Eventually the growth in sales stabilizes and the business enters the harvest phase. This can be a very prolonged part of the business life cycle when the dominant goal is to make profits. Internal matters like controlling costs and efficiency will occupy more of your time. Your competitive strength is entrenched and the business settles into a more predictable routine.
Profit strategies are designed to make the best use of your competitive strength and existing resources to produce large profits and positive cash flows. The focus shifts from acquiring new customers and more resources to making the most of existing customers and efficiently utilizing existing resources. The ultimate profit strategy is the eventual sale of the business as a going concern for a price that reflects its competitive strengths and long-term profitability.
Contraction strategies are designed to reduce your investment while maintaining profitability. Contraction strategies are called for if your resource base becomes too large for the sales and profits that it generates.
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