Manufacturing SMEs that “perform significantly better” are those focused on strategic planning within the last 3 years.
This is one of the findings of the 6th Québec Industrial Barometer from Sous-Traitance Industrielle Québec (STIQ) who annually surveys more than 400 SMEs to produce a portrait of the sector.
By the way, half of the respondents had a successful growth of at least 5% of their turnover in 2014. How did you do last year?
The destination : “perform significantly better”
Those who use our services are aiming to “perform much better.” Whether it be to double or even triple their turnover over 5 years, to face the competition, going international or, simply have the best chances of growth, our customers believe in strategic planning to achieve their goals.
Data navigation
Marketing done internally is too often done intuitively, based on preconceptions or group decisions. Companies that “perform significantly better” take the time to revisit the facts and to structure and base their strategic and tactical decisions on data.
No matter the industry, strategic planning is the basis of our intervention with our customers.
It’s a process that begins with an audit. During this activity, we cover relevant aspects of the marketing, sales, market, customers and competitors, to identify strategic and tactical recommendations.
Should the need arise to “speak to the market” or find missing data, commercial research will be needed. Whether to highlight the company’s strengths, to find a strategic position or, to confirm known or detect new elements, market research is worth its weight in gold every time and generates a very short-term ROI without counting the sustainable value it provides.
With these two activities completed, we can confidently develop a strategic development plan.
The plan
It’s this strategic planning that makes all the difference. This plan addresses the issues of positioning, value proposition, segmentation, integrated online and offline marketing, inbound marketing and, sales and technology tools that come in support of the sales and marketing function.
It’s with a set plan that the company can now avoid navigating all day and sail to profitable horizons. Let it be known that the journey may not be smooth. It resides that the destination is mapped according to the objectives and known issues.
After setting up, the tactics are easily identified and the marketing and sales tools to create are quickly put in place or improved while being aligned with the strategies.
Conclusion
So, do you feel that your boat is sailing the right path? Will you arrive at your destination on time? Do you have a clear route in mind? Would you need to do any strategic planning? Companies that “perform significantly better” have done so over the last 3 years. When did you do it last?
