In 2008, the San Diego Zoo & Wildlife Park -- one of the nation's leading zoos and a global leader in saving endangered species -- came to a realization: despite more than 4.5 million annual visitors and $200 million in annual revenues, the organization itself was on an unsustainable path.
Founded in 1916 with the three-part mission of recreation, education, and conservation, the zoo was still on target to show an operating profit of $13 million despite the market panic that pushed many companies and nonprofits into the red. But as Chief Financial Officer Paula Brock told the executive committee, the long-standing model of funding conservation research and educational initiatives from entertainment revenues [tickets, food, and merchandise] and donations couldn't be maintained- -- attendance simply wouldn't rise as fast as the costs of maintaining a 2,000-person enterprise  .
The zoo had to innovate. And it has, by identifying new ways to connect with visitors and finding lucrative revenue sources such as long-term business consulting and events like a recent sold-out biomimicry conference and a planned expo showcasing eco-friendly products.
Taking the San Diego Zoo & Wildlife Park as a guide, here's a look at how an organization or company can grow through innovation.
Any project should begin with asking the right question. San Diego started with this one: How do we position ourselves as a world leader in conservation so that we can attract more funding?
Jump Associates, a San Mateo [Calif.]-based growth-strategy firm, helped the zoo widen its inquiry. "We asked them to think about how they could develop a sustainable growth strategy by identifying new revenue streams to fund conservation and grow the business," says Lara Lee, the Jump principal who led the project.
Brock describes the next phase of the process as "corporate psychoanalysis." Lee's team talked to employees from all departments about the organization's strengths and weaknesses, and then asked visitors about their perceptions of the zoo and attitudes towards conservation. They found, for instance, that while visitors care about the planet, they didn't use the word "conservation" and they didn't know exactly how to proceed. Whose advice should they trust? What individual effort that they made would have an impact on the world?
Combining that input with a broad rethinking of the zoo's competitors in the conservation arena -- from other zoos and traditional conservation organizations to entertainment and retail brands -- Lee created an "opportunity map," or a visual representation of the marketplace. (continued...)
© 2009 Business Week Online under contract with MarketWatch. All rights reserved.
|
Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support.
House Lawmakers Push Ban on Peer-to-Peer Software
GAO: Los Alamos Computer Security Has Weaknesses
Computer Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO This Week
Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings
New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking
Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up
Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats
FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies