Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, asserts its commitment to assisting clients in today’s uncertain economic climate. The firm further contends that companies’ response to these turbulent times will strongly influence their long-term growth potential.
“The standard strategy of making uniform cuts across the board will realign costs with demand,” explains David Frigstad, Chairman of Frost & Sullivan, “but it will significantly and negatively affect the company’s ability to exploit the economic rebound. This will set the company behind its competitors at a critical time. During periods of business uncertainty, executives must cut costs in operations and increase investments in navigation, such as long-term growth strategy and research.”
Frost & Sullivan experts concede many companies will be forced to cost-cut to recalibrate to declining market demand, but they caution that extreme cost-cutting can damage a company’s long-term growth potential. Instead, they advise clients to closely monitor their industries, track new opportunities emerging from economic turmoil, and develop strategies to take advantage of the inevitable economic turnaround. They stress that any resources supporting these critical activities should never be removed from budgets for short-term savings.
“Best-in-class companies don’t view a downturn as a period in which to simply survive. They see opportunity in the uncertainty and navigate through the storm with investments in growth strategies that not only help them carry on, but also prepare them to move quickly once the economy recovers,” adds Frigstad.
Frost & Sullivan itself experienced 300 percent growth after the 1991-1992 recession, and 34 percent growth after the 2001-2002 recession — extraordinary numbers on their own, but especially when considering the number of research and consulting firms that folded within similar timeframes.
Frost & Sullivan believes that the primary areas of investment should be:
— Competitive Intelligence and Strategy
— Licensing Technology and Investment
— M&A Strategy (i.e., due diligence, and targeting)
— Strategic Partnering
— Strategies to Gain Customer Share of Wallet
— Development of a 360-Degree Industry and Market Perspective
“To catapult ahead of the competition, companies should continue to invest in growth strategy development and seek insights and guidance from trusted sources,” concludes Frigstad. “After all, if they don’t, their competitors will.”
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company’s Growth Partnership Service is based on a user license model which allows CEOs and their growth teams to generate, evaluate and implement powerful, long-term growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnership Services, visit http://www.frost.com.
