Planning for Tomorrow, Executing Today: Achieving Success in the Face of Market Uncertainty

By Peggy Tierney Galvin, chief strategy officer, co-founder 

Inside every tech leader’s mind, there are two warring sides. The first demands a response to what is happening right now. The second is planning for the future. 

In a perfect world, these two demands are part of the same plan. All too often, however, the needs of the now will outweigh – and sometimes even sabotage – the goals of a strategic plan. And we’re not talking about five years from now (liquidity event!), we’re talking about poleaxing your Q2 plans because of reactive actions in Q4.  

This struggle is front and center today as tech companies navigate an uncertain market. Investors caution prudence (tighten those belts) and long-term market outlook (primed for growth).  

How can market leaders thread the needle? By using PR strategically to address your stakeholders’ concerns today while positioning your goals in the best possible way for tomorrow.  

Here’s an example. 

We’re hearing from some folks in our network that investors are asking portfolio companies to reduce spending across the board. This forces companies to make difficult choices: layoffs, hiring freezes, budget cuts or a combination of the three. However, cuts in any of these areas can risk choking off the flow of external communications aimed at showing investors, prospects, customers and partners that the company is strong, achieving growth milestones against its roadmap and continuing to secure customer successes with existing installations. In these instances, startups can use PR to show their investors a steady stream of “meat and potatoes” content that demonstrates their traction with partners and GTM strategy needed to scale. 

Work at an enterprise? Here’s another approach. 

At larger companies, we understand that business unit budget holders are being challenged by management to show operational efficiencies in outlay to soothe investors alarmed about ongoing unpredictability in the global supply chain, inflation and the cost of energy. Enterprise business unit leaders can address these concerns while positioning their KPIs for success through partner, customer and analyst relations. These activities can both support the sales team with assets that help land and expand accounts for the next quarterly reporting, while also continuing to drive the narrative of momentum and innovation that shareholders, investors and financial analysts use to assess company health. 

Knowing the balance to take isn’t easy. But that’s where a strategic partner like Force4 comes in. For over 20 years we’ve helped our clients navigate market uncertainties and opportunities to make successful outcomes happen. Want to learn more about our advice for your company? Reach out to us today.