WHAT IS RGM

Revenue Growth Management.
Managing profitable revenue growth.

A strategic approach that unites marketing and commercial strategies around the goal of profitable business growth. Over the last 50 years it has grown from a niche airline technique into a standard for consumer goods, banks and telecom.

Where it grew from

How RGM became
what it is
today.

RGM – Revenue Growth Management, or managing profitable revenue growth (a loose translation that captures the meaning rather than the literal words) – emerged as a concept around 50 years ago.

The “pioneers” of the idea were airlines and hotels, with dynamic pricing (the familiar price adjustments around holidays or periods of weak demand), loyalty programs and other attempts to tailor their offers to different buyers and their needs.

In parallel with the development of a segmented approach to the assortment of products, services and prices, companies worked on efficiency tools – calculating the payback of promo campaigns, channel-specific price lists and pay-for-performance schemes, where a client’s discount depends on volume and other parameters.

In the early 2000s, RGM began to be actively adopted by all major consumer companies, banks, telecom and other industries. Gradually RGM transformed into a widely accepted strategic approach that unites all marketing and commercial strategies around the goal of profitable business growth.

Evolution · 1970 → today

From dynamic hotel pricing
to an industry standard.

1970s
Airlines and hotels

Dynamic pricing, loyalty programs, price adjustments around holidays and demand slumps. The first systematic attempts to adapt the offer to different buyers.

1980s–90s
Segmentation and efficiency

Segmented assortment, channel-specific price lists, pay-for-performance with volume discounts, and calculating promo payback. RGM moves beyond the travel industry.

2000s → today
An industry standard

Major consumer companies, banks and telecom adopt RGM as a widely accepted strategic approach. It unites marketing and commerce around the goal of profitable growth.

Best practices

What modern RGM is made of.

Three areas considered the core of RGM today – what sets apart companies with a systematic approach to growth from those that act on intuition.

01
Deep study of the buyer and market trends

Identifying specific, high-potential demand segments to launch new products into. Not a “target audience in general,” but concrete segments where demand is growing and there is a willingness to pay.

02
Different assortment and prices by channel and client

Depending on the buyer’s needs in the channel and their willingness to pay more in certain situations. The same SKU works for margin where it can, and for volume where that is needed to hold share.

03
Continuous work on efficiency

Marketing tools and sales systems are kept under constant efficiency review, for maximum return on investment. Every promo campaign, every channel and every activity is measured.

What it gives the business

Properly implemented, RGM lets you:

  • Grow revenue and market share over the long term – not through one-off discounts and spikes, but through systematic changes to the portfolio, assortment and prices.
  • Preserve profitability even when demand falls or costs rise – because RGM works at the level of segments and channels, where there is always room for adjustment.
  • Multiply shareholder value – over the long term, through growth in operating profit (EBITDA) and market share, not through short-term P&L manipulation.

And even targeted adjustments to assortment or prices “in the spirit of RGM” have a proven impact and make the business more competitive.

How we apply RGM
at Insight Machine.

10 RGM tools cover the entire profitable-growth cycle: Vector – where to grow, Tactics – how to grow turnover and profit, Pulse – what is happening right now.

RGM maturity test

The gap between you
and the industry leaders.

Six short questions about your management practices. We’ll show an RGM maturity index of 0–100 and compare it with the industry benchmark.

01 / 06 · Understanding
Do you understand what is driving your business growth right now?
1 - we explain growth after the fact · 5 - we know the drivers by the numbers
02 / 06 · Proactivity
Do you run the business reactively or proactively?
1 - we react to events · 5 - we set the agenda
03 / 06 · Speed
Do you notice market changes quickly?
1 - we learn from reports a month later · 5 - we see it the moment it happens
04 / 06 · Action
When something needs to change, do you act fast?
1 - decisions get stuck in sign-offs · 5 - we change course in days
05 / 06 · Scale
When something works, do you scale it quickly?
1 - wins stay one-off · 5 - we roll them out systematically
06 / 06 · Potential
Do you feel the business could be growing faster?
1 - we keep missing the potential · 5 - we squeeze out the maximum
Your profile
You
Mid-market average
RGM maturity index
0/100
Yours: 0
Mid-market average: 58
Category leaders: 78
What we see

First lever
VECTOR
Strategy
TACTICS
Tactics
PULSE
Signal
?FAQ