Recap: Align Strategy with Process and Measurement Camp

Recap of Helen Yu's Ascend Your Start-Up on the critical decisions as they apply to SBH Labs.

Decision #17: How Will You Apply Your Strengths to Your Weaknesses to Find Your Superpower?

According to Yu, a business' super power is its core business strength. Yu gives the following list of potential superpowers to choose from:

• Product
• Sales
• Engineering
• Vertical Business Operation
• Brand
• Customer
• Vision
• Service
• Thought Leadership

SBH Labs would fall under brand. Yu describes this core strength as defining "the tenor and tone of relationship with customers with a consistent brand experience, Translate brand promise not how the company conducts itself." SBH Labs is still getting established in the market, but the hope is to have the name SBH Labs linked forever in the minds of consumers with clean, health, and wellness.

Decision #18: How Will You Fill the Process Disconnect?

The filling the process disconnect requires establishing a process and practices to enable you to align strategy with execution while driving accountability. Yu advises that repeatability is key to accelerate growth. for SBH Labs, repeatability comes from moving leads through the marketing funnel. SBH Labs is currently working on referrals, hoping to establish this repeatability.

Decision #19: How Will You Fill the Measurement Disconnect?

As an analyst, this step is almost a given, but many people forget. Metrics are important! You need to know what to measure success against and celebrate/rewards those successes. According to Yu, these are the leading and lagging indicators:

• Financials (revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, etc)
• Sales 
• Marketing
• Customer Success
• Services
• Training
• Support
• Product
• HR
• Cybersecurity
• Operation Costs
• Channel Distribution

For SBH Labs, the leading factors include sales and customer success. The company is generating high number of sales, so revenue is up. However, after costs and expenses, there is little profit left for the owners to enjoy (expected of a 2-year-old business). Marketing and Channel Distribution are the major lagging indicators. 

Decision #20: How Will You Measure the Company as a Customer-Centric Company?

SBH Labs has seen a high rate of customer retention. Most customers begin by buying the small version of nuCaffeine and then transform to buying the largest bottle and experiment with flavors. SBH Labs has also seen a cross over of nuCaffeine customers buying the other brands offered by SBH Labs after the trust has been established with the customer. As nice as it may sound to be able to say you know all of your customers, it is simply impossible to keep track of every single one of them by memory. Perhaps it's time for SBH Labs to invest in an CRM program.

Decision #21: What Does Your Summit Look Like Now?

Yu reminds the reader that it is OK for that ideal goal to change. Life happens. People move on. You will face new challenges that will alter the course of your start-up. Yu's advice:

"You must update processes, procedures, and strategy accordingly for greater resilience, reliability, flexibility, and speed when driving the adoption of these new workplace protocols."

In other words, adaptability is crucial! 

References:
Yu, H., & Rainer, G. (2021). Ascend Your Start-Up: Conquer the 5 Disconnects to Accelerate Growth. Made for Success.