Stanley Cherkasky
Managing Partner
Change Management Consulting, Inc. (CMC) is a global management consulting and training company dedicated to helping organizations of all sizes improve performance, achieve goals and advance leadership capability. |
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Greetings!
Welcome to our monthly newsletter. It delivers valuable news, best practices, and resources to enhance your organization's competitive position. Since our focus is on achieving business results, we truly become a business partner to our clients. This is accomplished through a combination of assessments, customized training, and management consulting.
Our diversified products and services are complementary, and based on best practices and innovative design. CMC's core competencies include: change management, leadership development, strategic planning, continual improvement initiatives, compliance management (ISO quality and environmental management systems) and Lean Six Sigma. |
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Ten Strategies to Position your Organization for Economic Recovery
It's just as important to plan for an economic upturn as it is to develop contingency plans for a looming recession. And from some of the leading economic indicators, now is the time to begin planning for a return to recovery. Up until now businesses have been coping, and most have hunkered down. In the fourth quarter and next year, a growing economic recovery is expected. Will you be prepared?
Many economists are suggesting an upturn in the economy beginning in the fourth quarter of 2009, and into 2010. Even though there will still be some belt-tightening while earlier contingency plans are executed, firms will need to plan for the beginning of a new business cycle.
Putting growth plans on hold for too long could be a costly strategic mistake. It's not too late to plan for a rebound in the new business cycle. Visionary leaders look for new value propositions, and build a competitive advantage during hard times.
Here are ten strategies to prepare your organization to be well-positioned for the economic recovery:
1. Conduct a SWOT analysis - Planning for a brighter future starts with analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Evaluate your firm internally, coupled with an environmental scan of the competitive landscape.
2. Differentiate your firm - It's all about creating a unique value proposition. Start with your SWOT analysis. Everything is fair game (e.g. technology, experience, certifications, commendations, price, value, etc.).
3. Invest in technology - Examples would include Web software that would allow customers to place and track orders, ERP suites, HR software applications, and other industry-specific technology.
4. Identify new markets - Typically the more avenues of distribution you have, the better off you are. If, for example, you cater to the commercial market, consider the government space or even the aerospace and the aircraft sectors.
5. Enhance your Website - Your Website should be optimized so that it becomes a powerful Internet marketing platform for generating sales leads contributing to both short and long-term growth of sales.
6. Invest in Training - Great companies realize the value of their employees and staff development. Don't wait for the upturn to focus on training. Trained employees are be more confident, productive and resilient.
7. Forge strategic alliances - Understand your core competencies, know what customers are looking for, and forge strategic partnerships to shore up your product and service portfolios.
8. Trim costs surgically - Across the board cost cutting is risky at best. Analyze expenses with your key staff, one line item at a time. This way you can make strategic cuts, one cut at a time.
9. Optimize your advertising effort - Go beyond traditional print advertising in trade journals and other publications. Be creative and don't discount using Web-based technology (e.g. pay-per-click advertising). And be sure to track the ROI for each activity to make your dollars count!
10. Build a strong sales force - Develop a unified sales team focused on customer needs and expectations. Indeed, your sales representatives should become business partners to your customers. |
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News Briefs
Economic
Recovery Survey shows promising results
A recent survey of
business owners, conducted by Consulting Magazine (printed in the September /
October 2009 issue of Consulting), asked the question "When do you think we'll
begin to see the signs of an economic recovery?" The survey found that 31% of
respondents answered now, 23% by the end of 2009, 20% in early 2010, 15% end of
2010, and only 11% in 2011.
These data are
encouraging since 54% of the respondents think we will begin to see the signs of
an economic recovery this year. Another way to look at it is that a combined 74%
of the respondents believe they will see better times ahead - no later than early
2010.
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