Article: 4 Growth Strategies For Mid-Market Retailers For 2011

By Todd Kolber

Even though the economy is still licking its wounds from the downturn in 2008 and 2009, midmarket companies are now more than ever a force to be reckoned with. They watched as their larger counterparts faltered under the strain of the financial crisis, dishing out multiple and deep budget and job cuts to survive. Despite economic conditions, many midmarket companies capitalized on their ability to be flexible, readily adopting new processes and technology – i.e., cloud computing, e-retailing and mobile marketing – that could help them reduce costs while increasing revenues and market share.

A recent study tells us that we'll continue to see a lot more midmarket growth this year¹. Almost 80 percent of 2,000-plus midsized firms surveyed are making customers, innovation and growth their major priorities. What's even more telling is that 53 percent of midmarket companies surveyed expect to increase their IT budget in 2011, compared with only 20 percent in 2010. For midsized retailers and consumer goods companies, improving customer service is one of their main goals this year.