Increasing growth
With our focus on SMEs and mid-cap companies, we prioritise growth drivers to help define, accelerate and finance profitable growth strategies.
Anticipate, act, prosper.
Our service offering :
- Identifying and prioritising new growth drivers in France and/or abroad through know-how (tacit or explicit) and strategic positioning, and by analysing the financial and economic feasibility of key opportunities
- Repositioning your brand/business
- Creating/developing own brands
- Optimising distribution channels
- Promoting e-commerce-driven growth
- Promoting acquisitions-based growth
- International expansion
- Growth financing
- Growth structuring
Tell us about your projects.
What is a strategy consulting firm ?
A strategy consultancy is a company that specialises in assisting company directors and/or shareholders to solve problems that have not been resolved internally and to ensure the continued profitable growth of their company.
A strategy consultancy employs specialist consultants who, with their outside view of the company and their experience in the field, help companies to define their target vision, the levers for growth and the action plan they need to move forward.
The consultants carry out a diagnosis of the issues raised before proposing solutions tailored to the company’s strengths. The analysis and advice are provided with complete independence and objectivity, which is not always the case internally. For various reasons (habits, ways of thinking, personal implications, lack of perspective, etc.), employees within the company are not always objective when analysing and resolving a problem. Independent consultants don’t take sides; they propose solutions with the sole aim of defending the interests of the company that has commissioned them.
As well as providing business solutions, a strategy consultancy offers its customers a partner with whom they can talk, who is 100% dedicated to the problem and ready to put all their energy into resolving it, as well as reassurance in the solutions proposed through working with the operational teams, who are the only guarantee that the recommendations will be adopted and followed through.
In the case of SMEs, calling in a strategy consultancy can also compensate for a temporary lack of in-house expertise on specialised issues (international development, external growth strategy, entering a new market, etc.). This approach provides immediate access to specific skills and avoids the need for recruitment processes, which can be lengthy, while at the same time increasing the skills of operational teams through the transfer of know-how.
Comco Consulting is a business strategy consultancy specialising in support for SMEs and ETIs. If you would like us to help you resolve your strategic issues, please do not hesitate to contact us by email at: contact@comco-consulting.com.
What is business strategy consulting ?
Corporate strategy consulting, which is generally carried out for a company’s senior management and/or its shareholders, aims to provide solutions to the company’s most complex business issues and to arbitrate the allocation of resources (financial and human) by identifying the most promising avenues for growth and profitability.
Strategy consulting comprises 3 main categories of assignment :
- Strategy assignments: definition of a 3-year development plan with identification of growth opportunities, recommendations in relation to the company’s talents and drafting of preliminary action plans for implementation; analysis of entry into a new market; definition of criteria and action plans for international development; rationalisation of a company’s business portfolio to cope with market changes; strategic repositioning; support for operational teams in solving business problems, etc.
- Research and analysis of investment opportunities as part of an external growth strategy: definition of acquisition criteria in the light of the company’s strategy; strategic and commercial due diligence; analysis of a target company with identification of the main strategic, business, operational and financial issues; analysis of the main issues involved in integrating a target company and support in drafting the main preliminary integration action plans.
- Organisational assignments: definition of a new organisation to optimise implementation of the company’s strategy; analysis of the organisation and operational efficiency of a division; definition of a succession plan; definition of a transformation plan, etc.
Comco Consulting is a strategy consultancy specialising in assisting SMEs and SMIs. If you would like us to help you resolve your strategic issues, please do not hesitate to contact us by email at: contact@comco-consulting.com.
Overcoming the crisis by rediscovering entrepreneurship.
Each decade brings its own share of crises. Many of these are unprecedented, which is why existing economic models often prove unsatisfactory. These models were drawn up in the wake of another crisis, but no two crises are ever the same. The COVID-19 crisis is certainly not the same as the financial crisis of 2008: it is unpredictable, we do not know how long it is going to last, and the scale of its impact is as yet impossible to calculate. No country or business sector has escaped unscathed and the economic climate is now more uncertain than ever. On the threshold of a financial crisis that we are only just beginning to understand, and which is likely to last until 2023, businesses have a duty to pull through if they are to survive. Reinventing themselves and rediscovering the meaning of entrepreneurship will help companies to not only come through the current crisis, but to come out on top.
Remaining inert and reducing staff only leads to a loss of skills and market share. Instead, companies need to rediscover their business agility and appetite for risk, and the real meaning of investment. They need to do this not with the fantasy of achieving inflated, unreasonable growth, but rather of reviving the spirit of conquest and risk that are so important to entrepreneurship. They need to find an upbeat response to an event that is causing stress, chaos and volatility. There is no guarantee that they will win new markets or clients, or come up with a new product or service offering, but even just working in this direction can generate positive energy, enable businesses to gradually adjust their offering, and sow the seeds they need to pull through. Not all of these seeds will take root, but the ones that do will enable the business to reap the rewards of resilience and future growth. Optimism, energy and ambition are needed to surmount this period of huge economic and social vulnerability.
To improve their chances for success, business leaders need to define a set of concrete actions that will make them stronger both during the recession and beyond. They need to keep their end goals in sight, by asking themselves what their business will look like at the end of the crisis and three years down the road. They then need to selectively invest in the chosen direction – whether through R&D, marketing or sales – with a firm eye on value proposition and target client segment. Finally, they need to understand that slowdowns can also provide growth opportunities and a chance to move ahead of the competition.
The keys to successful international growth for SMEs and mid-tier companies.
According to data from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), a total of 42,875 French SMEs exported in 2018, representing export income of €87 billion, or 21.2% of their overall revenues.
Although international trade is a significant growth driver, which can enhance revenues, brand reputation and market position, companies that export still only account for 30.8% of all French SMEs.
A four-step analysis of the export market and the company’s potential market share in each country is required to define the most promising avenues for international growth. This saves time and money by allowing companies to dedicate the correct financial and human resources to their project. The four-step analysis involves:
- Calculating market share (in terms of value) in accordance with the company’s positioning, with a view to identifying the countries with the highest growth potential.
- Defining the best way to penetrate high potential markets, in order to gain a better understanding of the required methodology and investment and the time needed to enter the priority target markets.
- Preparing a decision matrix that lists the critical success factors for penetrating the target markets and the company’s intrinsic strengths, in order to ascertain the most appropriate countries for expansion. This allows us to pinpoint the three countries with the greatest potential for the company.
- Lastly, preparing an action plan for expansion into the aforementioned three countries. This last step helps us to identify the various key stages, the forecast schedule and the persons responsible for managing and implementing the project. We can thus anticipate the initial stages of the international growth plan.
Comco Consulting is a strategy consulting firm specialised in supporting SMEs and mid-tier companies. For more information on strategically planning your international expansion, please contact us at contact@comco-consulting.com.
Case studies
Creating a growth trajectory for a company specialising in the sale of anti-theft systems in Nantes.
A company based in Nantes, in the north-west of France, and specialising in the sale of anti-theft systems, was stable – with revenues of several million – but stagnant.
We were called on to identify promising strategic growth areas for the business, both organically and in terms of acquisitions.
Our assignment was broken down into three key phases:
- Analysing the company’s economic model, i.e., its market positioning, the development and competitive intensity of its market segments, and management’s motivation;
- Identifying and prioritising strategic growth areas, both organically and in terms of acquisitions, including analysing the opportunities, risks and impacts (human, operational, financial) of the chosen options;
- Incorporating the chosen options into the day-to-day operations, and defining the implementation schedule, action plans, and necessary human and financial resources.
Identifying development strategies to boost the growth of a consumer goods company in the east of France.
A long-standing, family-run company specialising in consumer goods was generating revenues of several million euros through a wide and diverse distribution network in France and abroad. Sales were stable but trending downwards.
Management and shareholders were aware that the company, brand and product range all needed some fresh impetus and asked Comco Consulting to assist it in creating a business plan that would help renew growth, as well as come up with a distinct brand positioning, whilst keeping sight of the products’ strong, historic culture. Our goal was to identify and validate development strategies to revive growth through brand positioning, client portfolio, distribution network and export strategy.
A diagnostic review by an expert consultant is a crucial step towards addressing a company’s core issues. This is achieved through a series of open-ended questions by which we come up, together with a plan for long-term growth.
Open-ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. The consultant asks the questions, listens attentively to the answers and identifies any inaccuracies or contradictions. The idea is to talk with business leaders and management committee members about their knowledge of the company and assess challenges together. These open-ended questions bring forth new ideas, raise awareness and call long-held beliefs and convictions into question, with business leaders realising that what their company needs is not necessarily what they had initially imagined. The key issue is ensuring that the right need is expressed.
The questions address the context, the challenges, the aims and the obstacles encountered. We start with the general – examining how the management teams are organised and operate – and work our way through until we reach the problem initially identified by the company. The consultant brings a critical outside perspective, helping to identify sticking points that management teams are not always aware of. Gradually, throughout the interview, we use the questions to analyse all the pieces of key information and determine how they are connected and whether they relate to the sector, the company or the interviewee. The consultant then uses this analysis as a basis to interpret the key data, draw the necessary conclusions and diagnose the main issues at stake. Through conversations with the operational teams, we gradually and rationally (and without the need to extrapolate) come up with a fresh interpretation of the situation.
The teams need to appropriate the issues and come up with answers by themselves. Thus, having provided their input, it is naturally easier for them to adhere to the findings and arrive at the necessary solution. The consultant can also start to outline his or her view of the solution, which the operational teams then need to validate and expand on to make it their own. Making the teams integral to the process helps to ensure the implementation of the future solution and lays the foundations for lasting growth.
Increasing growth for a Paris-based specialist contractor in the luxury industry in Paris.
This family-run company, founded in 1962, and with around 50 employees, is a contractor, developer and design office for the luxury industry, capable of mass producing men’s and women’s catwalk collections. Its work for the major fashion houses is mainly divided between the collections (very small runs) and ready-to-wear (medium runs).
The collection activity can be difficult to anticipate from a structural point of view, due to limited visibility about the additional workload and, as such, the necessary human and financial resources. This entails foresight in terms of financing requirements.
Comco Consulting’s role is to identify the key issues surrounding growth and recommend winning strategic scenarios to accelerate it.
Our news
How can you develop your company’s growth in 2024?
To thrive in 2024, businesses need to be agile and innovative, embrace new technologies, leverage data analytics, and adapt to the market. By following these tips, they can diversify their revenue streams, retain customers, and expand into new markets.
How can you develop your company’s growth in 2024?
To thrive in 2024, businesses need to be agile and innovative, embrace new technologies, leverage data analytics, and adapt to the market. By following these tips, they can diversify their revenue streams, retain customers, and expand into new markets.