Building Business Growth Strategy with the Help of Flowcharts

“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.” – Thomas Watson, Sr.

Interesting parallels exist in the domains of biology and modern commerce. Every biological entity works to distinguish its existence with organic growth, and the same applies to commercial organizations. In this context, a business growth strategy gains seminal importance owing to its direct connection with the survival, diversification, and subsequent expansion of a business or commercial entity. Such strategies also bear significance in light of the fact modern enterprises must operate in competitive markets, must constantly reinforce and refurbish an avowed value proposition, bring new products and services to customers, pay regular dividends to shareholders, and expand the scope and depth of certain operational parameters. The flowchart offers an ideal platform to define and frame a modern business growth strategy that resonates with the nature of an enterprise and empowers it to fulfill its obligations to internal and external stakeholders. The captains of industry can leverage the connected (and expansive) structures inherent in such illustrations with a view to fashion various facets of such a strategy.

An enterprise must diversify its founding vision and subsequent activities as part of forging a modern business growth strategy. Bearing this in mind, business leaders could invest efforts to drive vertical integration and forward integration techniques that allow it to attain diversification. For instance, a retail business operation could integrate different aspects such as sourcing raw materials, manufacturing activities, distribution networks, sales to customers, and after-sales services as part of its business growth strategy. These actions, when outlined inside a flowchart diagram, create the nucleus of future growth in terms of capturing new markets and expanding a commercial presence in major market segments. The leaders of the enterprise could subsequently expand the scope of the flowchart to include certain aspects of business development as part of said strategy.

Counsel from external specialists and consultants can fuel the development of a business growth strategy inside the modern enterprise. This assertion stems from the fact trusted resources from outside an organization can supplement ideas that power such strategy. In line with this, business operators can design spaces throughout a flowchart with a view to enrich and inform the building blocks that animate successive editions of a business growth strategy. We could say such a stance seeks to validate the primary ideas, add value to various levels of developing a strategy, and empower organizational members to think outside the proverbial box. In addition, consultants and specialists can bring precious insights to the act of strategizing, thereby reinforcing the operational sinews of the modern organization. Therefore, the flowchart serves as a test bed that allows multiple lines of strategy to thrive and resonate with the worldview endorsed by the sponsor organization.

Spotting the ideal customer remains a significant part of crafting a competent business growth strategy. To that end, business strategists and organizational planners must work to discover the persona of an ideal customer. A digital enterprise, for instance, could undertake the exercise inside a flowchart and populate the diagram with factors that affect purchase decisions, reading and social media habits, aspirations, preferences, daily routines, pain points, etc. of the ideal customer. The emerging illustration allows the sponsor enterprise to develop the outlines of a business growth strategy to be pursued, for instance, over the next three quarters. In addition, the emerging outline of the ideal customer offers the enterprise an opportunity to expand its product and service offerings in tune with customer requirements. This instance clearly underlines the fact a flowchart serves as an enabler in such undertakings.

Strategic partnerships, when leveraged intelligently, can embellish the arc of a business growth strategy in modern times. For instance, a financial services firm can collaborate with select partners in a bid to design new investment products for customers, develop bespoke products and services for high-margin clientele, and expand business operations on a global scale. The components of such a business growth strategy can be chalked inside a flowchart. In addition, a careful perusal allows the sponsor organization to impart momentum to such strategy, thereby establishing the foundations of multiple new partnerships. A host of parameters can be embedded inside the flowchart with a view to assess the progress registered by such partnerships; therefore, the expanse of the illustration emerges as an incubator for business development initiatives undertaken by the sponsor organization.

The critical components of an organization’s business growth strategy must find clear representation on a visual plane. A flowchart, when deployed for the purpose, could describe different elements such as business re-engineering initiatives, developing a deeper understanding of the current business scenario, delineating the critical success factors of different business lines, implementing a balanced scorecard analysis, etc. Each of these elements can emerge as the nucleus of an independent diagram that lends color and depth to the ongoing re-evaluation of a business growth strategy. In addition, such a diagram affords unique opportunities for business leaders that wish to upgrade the long-term performance of an organization. Further, the illustration equips business planners with vital information to forecast operational performance and boost adherence to strategic imperatives that guide organizational activities.

Re-calibrating the central tenets that inform operational standards and organizational culture is often key to the formulation of new business growth strategy. This assertion squares well with situations that involve a change in leadership and/or the institution of a renewed vigor designed to attain a fresh set of competitive advantages. For instance, business stewards that steer a chain of restaurants in competitive markets may work to improve the quality of fare served to customers as part of a new edition of business growth strategy. Such an initiative may hinge on a brand new marketing program, material changes in the many recipes that animate the kitchens, refurbished interiors in the restaurants, and upgraded service standards to woo new patrons. These techniques, when designed inside a flowchart, allow the business sponsor to reinvigorate the enterprise and re-position the chain of restaurants for renewed success.

Business gurus aver the success of the modern enterprise depends on generating revenue and managing organizational finances to attract and retain stockholders, potential investors, business clients, and retail customers. Bearing this in mind, operators must frame a business growth strategy that takes into account financial metrics such as EBIT, EVA, contributing margins, liquidity ratios, net cash flows, gross profit margins, etc. The successful derivation of these elements allows business operators to track the performance of a firm and etch a picture vis-à-vis the competition. Flowcharts, when digitally enabled, allow such an initiative to take wing by describing the various facets of such observations. These illustrations also enable modern businesses to adjust the scope and volume of inputs, deploy adequate levels of manpower, revise business strategy, and seek independent opinions from experts and consultants.

Operators in contemporary business landscapes can use these suggestions to frame and execute outstanding instances of business growth strategy. Each strategy must gain the benefit of quality research, high-level inputs, and acute observation of the landscape prior to execution. However, the captains of industry must retain certain leverage to implement quick decisions in reaction to disruptive events. In such scenarios, rapid actions could include a partial overhaul of defined business strategy, as also intelligent maneuvers that restore and preserve a firm’s competitive advantage in modern markets.

Create interactive decision trees for customer service management, cold call scripts or self-service. Improve sales performance metrics and customer delight across your call centers.

Interactive Decision Tree