Post COVID-19: Playbook for Small Business Success
Introduction
Having been advisors and investors in technology-enabled service businesses since 2000, Tablero Group has participated in and provided guidance and governance over many economic cycles, government regulatory changes, and business cycles. As a result, we have done a lot, and learned a lot over our nearly 20 years.
Over the past 45 days our Founder, Garry E. Meier has been actively involved in the CARES ACT as a Senior Advisor, now for over 10 years to the government on the needs of the small business sector of the economy. His guidance to the government during the pandemic cycle is reflected in many of the attributes of the CARES and SBA EIDL programs.
As a result, we have created the below information and guidance document to assist you as you plan and execute your business during the current and post COVID-19 “New Economy.”
The Playbook Includes 6 Chapters As Presented Below
1. Evaluate, CHANGE, Expand, And Enhance Strategy Components
Re-examine market dynamics of your specific addressable market based on assumptions on the Pandemic Economic Recovery Cycle
Conduct competent/honest SWOT analyses and develop action plans
Re-evaluate implement product management required changes and business processes
Engage customer, distribution, and service delivery partners in your Post Pandemic initiatives: garner their feedback and obtain outsiders’ perspectives
Have an outside, sector-knowledgeable advisor or thought leader evaluate/review the assumptions and initiates outlined above
2. Refine The Business Model To Align With Post-Pandemic Economy Needs And Strategy Elements
Create a workforce plan and human capital needs analysis, to insure your organization is highly skilled to execute
Create a risk management plan (People, Process, Capital, Threats)
Re-examine all opportunities and functions to outsource: how and when
Re-examine all opportunities and business process to increase scalability and productivity
Enhance market differentiation concepts and messaging
3. Implement Or Enhance Management Science
What are the top eight to ten non-financial Measurements and Metrics that evaluate and monitor how productive, efficient, and how scalable business processes are?
Communicate goals and financial performance to all employees. Reporting on performance, whether monthly or quarterly, hold everyone accountable (transparency of metric-driven performance is critical to creating a Perform Culture)
Conduct weekly metrics discussions. How well people are performing on a daily and weekly basis is the start of employee-level accountability, and for the company to return to maximized profitability
Implement Cross-Functional Measurements And Metrics
4. Further Differentiate The Product/Services Offering
Accelerate and enhance brand equity and brand awareness programs.
Further identify and “carve out” your niche including:
Highly define the “ideal client” attributes
price, product, place, promotion
Refine Messaging: to include Post Pandemic Messaging
Be known for something special:
credible and compelling references (“Raving Fans,” 3rd party testimonials and assurances)
be found online and in social media venues
brand promise
organizational culture
superior customer service
5. Create A Product And Distribution Portfolio Of Revenue Venues
Only put a salesperson face-to-face with a prospect when there is a 70% chance or higher of “closing the sale”.
Step One: Increase the productivity of direct sales by having effective marketing that provides high quality probability leads. DO NOT PUT THE REVENUE FUTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS ENTIRELY ON DIRECT SALES PEOPLE
Step Two: Identify additional and new channel partners and distribution Channels that have the same “near perfect client profile”
Step Three: Create strategic alliances with a select few: <2
6. Connect Compensation To Strategy And Business Objectives
Tie cash compensation closely, in terms in time, to the successful and desired outcome
Enhance variable pay components
Implement “Total Compensation Concept” (not only cash)
Consider Equity-based incentive programs, based upon a strategic objective being achieved, not tactical execution objectives
Significant rewards for 'A&B Players’
Declare that Mediocrity performance is “an enemy”
Conclusions and Guidance
At Tablero Group, Inc we are currently and expeditiously implementing the above “Post COVID-19: Playbook for Small Business Success” in all 8 of our current investments and clients, along with 8 former clients.
We have for years now stated and learned that CEO Entrepreneur’s job is nearly an impossible task. Clearly now with all of us having to cope and recover from the Pandemic it only makes the CEO task more impossible!
Therefore, we urge you to utilize the components of the “Post COVID-19: Playbook for Small Business Success”. We are here to assist you and your business to thrive in the Post Pandemic Economy.
To conclude, we leave you with the following Leadership Guidance::
MEDIOCRITY is the first step to failure in challenging times.
CHANGE and a commitment to improvement is required to thrive in the near term
The CEO Entrepreneur requires external support and skill augmentation to succeed in these difficult and complex times.
Useful Growth Equity Capital will only be accessible to the “best” business models, in the near-term.