By Kelly Lawrence

According to a recent report from the Board of Innovation, just 15% of companies are experiencing growth during the global Corona virus pandemic. For the 85% of companies experiencing decline, it is recommended to find new organic growth. For companies experiencing >15% declines from Q2 through Q4 2020, a pivot is recommended.

We all know this is a time to take action, but that is often easier said than done. There are no playbooks for navigating the current crisis. In good times, Forbes states that 8 out of every 10 businesses fail. Booz & Company reports 66% of new products fail within the first two years of launch. The Ansoff matrix tells us 95% of transformative initiatives fail.

Our resources, particularly human capital, are more precious than ever. We know we need to invest to grow, but we fear spending good money after bad. But, if we do nothing, enter the death spiral. Fear is our worst enemy. Let’s get past the fear by understanding why failure rates are so high. When we build our understanding, we are then in a position to develop practical action plans.

Let’s work backwards with the end in mind. Our goal is growth. To achieve growth, we must improve success rates. To improve success rates, we must first understand why failure rates for organic growth and businesses are so high. While a lack of funding often tops the list, the other reasons can be summarized as a lack of marketing science.

Is your business suffering from any of these root causes to failure?

·       Not in touch with customers through deep dialogue

·       Lack of unique value proposition / differentiation

·       Failure to communicate value proposition

·       Inability to nail a profitable business model with proven revenue streams

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, it is time to implement a course correction. We don’t want your business to be among the 80% that fail.

Lawrence Innovation can help. Contact us for a free consultation.

About Kelly Lawrence

Kelly Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of Lawrence Innovation. We bring over two decades of expertise in converting customer and market insights to growth. We’ve delivered results for B2B innovators around the world including Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol & Fortune Brands’ Moen. We know how to identify profitable problems to solve, develop and communicate unique value propositions, and implement profitable business models that generate results.