The 6Ps of Holistic and Effective Business Growth

Intro: Running a business is not the same as growing a business. Growing a business requires a more robust strategic approach. 

This 6P model provides a holistic basis to design a business growth strategy.

P1: Product

Without a product, there is nothing to sell. Here we regard “product” as the totality of the business’s offerings, including physical products (e.g. toothpaste), intangible products (e.g. insurance policy), personal services (e.g. hairdressing) and automated services (e.g. online map). Some key questions to help you understand how your product can contribute to your growth strategy are:

1. What market needs are there which no product has yet solved satisfactorily?

a. Example: Difficulty in finding cabs was solved by ride-hailing mobile applications.

2. What is missing in your product range that could create new opportunities for your business?

a. Example: Retail fashion brands strong in the adult market could spin off a child brand targeting children of their adult customers.

P2: Process

The mechanism to supply, sell and deliver your products to your customers is known as the process. Whether you manufacture, assemble, trade, distribute, resell, bundle, configure, serve, solve, exchange, advise or entertain, these are all parts of your process. Some key questions to help you understand how your process can contribute to your growth strategy are:

1. How can wastage, defects, mistakes and omissions be mitigated?

a. Example: Kaizen and lean six sigma help to improve manufacturing processes.

2. Can we do things differently to provide better value?

a. Example: Built-to-order computers allowed tech-savvy people to customize their personal computers.

P3: People

People are the main driving force making things happen for businesses, even if a large part of their process is outsourced, automated or discontinued. The acquisition, management, training, motivation and retention of talented people make a huge difference to the business’s capabilities. Some key questions to help you understand how your people can contribute to your growth strategy are:

1. What kind of people will fit best into our company culture?

a. Example: Pet shops emphasize that applicants to their companies should love animals.

2. What kind of culture will attract the people who best fit the company’s needs?

a. Example: A culture that celebrates innovation will attract creative minds to boost the solutions development capabilities of technology companies.

P4: Promotion

Businesses won’t fly if nobody knows about them. But communicating with the market is an art in itself, and choosing the right tone telling the right stories to the right audience on the right channels is instrumental. Some key questions to help you understand how you can better communicate with your market are:

1. Where do our target customers hang out most?

a. Example: Mortgage brokers and conveyancing lawyers tap on partnerships with property agencies to reach their customers.

2. How can we tune our communication to the traits of our customers?

a. Example: Retail brands often invoke the dreams and fears of customers to make a stronger impression.

P5: Plant

The plant refers to the setup that makes running of the business possible, whether it is a shop, office, factory, warehouse, eatery, institution, academy, webshop, arcade, theatre, arena, trailer, park, pool, farm or wherever else. Planning for the environment of the business could have positive effects on productivity, efficiency, morale and effectiveness. Some key questions to help you understand how you can improve your business environment are:

1. How does our plant tie in with our processes?

a. Example: Hospitals are set up with the A&E department nearest the ambulance dropoff to ensure emergency cases get medical attention fastest.

2. How does our plant affect our people?

a. Example: Creative businesses often have cool and funky office interior space planning to provoke imagination and invoke inspiration.

P6: Performance

Performance is about everything else that affects the business performance apart from the 5 major aspects already mentioned, including risk management, compliance, finance management, brand, corporate structure, administration, innovation and others. Some key questions to help you understand how you can boost your business performance are:

1. What remains a weak link in our business that doesn’t fall under any of the earlier 5 aspects?

a. Example: Companies with long credit terms tend to face cashflow challenges and may incur significant interest expenses to ensure liquidity.

2. What can we do to overcome these weaknesses?

a. Example: Re-evaluating and repositioning the business away from price competition will help improve the business’ negotiation power on credit terms.

Relooking strategically at the 6Ps of your business will you reimagine your business and redefine growth.

Testimonials

“Bowen's passion is irrefutable and boundless. His meticulous analysis and planning offer key insights which are instrumental to improve my business workflows.”

- Sng Yong Meng, Founder of SGMusic Pte Ltd

“I’m so glad that I can meet up with Bowen; after discussion with him, he has given me advice and ideas that I could use for my business. I would recommend Bowen to those who are looking to grow their business.”

- Melvin Ng, Founder of Quvox Marketing

Bo Wen was one of the main person managing the branding projects for my companies. The support and guidance from him throughout the journey was nothing short of impressive. A very professional individual and one whom I highly recommend.”

- Michael Goh, Director at Golden M Premium Holidays Pte Ltd

Connect with Principal Strategist Bo Wen today to find out more! Click here!