Small & Closely-held Enterprises
Building a culture of Sustained growth & performance in private companies
The leaders of small businesses face many of the same challenges as those in larger corporations—cyber security, aging technology, finding and retaining the right resources, beating the competition, and managing the balance sheet. However, each of these issues is magnified as smaller companies struggle to do more with less—weighing options of where to prioritize given limited financial and human resources, often with the added constraint of being a closely-held or family-owned business. Understanding how these challenges are impacting any given company is critical to shaping their success.
Entering new markets & product positioning
Expansion into the U.S. by Japanese small business
A Japanese company providing telemarketing and telephony equipment and services to small to medium-sized enterprises decided the expansion to the U.S. would help accelerate growth. For its 1600+ customers in Japan, the company’s products and services delivered dramatic, measurable results. The telemarketing solutions offered both technology and loyalty marketing solutions for local retailers.
Caught in an ever-accelerating cycle of technology disruptions, the company set out to understand the positioning of the product and the required technology architecture to assure acceptance and growth in the new market.
Coupled with extensive market research, DRC staff worked collaboratively with the Japanese executives and engineers to define the product and business requirements that would transition a successful solution in the Japanese market to a competitively viable product in the North American markets.
Stabilizing and streamlining operations
From growing pains to expansion
Developing a road map for growth can be a challenge for any business. Trends in craft brewing and the prospects for growth in the beer industry have been exciting for brewers and consumers alike. The early success of one brewery generated much promise of fame and fortune.
Delivering a better product can be easily compared with the challenges of funding growth and maintaining operational excellence. Outlining opportunities to capitalize upon growth trends required a balance between developing financial capacity and operating with discipline. The challenges for one regional craft brewer were to leverage significant investments in plant and equipment and to stabilize operations to assure quality and optimal production costs.
Through a series of collaborative work sessions with brewhouse staff and the management team, operating challenges and critical business needs were prioritized. Three distinct business models were evident – brewing operations, retail distribution and tap-room operations. By focusing on the operating requirements of each revenue stream, a roadmap to profitability and growth was established.
Entering new markets
Expansion into Latin America
The banking environment in Latin America is fertile ground for companies looking to address segments of the underserved banking population. The opportunity is wide but highly variable by country. Throughout this 13-month engagement, DRC set out to enable senior executives to answer three basic questions for market expansion:
- Does Latin America represent an expansion opportunity?
- What countries are attractive targets for expansion?
- What are the optimal entry strategies in targeted countries?
Utilizing primary and secondary market research methods, DRC developed a body of information necessary to answer these questions and facilitate decision making by the Board of Directors and senior management. The information coupled with facilitated management sessions resulted in a series of decisions that shaped market entry requirements for the immediate future.
This effort culminated in two significant market choices with a fertile opportunity identified in a smaller Latin American market. The innovative choice provided a path to $50 million EBITDA regionally—with an initial opportunity scalable to $10 million—while capitalizing on regional harmonization in the markets, operating within favorable financial regulations and delivering a technology-enabled market disruption and new distribution partnerships.
Client Engagements
33
Years
12
Countries
15
Industries
65+
Organizations
DRC
For insight, inspiration and implementation
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