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2021 CEO Survey
Mid-Market Companies
Mid-market CEOs Remain Laser-focused on Growth
2020 will not go down in the books as a stellar year of growth for the mid-market. Almost all of our reporting CEOs adjusted their growth expectations and over half reported declines in revenue. Of the third who did experience growth, the majority are technology companies, an industry that, perhaps not surprisingly, has been a growth outlier during the pandemic.
- 96% of CEOs reported that they adjusted their revenue goals and targets due to COVID-19.
- 58% of responding companies experienced revenue declines during the pandemic while 33% (mainly technology) experienced revenue growth.
- More than one third of companies surveyed took multiple actions in adjusting their sales function, and as a result they outperformed other companies.
- Revenue growth came in as the top CEO priority as measured by forced ranking.
96%
of CEOs adjusted their revenue goals and targets due to COVID
Revenue Growth
58%
DECLINED
33%
INCREASE
MORE THAN 1/3
of companies surveyed took multiple actions in adjusting their sales and marketing functions, and as a result they outperformed other companies.
Top Priorities
for CEOs during COVID was Revenue Growth, followed by Customer Experience; Employee Wellness; Human Capital; and Virtual Teams.
Newport Insight
Who Grew in 2020 and How?
While middle market CEOs face economic uncertainty from the disruption brought about by the COVID-19 crisis, they are clearly focused on top-line growth. Successful revenue growth will depend on how quickly organizations are capable of raising their game in order to provide a superb customer experience, from first prospect interaction through loyal repeat customer, both digital and physical. Customer experience encompasses not only the marketing and sales functions, but depends heavily on product, product informational components, as well as organizational support and communications strategies.
Eric Jepsky
Partner, San Jose, CA
How Newport can help
Newport is a strategic business advisory firm, working with founders and CEOs of privately held, growth-stage companies to accelerate growth, improve performance, and successfully exit their businesses.
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