On the face of it, getting your Business Strategy right appears quite straightforward. There only two major decisions at the outset, the first of which is ‘do I serve carefully selected niche markets, or do I have the resources to attempt genuine mass market coverage?’
I work mostly in the UK owner managed sector where the vast majority of businesses – even at the upper end of the SME spectrum, choose a niche market strategic focus rather than trying to sustain a competitive position as a mass market player. A quick look at the organisational resources available usually confirms this is a sensible strategic choice. Few of us have the wherewithal to sit alongside real global mass market giants like Ford, Wal-Mart, Microsoft and so on.
The second major Business Strategy decision is slightly less straightforward, but usually ends up with the vast majority in one camp rather than the other. This decision is about the basis on which we are going to compete. Will we compete on price or will we compete on differentiation?
Again resources are often at the heart of this decision. Does the organisation have sufficient strength to sustain a hard fought cost leadership campaign to try and secure competitive advantage – it can be long hard war of attrition!
Often the conclusion is no, and so the default position is “we may not be the cheapest (indeed we don’t want to be) but look at our value proposition and everything that you will receive as a customer of ours, as opposed to being a customer of anyone else in the market place!”
So there it is, my Business Strategy – simple really!
“I will serve carefully selected niche markets on the basis of a highly differentiated value based proposition that each of these markets will identify with and aspire to”
It’s hard to imagine that such a simple statement can be so complex to convert into a workable strategic plan to sustain business growth in future years!
If you want assistance in converting your headline Business Strategy into reality, then call Corve Consultancy for an informal chat.