Growing in a Declining Market: Lessons from the CEO Seat

I've spent much of my career growing businesses in industries that weren’t exactly known for rapid expansion: office imaging, postage meters, production mail, and the technology around them. These are markets where growth had to be earned, not expected.

At BlueCrest, the print-and-mail technology solutions company I led as CEO, we operated in a market where postal volumes were declining between 3% and 7% annually. Despite those headwinds, we grew revenue at a 4.3% CAGR through disciplined execution.

That experience reinforced something I’ve come to believe: declining markets don’t eliminate growth; they simply require a different playbook.

Here are a few lessons that have consistently worked for me.

1. Build Service into a Growth Engine

Too many organizations view service as a cost center. In my experience, it can be one of the most dependable sources of growth.

That means increasing contract renewal rates, expanding service offerings, developing OEM partnerships, servicing competitive equipment where appropriate, and implementing disciplined pricing. Individually, none of these initiatives transforms a business. Together, they create stronger recurring revenue, deeper customer relationships, and more opportunities to grow.

2. Execute the Fundamentals Better Than Your Competitors

Growth often comes from doing the basics exceptionally well.

For me, that has meant aligning sales coverage with market opportunity, deploying product specialists to accelerate software and solutions adoption, expanding dealer channels to improve geographic coverage while lowering operating costs, and having sales and service work together to identify upgrade opportunities within the installed base.

Competitive displacement also deserves relentless attention. Winning customers from competitors is rarely the easiest source of growth, but it is often one of the most impactful.

3. Invest Beyond Your Core Business

Some of the best growth opportunities sit just beyond your core business.

At BlueCrest, we recognized the emerging Vote-by-Mail market early and built a dedicated organization led by someone who truly understood the space. That investment became a multimillion-dollar business built entirely through organic growth.

The lesson wasn’t simply to diversify; it was to identify adjacent opportunities where your existing capabilities provide a genuine competitive advantage.

That can include expanding software and data-driven offerings, pursuing acquisitions that strengthen your long-term market position, and continuing to innovate by improving throughput, reducing turnaround times, increasing customer productivity, and lowering operating costs through better product design.

The Bottom Line

Growing revenue in a declining market is never easy, but I’ve never accepted the idea that a declining industry means a company has to stand still. It demands discipline, creativity, and relentless execution. Most importantly, it requires leadership. CEOs and executive teams must “lead the charge” and make growth a daily priority, with a clear rationale and vision the entire organization understands.

I'd be interested to hear from others: what strategies have helped you grow in mature or declining industries?