In Market Your Way to Growth: Eight Ways to Win (Wiley: 2012) renowned authors Philip and Milton Kotler discuss strategies for companies’ survival amid economic turbulence.

With the developed world facing a slow-down in economic growth and the threat of recession, above all in Europe, successfully competing for a limited customer base means using creative marketing strategies. The authors present eight effective ways to grow, even in the context of low-growth expectations. They address how to increase market share, develop loyal customers, build the brand, innovate, expand internationally, acquire new businesses, build a solid reputation for environmental and social responsibility, and more. By developing one of these paths, a company can achieve more robust growth rates.

The authors adopt as a premise a set of megatrends that, according to them, will impact growth and opportunities for the next decade:

• Redistribution of wealth and economic power in the world
• Shifting the strategic focus from global to regional and from this to the site
• Increasing urbanization and greater need for infrastructure
• Increased opportunities from developments in science and technology
• Acceleration of the green economy
• Rapidly changing social values
• Cooperation between the public and private sectors
• Customer empowerment and the information revolution
• Hypercompetition and disruptive innovation

From these premises the authors propose what they call “eight routes for sustainable growth”: the most promising paths to follow, based on a company’s answers to the following questions:

1. What is the best way to outperform competitors by increasing market share?
2. How can your company win admirers and develop a value chain with committed partners?
3. What can your company do to develop and implement a solid brand that functions as a platform for its chosen strategy?
4. How can your company develop a culture of innovation and offer innovative experiences to customers?
5. Can your company identify and explore high-growth international niches?
6. How can your company grow by identifying and developing attractive marketing opportunities in these market niches?
7. How can your company improve its social image by gaining the respect and support of the public and partners?
8. How can your company identify opportunities to work with governments and third-sector entities to better meet public, private and social demands?

These eight routes can act as a roadmap for a company to conduct an initial assessment that may precede a deeper self-study.

On which of these eight routes does your company have good traction? Which are the most difficult for the company? Which should be prioritized? In which of them should your company’s position be strengthened?