If Your Business Is Growing, Are You Still Focused on the Right Priorities?
As companies experience growth, whether through new product categories, market expansion, or acquisitions, they create exciting new opportunities.
But growth brings complexity. More brands, more teams, more investments, everyone competing for the same resources.
What I see is companies don't always take a step back to reassess their strategy as their business evolves.
Growth Requires Strategy & Focus
I've experienced this in very different business environments. While the circumstances may differ, the challenge is often the same: determining where to focus and invest to create the greatest value.
I recently worked with a company that had a growing portfolio of acquired and licensed brands. The challenge was that they didn't have a portfolio strategy, one that would help guide investment and divestiture decisions and identify opportunities for new brands to fill gaps in the market.
This required taking the time to evaluate each brand in the portfolio, the company, competitors, and market trends to ensure they were well positioned to achieve their business and strategic growth objectives.
At Coca-Cola, I faced a similar situation. At that time, they had recently expanded its water portfolio with Dasani and Evian. The company needed to strengthen its position in the fast-growing retail water category. At the same time, the bottled water market was experiencing explosive growth and intense competition.
We tackled this by partnering directly with the Coca-Cola bottlers and the retailers they served to understand their challenges, identify opportunities, and develop a water portfolio strategy that addressed both retailer and consumer needs.
The result was not only achieving distribution for both brands, but also earning category captainship which led to strengthening Coca-Cola's influence in the water aisle and creating opportunities to drive category innovation.
Both situations required stepping back to reassess the strategy as the business evolved, ensuring investments and priorities were focused on the greatest opportunities for growth.
The Market Isn't Standing Still
While your business is growing, your competitors are changing. Customer needs are evolving. Technology, regulations, and market trends are creating new opportunities and challenges.
That's why, as your business evolves, it's important to ask:
Are we investing in the right opportunities?
Which brands, products, or markets are delivering the greatest value?
Where are we spreading our resources too thin?
Do our organization and capabilities support our priorities?
What has changed in the market that could affect our future growth?
Growth doesn't mean everything deserves more investment. Sometimes it means making difficult choices about where to focus and what to stop doing.
Is Your Marketing Strategy Keeping Up With Your Business?
As your business evolves, your marketing strategy, organization, and investments need to support where you're going.
My CEO Growth Diagnostic helps identify where your current marketing approach may no longer align with your business priorities.
Are You Getting the Most From Your Marketing Organization?
Before making significant changes to your marketing team, agencies, or resources, let's discuss what's really needed to improve results.
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