Center for Simplified Strategic Planning

Questions and Answers

Strategic Planning Questions and Answers

We get confused when formulating Expand versus Maintain strategies. They seem very similar.

The actual difference in the initiatives you identify to support Maintain or Expand strategies may be very subtle. One reason is that there are frequently no clear lines in the Strategic Planning process but rather a series of continuums. That is why it is difficult to know precisely when an Expand strategy may evolve into a Maintain or vice versa. It is also why the management team’s instincts are so valuable and that the process should never be approached in a purely mechanistic way. The major difference in an Expand versus a Maintain strategy may be more in the expected results rather than the individual strategic initiatives. In choosing an Expand strategy a company is saying that their expectation for that particular segment is for significant growth in market share versus the competition. They expect to grow significantly beyond the market’s growth and they are prepared to commit whatever resources are required to achieve it. In a Maintain strategy, while the company is also prepared to commit significant resources, the expectation is that growth will be limited to the market’s growth.


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Ann Arbor, MI 48108

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