9 TH ANNUAL GROWTH STRATEGIES SURVEY RESULTS MARCH 2015

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1 9 TH ANNUAL GROWTH STRATEGIES SURVEY RESULTS MARCH 2015 Survey Population (Remained Constant) 300 Businesses in the Greater Philadelphia Area Over 100 Survey Respondents Annual Sales of up to $400 Million Sole-proprietorships to 2,000 employee base Privately-held, Employee-held, and Publicly-held companies For-profit and not-for-profit companies Revenue Breakdown of Respondents 18% - Less than $1 Million 29% - Between $1 Million and $5 Million 20% - Between $5 Million and $10 Million 28% - Between $10 Million and $50 Million 5% - $50 Million or greater Optimism is here to stay! KEY HIGHLIGHTS Year-over-year predictions for overall economic condition: Contraction 50% 10% 2% 4% 12% 4% 0% Expansion 29% 45% 81% 66% 59% 62% 69% No Change 21% 45% 17% 31% 29% 34% 31% The 2014 economic conditions allowed business owners to increase business development efforts, find increased opportunities for growth, explore new revenue streams and make improvements to business models and strategies, all while watching their numbers more closely. On the flip side, many missed revenue targets, missed profit targets, and needed to reduce overall spending including reducing raises and cutting bonus and incentive Ballantree Consulting 2015 All Rights Reserved 1

2 Forecasting methods may need tweaking 66% of businesses experienced revenue increases (of the 91% predicted) 54% of company profits saw an increase while 34% saw their profits decline in 2014 (prediction was 77% to increase and only 2% to decrease) 31% reduced their overall debt while 23% incurred more debt (predictions were close 34% predicted to decrease, and 14% predicted to increase) The gap in headcount predictions is widening 48% increased their headcount while 21% reduced staffing levels compared to the prediction that 60% would increase and only 5% would reduce On average, predictions for key drivers such as revenue, gross profit, gross margin, profit/loss before tax, and profit margin were off by 30%. Revenue per employee, direct costs, headcount, 60/90past due balances were off by 20%. The predictions for 2015 are very similar to It seems the forecasting methods are consistent, but may not fully incorporate actual business trends. 98% of businesses predict revenues to increase or stay the same but worstcase scenarios paint a different picture Scenario Planning is at an all time low at 53%, which is down from 60% for the last 3 years and 69% in 2011 Worst-case budgeting mirrors scenario planning at 53%. Last two years was 51%, down from 57% in 2012 and 63% in 2011 For worst-case budgets, the majority expects to flatline (36%), or to see a slight growth of up to 10% (22%). 20% expect to be down between 10% and 25% this year Business plans reflect the optimistic economic predictions heading into % expect to increase revenue (Last year 91% forecasted an increase, while only 66% realized it) 57% plan to increase headcount 24% expect greater availability of credit 33% of businesses are planning to raise additional capital this year half are hoping to secure a commercial bank loan or line of credit. For 79%, ability to access credit has not changed. 72% increased their existing or acquired additional credit, and only 11% decreased or could not acquire credit. Only 30% anticipate increasing capital expenditures Top Positive Economic Impacts of 2014 Increased your business development efforts (52%) Increased opportunities for growth (52%) Exploring new revenue streams (51%) Improvements to your business model/strategy (50%) Has enabled you to hire some great people Ballantree Consulting 2015 All Rights Reserved 2

3 Top Negative Economic Impacts of 2014 Missed revenue targets (41%) Missed profit targets (36%) No negative impact (36%) Reduced raises (30%) Overall spending reductions (22%) Predictions for 2015 Top 5 Positive Impact Predictions Based on 2015 Economy: Increase in opportunities for growth (59%) Increase in business development efforts (49%) Explore new revenue streams (48%) Improvements to your business model/strategy (47%) Ability to hire great talent (29%) A majority (53%) believe there will be no negative economic impact to their business. Of the rest - reduced profit targets (13%), reduced revenue targets (8%), and overall spending reductions (7%) are the top cited concerns for Key issues facing CEOs in 2015 People (40%) The top challenge that could impact achieving business goals in 2015, once again, is people finding the right people, keeping the right people, and having those people achieve their goals. Execution (32%) Managing plan implementation, driving top line growth, and remaining focused are the top challenges for Cash (14%) Access to capital is the biggest impact, followed by not cutting expenses in a timely manner. Strategy (14%) Areas of concern are mainly with marketing and sales strategies, analysis and growth. Increasing profits and revenues remains top priorities for 2015 Increasing profits (60%) Increasing revenues (46%) Finding and keeping good people (32%) Developing the management skills and competency of key people (29%) Improving sales performance (25%) Improving cash flow Ballantree Consulting 2015 All Rights Reserved 3

4 In comparison in past years: For 2014, increasing profits was the top priority, however, improving customer satisfaction was replace with improving cash flow in terms of focus. For 2013, the top five were: increasing profits (44%), increasing revenue (43%), finding and keeping good people (32%), improving marketing performance (27%), Improving sales performance (27%) For 2012, the top five were: increasing revenue (77%), increasing profits (66%), finding and keeping good people (61%), improving sales performance (57%), developing the management skills and competency of key people (48%) For 2011, the top five were: increasing revenue (70%), increasing profits (63%), finding and keeping good people (52%), improving sales performance (51%), improving cash flow (46%) EXPENSES 56% will be focused on cutting expenses in % more than last year 44% have no expense cuts planned (vs. 56% in 2014, 52% in 2013 and 42% in 2012) Top areas of expense reductions in 2015: o Utilities / Telecommunication Costs (18%) o Business Consulting (14%) o Facilities (12%) o Outsourcing (12%) o Staff (8%) PEOPLE Growth in workforce is expected again in Forecast Actual Forecast Actual Forecast Growth 67% 53% 71% 53% 73% No Change 25% 32% 21% 23% 17% Reduction 8% 15% 8% 24% 10% How does that compare to headcount predictions? FTE Increase 57% 48% 60% 50% 64% FTE same 33% 31% 33% 27% 30% FTE Decrease 9% 21% 5% 22% Ballantree Consulting 2015 All Rights Reserved 4

5 When asked overall top priorities for 2015, 32% said finding and keeping good people, 29% said developing the management skills and competency of key people, and 25% said improving sales performance. However, in 2014 economic conditions caused 30% to reduce raises, 20% to cut bonuses and incentive plans, and 9% to reduce training. When forecasting for this year, only 2% expect to cut bonuses, 5% expect to reduce raises and 0% expect to cut or reduce training. CRITICAL TO SUCCESS Overall, respondents cited staff development/training (#1 priority), process improvements to how you deliver or make your product or service (#2 priority), good business development skills and practices (#3 priority), and key hire(s) (#4 priority) as critical to success this year. Within each ranking, the top three are as follows: #1 Priority (Highest) Key hire(s) Better defined strategies and goals Good business development skills and practices #2 Priority Staff development and training Good business development skills and practices Process improvements to how you deliver or market your product or service #3 Priority Process improvements to how you deliver or market your product or service Marketing campaign Staff development and training Top areas for investing financial resources in 2015 Sales/Business development (66%) consistent over the last two years Staff development/training (51%) increase from last year (45%) Key hires (46%) increase from last year (33%) Process improvements to delivery / production of products or services (42%) increase from last year (31%) Developing marketing strategy (39%) increase from last year (34%) Marketing campaign (33%) decrease from last year (35%) Technology (31%) slight decrease from last year Ballantree Consulting 2015 All Rights Reserved 5

6 MARKETING Respondents are continuing a more targeted approach to marketing in 2015, still favoring networking and campaigns, but increasing focus on digital marketing (website upgrades, social networking and search engine optimization). Top marketing channels planned: Networking (84%) campaigns (79%) Creating more referral partners or alliances (68%) Website upgrades (62%) Word of mouth (61%) Online social networking i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. (60%) Client / customer phone calls / meetings (59%) Search Engine Optimization (53%) Speaking (51%) Memberships in business and professional organizations (49%) Consistently lower-prioritized channels (same order as last year): Joining not-for-profit boards (13%) Public relations campaigns (14%) Free product or service (14%) YouTube videos (22%) Direct mail Ballantree Consulting 2015 All Rights Reserved 6