The document discusses a growth strategy for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to achieve double-digit annual growth without new products. It recommends focusing first on protecting existing business by understanding competitors and customer values. The next steps are to further penetrate existing market segments, extend into new segments with current products, and finally diversify into new markets with new products. This four-step strategic pathway emphasizes operational excellence in current activities before more ambitious moves, and can support significant sales growth for SMEs over three to five years.

1. The company to-go for getting added value for your business
’09 Newsletter
GROWTH STRATEGY INSIGHTS
Double-digit growth without a single new product?.
Simply focus on making the most of the business
you're in.
If you want to grow your business by 15% to 20% per year, where do you begin?
Do you ask what new business you should be in? Do you adopt a novel strategic
framework? Do you seize a new market opportunity? Do you make a big
acquisition?
Not if you're an SME’s company. You don't yet have the resources to do everything
simultaneously. Pursuing risky new businesses, markets, and strategic frameworks
too hastily can take your eyes off the ball— with disastrous consequences.
Instead, ask what more you can make of the business you're in right now. By
focusing on mature activities, you reinforce your foundation of operational
excellence—high performance in all areas contributing to customer satisfaction:
product quality, lead time, on-time delivery, technical support.
From this foundation, you take more adventurous steps in the strategic pathway.
This simple but disciplined sequence of priorities starts with protecting your
existing business. Then it proceeds to further penetrating existing markets,
extending into new markets, and finally diversifying with new products.
The strategic pathway isn't new. But following it rigorously can help you resist the
siren song of new products and markets until you're ready for them.
The strategic pathway comprises four steps:
1. PROTECT WHAT YOU HAVE.
Understand what you have, why you have it, who's after it, and how to keep it.
Have business unit managers:
· Create a competitor/segment matrix. Map rows of competitors against
columns of market segments, estimating competitors' annual sales in each
segment. Determine who's gaining and losing share. Include historical and
expected growth rates and your company's current margins in each segment.
· Watch for surprises: a market bigger than you thought, rivals encroaching on
unexpected segments. Discern threats to your base—and opportunities for
growth within existing businesses.
· Determine why your company's successful. Ask those closest to your
customers— salespeople, engineers, technical support—what customers
appreciate most about your company. Is it good technical support? Impressive
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‘Nous nous engageons sur des résultats opérationnels’

2. The company to-go for getting added value for your business
’09 Newsletter
lead times? Different customers may value different things, suggesting market
segmentation.
· Decide what's most worth protecting. Identify businesses needing the most
ferocious protection. Take actions to safeguard them.
2. PENETRATE EXISTING MARKET SEGMENTS FURTHER
Increase share in market segments you already serve with products you already
have— including upgrades and customizations. Concentrate your strengths
against rivals' weaknesses.
3. EXTEND YOUR BUSINESS
Consider new products for existing customers, or new customers for existing
products.
4. DIVERSIFY INTO NEW MARKETS
You've strengthened your existing businesses' market positions to their realistic
limits. Now diversify into new markets with new products
Most SME’s can realize significant sales and earnings increases for three to five
years without diversification, while positioning themselves for the diversification
needed to sustain growth beyond that time horizon through operational
excellence…
2 © experts@experts-visions.com
‘Nous nous engageons sur des résultats opérationnels’