Strategic Planning for SMEs: 4 Levers to Drive Growth, Profit, and Brand Power
Hi, I’m Aby
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From Surviving to Scaling: Strategic Frameworks for SME Growth and Profitability
An aircraft descending into LAX doesn’t guess its way down—it aligns altitude, trajectory, and timing with precision. That’s the kind of strategic momentum SMEs need. This week, we chart the levers that help entrepreneurs navigate turbulence, seize runway opportunities, and land financial results that hold altitude. Because strategy isn’t a checklist—it’s your flight path.
This week, we explore strategic levers that empower SME business owners and entrepreneurs to capture market share, become the first choice among competitors, and drive financial success—boosting revenue, cash flow, and retained earnings.
For SMEs—often operating with limited resources and without economies of scale—choosing the right strategic levers is essential. Whether building from scratch or pivoting in a competitive market, bold strategy [2] activates marketing, customer acquisition, and operational growth.
ForFor SME business owners and entrepreneurs, who often face limited access to resources and lack the economies of scale enjoyed by larger firms, it’s even more critical to select strategic levers that drive strong financial results. This may involve making foundational decisions early on—or pivoting if the business isn’t gaining traction or is in a highly competitive market. Choosing a bold, decisive strategy [1],” can activate both internal and external levers—across marketing, operations, and customer acquisition—to fuel growth.
As featured in this week’s FLIGHT 78910™ SME Spotlight below, e.l.f. Cosmetics founder Joey Shamah chose to build a brand—not a white-label business—unlocking bold moves across the 4Ps of marketing and driving a $1B valuation.
SME Playbook: Strategic Levers for Growth
This playbook uses the McKinsey framework [2]to help SMEs build capabilities and values that create competitive advantage, drive profitability, and support sustainable growth.
- Strategic Business Focus
Many SMEs overlook strategy as a growth lever. It’s often an afterthought. According to [3], even among surviving businesses, few prioritize strategic planning.
SME Takeaway: Embedding strategy into your business DNA builds internal moats and external positioning. This leads to stronger market presence, increased sales, customer loyalty, better supplier terms, and pricing power. Bold strategy involves evaluating alternatives and selecting a winning path to financial success. - Strategy Diagnostic Methodology
Use a method to identify the main problem and its crux. Once chosen, all resources must be focused on solving it.
SME Takeaway: Choose one resolvable problem. Focus relentlessly. - Growth Mindset
A growth-oriented culture sharpens focus on initiatives that scale. SMEs must recruit strategically, market their mission, and attract talent aligned with growth goals..
SME Takeaway: Growth DNA means rejecting “me too” strategies. Instead, seek bold opportunities, trends, and innovation. Use scenario planning to align resources—finance, operations, and talent—and decide whether to reinvest retained earnings, secure credit, or pursue acquisitions. - Differentiation Clarity
SMEs must create strong value differentiation—through products, processes, or IP read our valuation creation to stand out in the market and justify premium pricing.
SME Takeaway: Differentiation builds brand equity and customer loyalty. As seen with how IKEA built brand differentiation and e.l.f. Cosmetics, clarity in value proposition drives market strength. SMEs should continuously explore ways to deepen differentiation across the value chain. - Productivity as Leverage
Productivity can be a long-term competitive advantage. For example, Poppi’s founder leveraged TikTok as a marketing engine, driving sales even without new campaigns.
SME Takeaway: Prioritizing productivity creates scalable advantage—especially when aligned with brand strengths and sustained over time.
Strategic Takeaway
SME business owners and entrepreneurs must embrace bold strategic planning and implementation—while recognizing that strategy is a journey, not a fixed destination. A bold, well-executed strategy [2] can be the winning formula for positioning your business to generate financial success and capture market share.
The right resources must be committed and aligned with the chosen strategy to ensure long-term success.
Flight 78910™ SME Spotlight: Joey Shamah
VIDEO FEATURE: He Built a $1B Beauty Brand Selling $1 Makeup | e.lf. Cosmetics
Joey Shamah built e.l.f. with a clear purpose: to create a brand that customers would love—offering beauty products at affordable prices without compromising on results. He focused on building competitive advantage through the 4Ps of marketing—product, pricing, place (distribution), and promotion—turning e.l.f. into a billion-dollar brand and a vehicle for generational wealth.
He was relentless, strategic, and tactical—seizing opportunities to grow the business and brand. For example:
- He leveraged PR marketing as an entry point to reach customers, beauty editors, and buyers when retail traction was elusive.
- He capitalized on a market rumor about a potential acquisition, which triggered 190,000 orders in just days.
- He embraced e-commerce early, building a strong customer base and email list that fueled brand growth and retail partnerships.
Highlights for SME Business Owners
1. Strategic Clarity
Joey had a crystal-clear vision: to build an affordable beauty brand with a strong value proposition. He aligned every element—product, pricing, promotion, and distribution—around this clarity.
SME Takeaway: Strategic clarity enables bold decisions. It helps SMEs stay focused during disruptions and navigate challenges. Nike’s digital transformation is a prime example of clarity in action – Learn how Nike’s framework applies to SMEs
2. Brand Market Position
Joey positioned e.l.f. as an affordable brand. He leveraged strengths (e-commerce traction), weaknesses (retail entry barriers), and threats (order surges) to build resilience and secure retail partnerships.
SME Takeaway: SMEs must build moats across the value chain. Strategic positioning drives customer loyalty, revenue growth, and higher valuation.
3. Talent Positioning
As e.l.f. scaled, Joey brought in outside investment and talent—coexisting with the original team to grow the brand.
SME Takeaway: SMEs must reassess talent needs at each growth stage. Understanding what capabilities are needed—and when—is key. e.l.f. added private equity with retail expertise to support scale.
Apply the Playbook →
Which strategic lever will you activate next: pricing clarity, customer delight, or resource discipline?
Feeling overwhelmed by strategy? [Click here] for support.
Conclusion
SMEs must activate bold strategic levers to build customer and financial fortresses. These levers require committed resources and continuous review. Strategy is a journey—not a one-time task.
Embedding strategy into your business DNA helps avoid the tactical trap that leads to early-stage failure. Most competitors are reactive; SMEs who think strategically will lead the market and build enduring businesses.
Joey Shamah’s bold approach—embracing e-commerce before it was mainstream, taking pricing risks, and building a brand-first model—shows what’s possible. His success is a blueprint for SMEs ready to think bigger.
References
- Jumpstart a better way to do strategy – Inside the Strategy Room | Podcast on Spotify
- A practical guide to jumpstart strategic planning | McKinsey
- Growing pains: How to help small businesses scale | News | Warwick Business School
- Scaling SMEs with Purpose, Product Innovation, and Operational Moats – The2015B Group
- How Nike Engineered Brand Dominance—and What SMEs Can Steal – The2015B Group
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Until next week—
Set bold strategy. Set big targets. Take massive action. Measure what matters.
About the Author
Aby Rufus
Business Investor Strategy Expert Entrepreneur with an MBA in Strategic Planning—offering billion-dollar strategic solutions for SMEs.
