In today’s disrupted world, strategy is no longer just an option. It is the vital foundation that guides your culture, makes financial decisions, attracts ideal clients and helps you be the best partner you can be. But as fluid as the market is, it also serves as a roadmap that deserves revisiting to meet changing demands. For many, it is showing up as a harsh reality that they’re operating a ship without a rudder.
Without a robust strategy, print service providers will find it harder to thrive and adapt to shifts in their business. Acknowledging the signs is the first step toward successfully navigating these challenging times.
Here are five signs you need to rethink your strategy:
1. Unpredictable Revenue
The highly transactional nature of the business has always led to difficulties in forecasting. But as the business world around us evolves, so must our industry. Printers can no longer hope to achieve financial goals by luck and rather must achieve by design.
A strategic plan acts as the roadmap to growth. It sets specific goals, identifies target markets, and outlines a well-defined marketing and sales strategy. More importantly, it identifies the business you should be avoiding.
A well-defined strategy will provide clarity and guide your team to know where to focus their efforts. Without this clarity, print service providers find themselves in the same place year after year, unable to create consistent opportunities and sales stability.
2. Selling Comfort Zone vs. Company Growth
Sales reps often stick to their comfort zones, selling services and clients they are most familiar with. While the revenue may feel good, it is limiting the company’s overall growth potential.
A strategic plan gives your sales team a clear direction by specifying the “who,” “what” and the “why” that align with your growth objectives. It also helps them understand what their customers truly value, which helps them sell deeper into their customers and build stronger relationships.
When there is clarity, you also attract the right talent and make the right hires which minimizes bad hiring decisions.
3. Revolving Door of Salespeople
Speaking of bad hiring decisions, sales turnover is a common issue that can many times be pointed back to a lack of a strategic plan.
When there’s no defined path forward, reps are likely to meander and burn most of the year just trying to figure out what kind of customer work is a good fit.
A well-crafted strategic plan provides direction that can help expedite a rep’s start-up period to success. With a clear vision, it can demonstrate an understanding of the company’s value and who their ideal clients care about.
This sense of direction not only helps attract and retain talented individuals but also increases a rep’s potential to succeed. In a world of tighter margins and revenue challenges, rep turnover is expensive and wasteful. A clear strategy is a win-win for your business and your reps.
4. Winning and Losing Business on Price
The engagement in price wars has been a lose-lose situation for print service providers. It has expedited dwindling profits and forced many out of business.
Strategic planning places a strong emphasis on value-based selling. It enables you to identify your unique selling proposition and your value to the market.
A well-defined strategy can help you compete on factors other than price. The approach leads to more profitable and sustainable business relationships. It also positions your company as a provider of superior value, not just a low-cost option.
It serves as the foundation for clarity and focus and answers the most important two questions which are “Who do you serve and why do they care?”
“A strategic plan gives your sales team a clear direction by specifying the “who,” “what” and the “why” that align with your growth objectives.”
5. Weak Pipeline and Lack of Sales Activity
A weak sales pipeline is often chalked up as a sales problem, but it often is a symptom of a lack of strategic clarity. Without a clear understanding of the value you deliver, it is difficult to create demand, let alone maintain a consistent flow of leads and pipeline creation.
A strategic plan will guide a sales and marketing strategy that outlines lead generation activities, sales prospecting tactics, and follow-up processes. It is a plan that keeps your sales team engaged and focused on growing revenue.
Without it, many of your salespeople wake up every day not knowing where to focus and what to say, which shows up as a lack of sales activity and a weak pipeline.
Why Now
Strategic planning is the backbone of any thriving business in this highly disrupted business world. It provides structure, vision, and focus, addressing many of the symptoms noted above.
The key to success lies not only in creating a strategic plan but also in implementing it effectively and adjusting. Regularly review and adapt your strategy to respond to market changes and evolving customer needs.
With a solid strategic plan in place, you will be better equipped to navigate and pivot toward long-term success.
The road to stability and growth begins and ends with a well-defined strategy.
With a career spanning over two decades in sales and executive leadership, Brian has had significant industry achievements in business growth and integration of innovative solutions. He has held key sales and executive leadership positions at organizations ranging from small, family-owned printers to public companies Consolidated Graphics and Quad. Driven by a passion for leveraging emerging technologies and strategy, he has launched a consultancy that guides print service providers toward stabilizing revenue and creating a path for growth.
