Seven Success Stories

The seven successful tactics have been given from actual businesses that have actually used these tactics to achieve success.

Market Plan. New York TV productions is a group made of two brothers and their wives, each with some experience of editing, tagging, playback, dubbing commercials and TV shows. They set up their own shop five years ago. Their problem was slow profit growth. Their solution was better marketing

Situation: A large and growing but competitive market.

Resources: Lots of experience, skills and contacts.

Objectives: Raise the gross profit from current $1.5Mn to $2.5Mn.

Tactics: Mainly marketing plans and proper execution. The group prepared a questionnaire about prospect needs and interviewed their contacts on a personal basis. They were surprised to find a lack of low cost business management videotape facilities in part of their market. They offered just such services to local firms, consultants and business college people

Result: Volume exceeded the goal by a good measure, and a branch opened in Los Angeles.

Main Point: Know market needs, set goals take action.

Production Plan. Hand soaps R Us is a small manufacturer with years of experience in the cleaning compound business. Management wanted to expand into the higher-profit consumer hand soap field. They change their name, But had difficulty developing a new product.

Situation: A large competitive market. No strong entry

Resources: Skills at formulating cleaning agents.

Objectives: Get into larger market via better products

Tactics: The company focused their business strategy on their product plan. Their technical people worked closely with their suppliers to develop an excellent, soft-soap, gooplike product. This was given a clever name and package, tested with users, and introduced into test markets.

Result: Major growth, expansion and large profit increase.

Main Point: Recognize the market needs and your product strengths available to fill those needs. Use range of talent.

Finance Plan. SW Wood supply shop is a mid sized retail chain offering specialty tools and woods for the upscale carver. Growth had been steady and a strategic plan was prepared, focusing on a major financial expansion program. Their problem was that managers were not quite sure how to do this.

Solution: They used financial schedules to plan and project.

Situation: Growth, ideas, financial programs: no plan yet.

Resources: A good record of profits and ROI.

Objectives: To make a sound financial plans.

Tactics: Good formats were examined. At first these became so complex that people had trouble understanding them. Then they were streamlined and simplified into projection of cost, profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheets.

Result: These were used. Some results were better than expected, others were not. But total was favorable.

Main Point: If a good financial plan is needed, keep it realistic, simple, clear and understandable.

People Plan: Denver Mall National Bank is a very small, independent savings and loan. Their problem was recent negative publicity in their industry, which created a strong decline in deposits. The solution came from better use of their employees.

Situation: Good market and service but bad image.

Resources: Skilled people plus desire to improve.

Objectives: Raise their community desire and stature.

Tactics: Management focused on their people plan, especially training; published and videotaped material on building better public relations were used, along with a skilled consultant.

Result: Morale, status, and deposits went up sharply.

Main Point: Good people, well trained and motivated, can make a major difference in your bottom-line.

Outsider Plan. American Institute of management is a small Northwestern publisher of management material. Their problem was steady profit decline. Their solution was use free SBA/ SCORE/ SBI/ SBDC consultant services to improve their strategic planning.

Situation: Poor trends on income and profit.

Resources: Aggressive management plus free resources.

Objectives: Turn the company around toward sales/ profit growth.

Tactics: Management prepared strategic program with special emphasis on the outsider plan. These people came up with a number of new, affordable steps, new products, new markets, and a new way to reach them.

Result: Sales and profits have steadily increased.

Main Point: Don't forget that there are lots of skilled outside resources (free or low cost) who can offer significant help

Selling the Plan. Central Cal State Hospital had developed a fine strategic plan, but there it sat, gathering dust on the shelf. These were medical people, not marketing people. No one knew how to sell it to the top state structure and the finance people. The solution was to generate and execute a specific selling plan for the program.

Situation: A good strategic plan but no way to push it.

Resources: Help available to improve presentation.

Objectives: To achieve acceptance by top financial groups.

Tactics: The hospital managers focused on ways to sell their strategic plan. Their advertising agency helped them build a sound effective selling program.

Result: Top authorities were highly impressed and the strategy plan was enthusiastically accepted.

Main Point: Don't expect a good plan to sell itself to lenders and investors, the public, employees or others. Design a program to be sure your plan is accepted.

Time Plan: O'Hare Limousine Service is a very small independent operator, serving special suburban customers. Their problem was excessive competition during peak hours. Their solutiom, evolving over several years, was one of better scheduling.

Situation: Slow company growth, serious market competition.

Resources: Good service and creative management.

Objectives: To overcome the competition and raise profits.

Tactics: Management recognized that improved availability during peak times would make an important difference. Their strategic plan focused on their timing plan. They got detailed flight schedules, programmed their small desktop computer, and tied this into their radio communication.

Result: Good planning focusing on time scheduling to improve service produced big profits.

Main Point: Your time plan can give you important competitive advantages.

Market Plan. New York TV productions is a group made of two brothers and their wives, each with some experience of editing, tagging, playback, dubbing commercials and TV shows. They set up their own shop five years ago. Their problem was slow profit growth. Their solution was better marketing

Situation: A large and growing but competitive market.

Resources: Lots of experience, skills and contacts.

Objectives: Raise the gross profit from current $1.5Mn to $2.5Mn.

Tactics: Mainly marketing plans and proper execution. The group prepared a questionnaire about prospect needs and interviewed their contacts on a personal basis. They were surprised to find a lack of low cost business management videotape facilities in part of their market. They offered just such services to local firms, consultants and business college people

Result: Volume exceeded the goal by a good measure, and a branch opened in Los Angeles.