Too many businesses still rely on spreadsheets or manually assembled reports that are outdated by the time they’re reviewed.
15 Strategies Essential for Growth
This article outlines five of the most common — and solvable — constraints that limit growth in distribution and manufacturing businesses and it covers practical steps companies may take to overcome each type of barrier.
Growth Constraint One: Missing
or Incomplete Strategies Most businesses have some version of a strategy but it’s often too basic, is outdated or has significant gaps. These issues are mostly caused by a lack of expertise or knowledge in key growth strategy areas. Some businesses unfortunately believe they’re “too small” to need defined strategies. In my experience, 15 specific strategies are essential for growth. These include common ones like target market definition, sales and distribution and lead generation. Where I frequently see critical gaps are in the more advanced strategies that include market positioning, customer experience, technology, and data management. The foundations of growth emanate from your team being well aligned on all 15 strategies. If your team isn’t aligned, execution and growth suffer. That was the experience of one of my clients, who had defined sales targets and a product strategy, but were lacking in the rest of those 15 foundational strategies. We began
by focusing on five missing strategies that were having the most impact on execution: targeting, positioning, lead generation, people (roles and compensation), and data management. Once these were defined and communicated, execution became more precise, aligned and consistent. What you can do: Take an inventory of your strategies. What’s missing? What’s outdated? Create strategies for any gaps. Talk with your leadership team to see how well your strategies are understood. You don’t need lengthy documents, just enough clarity to align your teams and enable consistent execution.
Growth Constraint Two:
Low Digital Maturity Digital maturity relates to the knowledge and use of technology for the purpose of improving performance, streamlining operations and increasing profits. It influences every area of your business. However, your company’s digital maturity isn’t just a reflection of the technology it’s selected. It’s a function of your business’ technology, processes, people, data, knowledge, and adoption. According to research from Gartner,
70 percent of enterprise resource planning (ERP) deployments fail to meet the defined objectives. From
Summer 2025 37
Jeff Andrews, founder and principal of Red Dog Advisors, identifies the following as key areas where distributors and manufacturers should develop defined strategies to drive growth and avoid creating self-inflicted constraints.
Resources Strategies • Purpose and Vision • People
• Funding and Budget • Brand Value
Operational Strategies • Target Market • Market Positioning • Products and Pricing • Sales and Distribution • Technology and Business Systems
• Data Management and Business Intelligence
• Processes and Execution • Targeting
• Lead Generation • Messaging
• Customer Experience
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