“When you really care about a relationship, bad news is best delivered in person,” said my boss. As our team’s product manager at the time, that person was me. I traveled to a small city in southern Japan to tell our manufacturing partner to expect a drastic reduction in orders.
Every market is, in some respect, under-served. Customers can always be made better off. That creates opportunities for revenue and profit growth.
“We few, we happy few, we above-average drivers”
Like 88% of American adults, I consider myself an above-average driver.
San Francisco hills with a stick shift, no sweat. LA freeway mazes, New York City taxi derbies, Boston's competitive merges -- all a breeze.
Where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi, an empty railroad bridge drew quite a crowd one Saturday in July. On the bluffs above, dozens of spectators with tripod-mounted cameras found clear views of… water slowly flowing under the bridge.
With demand still well below pre-recession levels in many industries, most companies have slashed costs. Now what? What can companies do to grow sales even if industry demand remains soft?
Here are some brief thoughts on two classic strategies to boost sales and profits. Which to choose may depend on your company’s source of competitive strength.