National Center for the Middle Market

The DNA of Middle Market Growth

“When the growth factors outside of a company’s control conspire against it, it becomes even more important for companies to invest in what they can control.”

– National Center for the Middle Market

A Look Back: 5 years ago, the National Center for the Middle Market (the USA’s leading research institution dedicated to understanding and providing resources to the Middle Market) conducted groundbreaking research to understand what drives growth in this important sector of the economy. This research is worth revisiting given the conflicting economic data and reports that are currently challenging c-suite leaders and private equity firms operating in the middle market.

Insights from 20,000 Companies: The Center analyzed hundreds of data points from 20,000 middle market companies and uncovered seven areas of leadership and managerial-controlled actions that drive growth for companies, regardless of the industry in which they operate.

The research findings showed that the better a company performs across all seven growth pillars, the faster it grows. Middle market companies that achieve breakthrough gains tend to be adept in all seven areas, just as the members of a high-performing team inspire one another.

Seven Growth Drivers: The seven most important growth drivers and their weight in the growth model include:

• Market Expansion (23.4%)
• Formal Growth Strategy (14.4%)
• Investing & Innovating (14.3%)
• Attracting & Retaining Talent (13.7%)
• Financial Management (12.3%)
• Cost Efficiencies (11.2%)
• Staff Development (10.6%)

Learn More: The Center found that the growth DNA of middle market companies is distinctly different from that of larger companies. Learn more about these differences, and the seven growth drivers in the middle market by clicking here.

Croixstone Recommends: 2Q 2021 Middle Market Indicator Overview Webinar

When we are seeking information on the Middle Market, one of our first “go to” places is the National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM). This organization is a collaboration between The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and Chubb, and is a leading source of knowledge, leadership, and innovative research on the middle market economy.

Every quarter the NCMM publishes the Middle Market Indicator (MMI) that provides valuable insights into 5 KPIs including: 1) Revenue, 2) Employment, 3) Economic Confidence, 4) Capital Investment, and 5) Expansion. NCMM recently published the MMI for Q2 2021, and we invite you to join us for an exclusive webinar being held Wednesday, August 11 at 1PM EDT where NCMM’s Managing Director, Doug Farren, will be detailing the results of the latest MMI.

Insights into the Middle Market

Croixstone is laser focused on providing expertise to serve the middle market, defined as those companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion. T he National Center for the Middle Market recently published new data and insights on this important sector of the economy that we found interesting.

While representing barely 3% of all U.S. businesses, the middle market is responsible for 1/3 of private sector GDP and employment.

If the U.S. middle market were its own country, it would be the fifth-largest economy in the world.

During the pre-pandemic era from 2012-2019, average revenue growth for midsize companies was 6.5% and average employment growth was 4.3%.

A Q4 2020 middle market survey showed that average revenue declined by 1.2% and employment dropped by 2.2% over the prior 12 months.

While the pandemic negatively impacted the middle market, the sector overall performed better than small businesses and large corporations.

Middle market companies are typically very resilient, however, the ongoing pandemic presents a serious challenge on how to maintain customer engagement and connectivity.

Learn more here.