Strategic Growth Assistance

In considering the concepts of growth, one question that always come to the fore is that of organic growth (growth through the actual business growth) versus inorganic growth (through merger, acquisition or additional investment).  This is a very delicate point since different businesses can handle these types of growth differently.  CMG Consulta work with the business in question to help them define the best way forward for them then to craft a plan for the road ahead.  In the case of inorganic growth, the process of merger, acquisition or seeking external investors is supported from the strategic, business, and commercial perspectives.  This starts with preparing the company for investment, defining the type of partner required, identify specific partners, approaching them and  filtering them.  Through this process, CMG Consulta also support the owners through the transaction.

Another, rather common aspect of Strategic Growth that crops up is the concept of International Growth.  This essentially means growing the reach of the business beyond its geographic borders however it can be done in many ways depending on the product/service in question, the outlook and appetite of the business and the actual market and competition in place.  There are simple options that involve using or growing networks for overseas reach to more on-the-ground approaches of opening shop in another country.  These aspects are all evaluated, and CMG Consulta assist the business to plan the best way forward in their specific circumstance.

A full Strategic Growth Assistance exercise covers several stages:

A series of meetings with the owners helps to gather information on their intentions and aspirations for this business. This, supplemented by background research and analysis leads to further meetings where the Mission, Vision and Values are clearly defined.

Based on the Mission, Vision and Values, a definition of where the business would like to be in 3 years’ time (ideally 5 years) is drawn up and these objectives are then broken down into lower-level objectives, milestones, and measures that the business can use along the way to track progress.

Once a business has its strategy defined, CMG Consulta are also available to support the owners in monitoring the strategy periodically and in tweaking the objectives.  This is done through periodic meetings with owners where the management accounts, key indicators and performance against strategic plan are monitored.

If a business would like to grow inorganically by acquiring another business, CMG Consulta assists the owners in defining the type of acquisition target required then identifying specific targets and even approaching them to gauge interest then eventually introducing the acquisition target to the acquiring business so that synergies can be investigated and negotiations can take place.

Should the situation arise that the business would like to seek additional external partners to invest in the business, a process needs to take place where the business will be prepared for investment.  This involves structuring the business in a way that supports the investment, identifying potential investors and approaching them and working with the owners to support the investment transaction.

Leading a business to define its core Mission, Vision and Values is key to create the foundation for a corporate culture that will start to give a very specific identify to the business’ staff and clients. The sheer definition starts to create a personality around the brand and to grow more tangible and human aspects of the brand equity while generating brand value and personality.

Developing a 3-to-5-year plan of where the business would like to be is crucial to create a guideline against which all decisions in the business are made. Setting the strategy and measuring everything against it means that every person in the business will need to measure their activity against whether it is working towards the plan or not and this will, in turn, start to better harness employee minds and decisions towards the achievement of this strategy.

In breaking down the strategic plan to more achievable element and in setting objectives and measures, the commercial planning of a business is critical. What products are required?  When will these be required?  What markets should be approached and how?  What are the monthly sales and cost targets?  What activities are set per department, per employee for these to be achieved?  All these questions and many more are part of the process we go through with a business through which the business then learns how to take up the process themselves in future.

Growth into other geographies becomes more attractive by the day especially where technology can assist in communication or delivery and where a business operates in a small local market like Malta. The type of international growth that a business can take on and sustain as well as how this can be done need to be determined for the specific business.  The result of International Growth, however, is that a business grows its potential market from the local one to one that can be exceedingly large if not infinite.

Inorganic growth can be a very attractive way to grow capacity, market share or reach very quickly through joining up with or buying out another business. These methods, however, also carry their risks which is why they need to be approached diligently and carefully.  CMG Consulta work closely with the owners to help them carefully select the type of partners to consider, to filter and evaluate specific partners and to negotiate a plan for the actual merger/acquisition to be carried out all while working closely with the business’ lawyers and accountants who handle the legal and regulatory aspects of the transactions.