Competitive as it may be, the business scene is always abuzz with wide-eyed start-ups eager to try their hand at entrepreneurship, but the harsh reality is that many of them end up falling by the wayside, with a staggering 80% failing to reach full scale-up. Why? One of the main reasons is the lack of a well-defined, solid strategy to help steer the business in the right direction. A sound strategy should act as a roadmap consisting of choices and commitments that enable a company to maintain its competitiveness in the marketplace. It shows how a company plans to use its resources and capabilities to scale up and, more importantly, to create, provide and capture value.

Put a fresh spin on your business model

Many aspiring scale-ups fail to adapt their business models accordingly. A common pitfall is not going through enough rounds of iterations when a company is trying to come up with a successful, on-the-mark offering. With everchanging customer demands, it is vital to ensure that the product or service on offer exactly fits customer needs – like a key to a lock. While it does not necessarily have to be an innovative or disruptive offer, the value proposition must be regarded as being integral to solving a customer problem.

According to MIT Sloan Management Review, the first method adopted by world-renowned companies to achieve scalability is through adding new distribution channels. The right channels enable the company to deliver its value proposition at the right time and to the right customer. By mispositioning your offering through an ill-judged product–channel combination, you may risk diluting your brand value – with your product or service falling into the hands of the wrong customer.