The Customers.

  • Every day you juggle managing customers, employees, & operations. You’d like to better understand who your best customers are and have a strategic growth and financial plan that enables you to stay ahead of the curve…but you just don’t have enough time to do it all!

    Some of the questions we can help you answer are:

    • Which are my best, most profitable customers and which are the least?

    • Where can I find more customers that look just like the profile of my “best customer”?

    • If I want to invest in advertising & marketing, where should I invest for the biggest impact?

    • How profitable are each of my products or services?

    • How can I differentiate my business versus the competition and price my products or services to win?

    • What are my best opportunities to grow revenue and bottom line and how long will it take to achieve this growth?

  • You are considering acquiring an established, cash flowing business. You have many advisors to choose from when it comes to structuring a deal, financial due diligence, and legal diligence and documentation. These are essential elements of any deal but what they don’t address, and where we can complement those advisors, is in helping you answer these questions (and more):

    • How healthy are the customer relationships?

    • How strong is retention and how much of an issue is attrition?

    • How much does it cost to acquire a customer and how long could they be expected to remain one?

    • Has a segmentation been created so you know how to optimize the customer mix?

    • Which are the “best customers” and where can you focus your expansion efforts to find more customers that look like the best customers of the business?

    Then, you will no doubt have a vision for how to grow the business but will likely lack the capacity to address the “low hanging fruit” opportunities and proactively plan for and EXECUTE sustainable growth strategies. We can help you with all of this!

  • As you look to underwrite an SBA loan or other debt for an SMB, you’ll do your own diligence and have access to countless QoE providers and the like. What you’re missing is a provider of customer diligence to tell you how healthy the customer base is…and a pressure tested growth plan to make the entrepreneur’s vision a reality.

    We can help you understand many of the same questions you’ll find above and the result will be greater confidence in the loan you are underwriting.

  • You may be doing diligence on a potential equity investment in an SMB and will likely be unsure of the health of the customer base and strategies to retain and grow it. You might be a family office with a portfolio of SMB investments. Those businesses might need to be optimized in order to properly scale and ultimately maximize their attractiveness at exit.

    Our strategic growth toolkit has been influenced by working with some of the top PE and VC firms in the United States. Pre-investment, our customer analytics tools will help you and the entrepreneur understand the “ideal customer profile” (ICP) and where to find more customers that look like the ICP. Post-investment, we can help you optimize your portfolio by bringing sophisticated strategic growth tools that span organic and inorganic growth, from marketing to operational improvement.

The Industries.

  • Restaurants face a trifecta of challenges when it comes to customer retention, profitability, and growth. With fierce competition and ever-changing consumer tastes, keeping diners coming back is no easy feat. High turnover rates mean that building a loyal customer base often feels like an uphill battle. On the profitability front, rising food and labor costs squeeze margins tighter than a chef’s apron string, making it hard to maintain a healthy bottom line. Meanwhile, the pressure to innovate and stand out can leave owners feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin, as they juggle marketing efforts with day-to-day operations. For many, the dream of growth feels out of reach while they’re stuck in the grind of everyday survival. To thrive, restaurants must navigate these pain points with creative solutions and strategies that delight their guests and boost their bottom line.

  • Home services businesses like painters, home builders, and pool maintenance providers face a unique set of challenges that can hinder their success.

    Customer retention is often difficult, with many clients shopping around for the best deals, leaving service providers worried about repeat business. Profitability can be elusive, as pricing pressures and fluctuating material costs make it hard to maintain healthy margins.

    Growth poses its own challenges, as expanding services or reaching new markets often requires substantial investment in marketing and talent acquisition. These businesses often find themselves juggling high competition and operational inefficiencies, which can stifle their potential and leave them feeling overwhelmed.

  • Local retailers today are grappling with a multitude of challenges that directly impact their customer retention, profitability, and growth. Competition from e-commerce giants is fierce, leading to dwindling foot traffic and a struggle to keep customers coming back for more.

    Many retailers find themselves trapped in a cycle of discounting to attract sales, ultimately compromising their profit margins. Additionally, shifting preferences of consumers make it difficult for small businesses to stay relevant and connected to their communities. With limited resources for marketing and customer engagement, local retailers often feel overwhelmed, stifling their potential for sustainable growth and long-term success.

    Addressing these pain points requires a blend of strategic insight, tailored approaches, and a hefty dose of grit to navigate the ever-evolving retail landscape.

  • For wholesale businesses in a competitive marketplace, maintaining loyal customers can feel like an uphill climb, with fluctuating demand and changing preferences leading to discontent. Many wholesalers struggle to balance the fine line of pricing, as the pressure to keep costs low clashes with the need for healthy profit margins.

    As they strive for growth, these businesses may find themselves bogged down by operational inefficiencies, limited resources, and the constant need to adapt to industry trends. Without a clear strategy, the dream of thriving in today's dynamic economy can quickly become a daunting reality, leaving owners overwhelmed and questioning their next step.