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Seeds of Growth(Innovation & Technology Management)

In: Business and Management

Submitted By aman2807
Words 1992
Pages 8
business WEB

Seeds of Growth
Use the Web to focus on customer needs and grow your business.
By Ralph A. Oliva

“You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometime, You just might find, You get what you need.”
–The Rolling Stones

I N T H E P A S T T W O Y E A R S businesses have done

well in cutting costs and improving productivity. But more and more businesses are recognizing that they’d better think about putting growth back on the agenda. Waiting for help from the market, for a miracle to happen, or for some other impetus to drive growth is simply not a strategy today. Savvy managers are finding ways—including smart use of the business Web— to drive growth through demand innovation and the creation of fundamental new value. We still hear thoughts like: “Maybe in a few months we’ll get a little help from the economy.” “Maybe we’ll beat up our suppliers some more, and that’ll improve our bottom line.” “Let’s look for the next great new growth industry we can tie into, and that’ll drive growth.” Well maybe. But for most of us, that’s just not going to happen. There are growth opportunities out there now— even when markets aren’t growing. Savvy business managers are recognizing that ongoing cuts and waiting simply are not sustainable strategies. Understanding how a firm may capitalize on its hidden assets and work with customers to harvest new sorts of value can be key to growth for many firms. And smart use of the business Web and digital techniques for connecting to customers can be an important part of this strategy. In his new book, How to Grow When Markets Don’t, Adrian Slywotzky of Mercer Management Consulting tracks through many case histories—and outlines the steps involved—in what he terms

“demand innovation.” He illuminated the story further in a keynote speech at a recent meeting of the Institute for the Study of Business Markets

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