
Opportunity: For companies that realize a customer-centered approach, a great chance exists to grow revenue.
Resolution: Resolve to face current realities and shift your ideas for business growth planning and revenue creation.
For sales growth, pivoting your leadership framework is essential. Further, it’s vital to know that the rules to grow revenue have changed.
The Rules for Increasing Revenue Have Changed
Not too long ago, the barrier for entry across business sectors was high. In other words, for those companies with means through venture capital and other investments, dominated whole industries. As a result of the flow of money, they had the funds to capitalize on promotion and sales. Also, they could drive their research and development to get products to market much faster than others. And so it was that many innovative but small or even medium-sized businesses could not compete to grow revenue.
That scenario is no longer the case. Meaning, that talented, disruptive, and innovative small companies can compete with large corporations. For instance, Bookshop.org has sought to compete and take a small bite out of Amazon’s market share. For years, there was a war between Amazon and the book publishing and sales world. But the pandemic only maximized the trend that was happening in that industry. Booksellers discovered an alternative for their products on another platform to grow revenue. Bookshop.org experienced a lift to its business and blew past expectations for the year.
Still, Bookshop.org is not the only company seeking to compete against Corporate America. To know this, all you have to is do a simple search on Google for how businesses could compete against corporations.
The reality is that size is not just a liability, at times, for small businesses. It’s also a liability for corporations when the marketplace is moving at warp speed.
And, that means that any company that delivers fast enough gets the win, increasing revenue, and market share.
10 Realities to Consider to Grow Revenue
Particularly in a challenging and uncertain economic climate, increasing revenue means business executives have to lead change. In my recent book, Master the Pivot: How to Lead (And Win Big) in Times of Uncertainty, I write about the leadership mindset for today’s business climate. Still, as a business management consultant, I developed a list of realities every business leader has to know. Sure, it’s not an exhaustive list. But, these 10 items have to get considered for increasing revenue.
1. In measuring customer experience, traditional attribution models don’t work.
The customer experience is crucial in any industry, and it is the core of what you want to know. So, because of technology, rapid data analysis, and the on-demand mindset, businesses must focus sharply on their customers. As a result, you have to shift your portfolio and lifetime valuations to make more informed decisions.
2. ROI channels provide imprecise and fractured information.
In looking to grow revenue, if you rely on defining ROI by channel, you get an incomplete picture of what’s happening. In other words, measuring ROI by channel is the industrial approach to increasing revenue in the digital age. By continuing with this method, you miss understanding customer engagement and cultivation.
3. Hierarchical team structures play an adverse role in increasing revenue.
Hierarchy matters. And, if your company has a structure that is not flat enough to make decisions, precious time gets wasted. We understand, especially this year, that management has changed (e.g., virtual teams). However, executives have to take a different approach to management, that is, design thinking.
4. Data and analytics beyond the quantitative to grow revenue.
The nature of data has changed in the modern business environment. For instance, data analytics now help inform every position and action taken in the company. Thus, executives have to view data and analytics not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively. In other words, data has to serve as a diplomat in our executive boardroom.
5. Planning goes from 12 months+ to 90-day segments.
Sure, many of us learned in business school that we had to plan for one, three, or five years. Yet it’s dated thinking now. As we know, AI has changed the ballgame. And, it’s growing so fast—and will only grow faster—meaning that what happens in January could be outdated by December. So, you have to move to 90-day planning because anything more is speculative.
6. The C-Suite is changing and experiencing disruption.
Unfortunately for some, the C-suite is not remaining as we know it. In other words, the disruption has made it into the executive table. As an example, companies have moved from a chief marketing officer to a chief growth officer. As a result, the roles and responsibilities, even in marketing, have changed. And so have the metrics for performance. Furthermore, it’s going to make it across the entire C-suite.
7. Doing the same expecting different results is not increasing revenue.
Again, the marketplace has changed. And, customers drive demand, as do massive advancements in technology. So, companies that have dated business models will see their businesses suffer. Meaning, the competition is too stiff with competitors leveraging data and technology. Thus, losing less this year than you did last year means you are not competing well enough.
8. To grow revenue, a culture of learning is essential.
Disruption is a constant in the modern business environment. As a result of it and technology, executives and teams have to update their skills continually. Further, workers understand this idea, so executives must respond. For increasing revenue, it’s vital to create a culture of learning in your company.
9. Edge initiatives must be a continual part of your business.
During the industrial age, business activities were indeed more static. However, with the changes expressed in this article, edge initiatives have taken center stage. In other words, it’s vital to test ideas and innovate continually. Iterative improvements across your business lines won’t grow revenue. As a result, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the competition on innovation and disruption in your business.
10. Loyalty is a great human value, but other business values replace it.
Loyalty is great, and it’s something we should all strive to be in life. However, when it comes to business, loyalty, and years of service are less important. Sure, you may have had an excellent team that made you an industry leader. Nevertheless, that team might not sustain you going forward. Instead of loyalty, look at curiosity, emotional intelligence, and self-determination as fundamental values of your team to help you grow revenue.
Safety and security exist in an illusion. For business growth and increasing revenue, risk is inherent in the process.
Gone are the days of timidity in business. Because of technology, the economy, informed workers, disruption, and other ideas, executives have to go big or go home.
Ben Stroup is Chief Growth Architect and President at Velocity Strategy Solutions where he helps leaders design, develop, and deploy smarter business growth strategies. Ben is a futurist, disruptor, and data champion. He leads a team that takes a structured learning approach to business challenges, which allows them to assist leaders in bridging the gap between ideas, innovation, and revenue—taking ideas from mind to market.
Velocity Strategy Solutions is an on-demand, next-generation business strategy and management consulting firm which provides clients with a relentless focus on data, execution, and results that positively impact the bottom line. Velocity delivers integrated people and revenue strategies combined with a disciplined approach to growth architecture that elevates the capacity of leaders, teams, and organizations to succeed and win more.