Zurich Growth

Despite all the headlines about mergers and acquisitions, growing a business organically is a more proven way to build revenue. A McKinsey & Company survey of 550 U.S. and European companies revealed that companies that created more organic growth generated higher returns than those that relied on acquiring new companies or launching new products alone.¹


What defines an organic growth strategy? It’s one that uses a company’s own energy and resources to retain customers rather than investing capital in external partnerships or expensive acquisition plans. Organic growth is therefore more cost-effective than other growth strategies. A successful organic growth strategy comprises two components: outstanding customer service and highly engaged employees. For example, investing in your sales and customer experience programs will strengthen and grow relationships with your existing clients, leading to more purchases or purchases with higher values.

Multiple studies have been conducted on the costs of acquiring new customers versus retaining existing ones. In an article from Harvard Business Review, it was estimated that gaining a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than keeping a current customer. The same article also pointed to research by Bain & Company, the firm that invented the NPS, which indicated that increasing customer retention rates by five percent increases profits 25 to 95 percent.²


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  1. Ahuja, Kabir, Liz Hilton Segel, Jesko Perrey. “Mastering Three Strategies of Organic Growth.” McKinsey & Company. August 2017. Accessed July 30, 2018. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/mastering-three-strategies-of-organic-growth
  2. Gallo, Amy. “The Value of Keeping the Right Customers.” Harvard Business Review. October 29, 2014. Accessed July 30, 2018. https://hbr.org/2014/10/the-value-of-keeping-the-right-customers
  3. McKinsey Global Survey, July 2016. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/mastering-three-strategies-of-organic-growth
  4. Ahuja, Kabir, Liz Hilton Segel, Jesko Perrey. “Mastering Three Strategies of Organic Growth.” August 2017. Accessed July 30, 2018. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/mastering-three-strategies-of-organic-growth

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