Proactivity is key to turning time into an investment and a guarantee of growth. However, today, most companies -especially SMEs- are not proactive and do not take this concept and all that it entails into account when designing their strategies. This means that they do not grow as much as they could and that they even die. Changing this situation and introducing proactivity is not complicated if you follow some guidelines.
Lack of time, scarcity of resources or “every day eats me up” are common phrases that are mentioned in the business world, mainly in small and medium-sized companies, which tend to focus on thinking about how to grow and establishing reactive strategies. . Today, this is no longer enough. You must be a proactive company to be able to convert time into investment and a guarantee of growth.
And this is especially important because not incorporating proactivity into the company’s strategy can prevent it from growing enough and heading towards its disappearance. Not surprisingly, only 29% of SMEs in Spain survive the fifth year of life and 74% die in their first year of creation, according to OECD data. These are statistics that can be avoided with the introduction of the proactivity of companies, which must take action, make decisions and carry them out.
“When you talk to SMEs, they always say the same thing: I don’t have people, money or time, but in practice what is detected is a strategy problem.” In other words, “they don’t have people to lead because they haven’t been given enough power and guidance to lead and create business and they don’t take advantage of the resources available to companies, the most important being information. Companies only look accounting once a month at the most and if they look at it, nobody works on operations information”, as explained by the business guru Oriol López, who has participated in the seminar ‘From reactivity to creativity’ in Zaragoza, organized by Afiris , in statements to elEconomista.es
It is therefore necessary for companies to produce a change of mentality to incorporate this proactivity into their strategy. “The problem is that they stay in the companies and go to the clients’ recess. According to what they see in them, they are doing. And, if the market says that now it is time for blockchain, we are going to see what is there and, if it is the cloud, to cloud. Many take a reactive approach.”
This reactive approach can also have negative consequences. “The reactive approach, if the company is good, has a good product and a good service, it can generate some growth because you have word of mouth, people repeat and you have a false sense of calm, of security.” However, what actually occurs is less growth. “These companies grow little, but they could grow more.”
And how can it be done? The truth is that introducing proactivity in the company is not complicated. To do this, you can follow a series of guidelines that help to face this change and go from being a reactive to a proactive company.
1. Relationships: Proactive companies that want to grow of their own free will “are very focused on relationships and are dedicated to trying to create an ideal future for themselves and their customers, focusing on strengths and creating competitive advantages.” In this way, it is convenient to think about how you can help customers and focus more on helping them. “
Relationships are the future of all businesses. SMEs often want to catch this wave based on call centers or the robotization of customer service when, in reality, they should embrace their greatest strength, which is being close to the customer”. A good example of relationships is For example, Starbucks, which puts each person’s name on the coffee.
2. Meetings: To improve relationships, it is also important for companies to meet with their customers. “If you have sales representatives, you should meet more with clients,” in addition to having a management team to be able to delegate people and boost activity and growth.
3. Recommendations: the proactive company always thinks about what it can do for its company or SME and for the client and they look for tools to do it. “Word of mouth works, but it is reactive. A proactive company seeks recommendations, asks for references.”
4. More products: Proactive companies use their resources and products. “There are companies that sell ten products, but they only offer two to a customer. You have to think if there are any more that might interest you and offer them tests, call them… Growth is not only about looking for new customers.”
5. Pricing and Value: Companies routinely make mistakes when setting their prices. It starts from the “false, but widespread, premise that lowering prices leads to more customers and more benefits. This, when calculated in an Excel sheet and in euros, is seen to be not true in most companies. In Actually, you can’t overcome the loss of margin that you have had. With higher prices, there are more benefits”.
However, this should not mean raising prices “to the point”, but one must think “of price as a valid tool to grow. When someone complains about the price, it is because they perceive the value, which is equal to the profit you get as a customer divided by the price you pay. If it’s less than one, no value is added.” This value can be increased in two ways. One of them is by reducing the price, while the other is by increasing the benefit that the customer receives. “The price is related to value and not to cost. It must be raised in a way that is fair to me and the customer.”
6. Experts: “Entrepreneurs should be seen as experts and as a strategic asset to clients and one that generates more assets. At that point, it will be easier to play with growth engines.”
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