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From the President
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Some of the most successful companies in history have been founded, and grown most rapidly,
during times of great economic hardship. Companies such as GE, IBM, Disney, Tollhouse
Cookies, Microsoft, CNN, Apple and GM all began during periods when other organizations
saw their world falling down. Some companies just noted are still thriving, and some aren’t.
What is the key to business growth in times of great economic challenge? How does a company
continue to achieve results time and time again? Apple’s products, for example, are almost
double the price of other competitive items in “the pool” they swim in for market share. How
do companies like Apple do it?
Alisa Peters, CMP, CMM
Experient, Inc.
It seems the businesses that thrive in challenging times share the same traits:
1. They look for a vacuum of a product(s) in the marketplace and they fill the need.
2. They compete with themselves to come up with even better products or expand on their
current offerings to fill needs that may not yet be obvious to the consumer. These companies
celebrate success for about one minute, and then start concentrating on how they can “top”
the last accomplishment.
3. They don’t waste time analyzing what their competitors are doing or how much they charge,
they spend that time analyzing how their product can be improved to make its target market
even more excited. Companies that are always looking to improve on their competitor’s
products are forever market followers. They are spending time on analysis (historic) instead
of innovation (futuristic).
4. They don’t apologize for charging what they do, and do good jobs of storytelling to their
market share about why the products are worth every penny. Who hasn’t seen the MAC vs.
PC commercial? What a great example of simple, funny and eloquent storytelling. Free or low
cost isn’t always a value. Inevitably, I have found that the majority of the time, when taking the
“cheap road,” it leads back to the place I should have first taken. Find the simplest, quickest
and funniest way to explain why you are worth it and you will likely get the business. Business
that is missed may not have been worth having.
5. They take a long-term investment approach in their top performers. Companies that thrive
in down markets don’t mortgage their future for the present. Those that excel only by cutting
back will see short-term gains and long-term losses. Some talented (and generally more
expensive) innovators will be done away with or jump ship fearing elimination… leaving the
people that can’t (or won’t) run off to lead the company.
When analyzing how well you are fostering growth right now in your “market share” (it could
even be your personal brand with your employer), consider these common threads and see how
you could emulate those qualities professionally to strengthen your resilience to downsizing,
and foster growth in your market share.
See you soon!
Alisa Peters, CMP, CMM
President MPI-CAC
VISION - Build a rich global meeting industry community.
MISSION - Make our members successful by building human connections to:
Knowledge/Ideas • Relationships • Marketplaces
4 news & views | winter 2011 www.mpicac.org