Which Gets You to Your 2016 Revenue Goal – Staying the Course or Making a Change?

So, is the going tough? Or are you firing on all cylinders? Now we have to ask: Is your business strategically aligned?

Will you make your 2016 number?

Your answers reveal how likely you are to hit quota. This presents you with a choice: Make changes or leave things as they are. In this post, we’ll cover key points to consider in reaching that decision. As maturity level improves, CAC is reduced and CLTV is improved.

Alignment Works:

Strategic alignment makes a positive impact. SBI’s Revenue Growth Maturity Model clarifies that. It shows what happens as a company moves through five levels of integration.

Consider — more than half of all companies are stuck at Level 1. That’s an expensive place to be. Only 9 percent of companies have reached Level 5. That’s where internal operations and external marketing understanding are fully aligned.

Numbers Tell the Story:

Here’s a glimpse of what happens when you attain Level 5:

Costs of doing business drop. Getting new customers costs time and money in research, marketing, maybe travel. Level 1 has the highest Customer Acquisition Costs. At Level 5, with strategic alignment, you slash that expense by 30 percent.

Customers get more profitable. Functional area staff members see their roles in the company’s success. Performance strengthens, excellence is the emphasis, and customer experience improves. Customer LIfetime Value is 26 percent higher than Level 1.

Level 5 companies are more likely to hit revenue growth goals. According to SBI’s research, 96 percent of strategically aligned companies exceed their objectives. Alignment is truly a business growth strategy.

You Have a Choice to Make:

Is your current functional team execution working well enough? Do you trust it and want to stay with it?

Or is strategic alignment a better course? Is it worth investing the resources toward a potentially more successful organization?

These Questions Will Point You Toward an Answer:

• Are you lowering Customer Acquisition Costs by making your marketing dollars work harder?
• Are you building Customer Lifetime Value, making best customers even better and more profitable?
• Are you guiding functional teams in collaborating to leverage resources and meet revenue goals?

As Maturity Improves, So Does Everything Else:

Our research shows that “yes” answers indicate strategic alignment.With such compelling reasons for it, attaining and maintaining strategic alignment is good business. Knowing where your company ranks could signify you’ve arrived or have miles to go. That brings us back to the matter of choosing change or status quo.

Good to Go, Don’t Mess With Success:

If analysis satisfies you the company is aligned, that’s great. Continue on your current course. If you find it’s misaligned but you’re confident of reaching revenue targets, carry on. In either case, you’re banking on a good 2016.

Needs Work, Adjust for Alignment:

If your assessment drags problems into the light, solve them. This is the time to make strategic alignment the top priority. Integrate corporate strategy with all the functional strategies into a cohesive business unit. “How to Make Your Number in 2016” details six strategies that fit together. The result is a unit that works to advance the organization’s aims.

One notable benefit of reaching alignment will be that you’ve eliminated internal process problems. Tomorrow’s post will examine bottlenecks and frictions that slow your progress toward goal.