Posts Tagged ‘small business strategy’

Tips To Organize Your Business Processes

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Creating your business process involves a lot of trial and error, but, when done correctly it can be the key to your success. Small business owners and entrepreneurs have so much flexibility and freedom in shaping their business, that sometimes the process gets overlooked. Organizing your processes in a consistent, streamlined manner is essential to understanding how your company works and where you are capable of going in the future.

To begin creating successful processes, begin with tracking what each employee is doing and how long it’s taking to complete. Having a solid understanding of where time is being spent and on what will help you to plan out deadlines and estimates for the future. Take a look back at projects that didn’t fall within the average time you estimated for completion and ask why this happened. Were you working with a particularly demanding client? Did an employee come across a roadblock that might lead you to change your estimation for the future? These learning’s should be considered into new projects so that you can properly live up to your employee’s and your client’s expectations.

In addition to understanding how much time is being put into running your business, it’s helpful to create repeatable processes from success stories. Once you know what steps need to be taken to complete specific projects, write them down and implement this process for similar programs that come up in the future. The goal is to create a system that can be repeated again and again until you and your employees become efficient at it. Having repeatable processes in place eliminates the need to create a brand new plan-of-action for every new client and helps you to develop a sense of mastery over the work that you do.

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Posted in Management, Strategy | 1 Comment »

Creating a Winning Value Proposition – Part 1

Friday, July 31st, 2009
Posted by Sumontro Roy, strategy@perksconsulting.com

Value Proposition – An Introduction

picvaluedevelopmentA Value Proposition is the sum of the net benefits that your customer receives upon purchasing your product or service at a given price. Your customer is constantly measuring it against your competitors’ offerings.

A Value Proposition can relate to an entire business unit, product lines or brands and clearly answers the question as to “why your target market should choose you over available competitors?” It is a clear statement of the tangible and emotional benefits a customer receives from using your business, your products or services. Therefore, the more defined your Value Proposition, the better.

A Value Proposition is often confused with a Mission Statement or with a company ‘Tag Line’. It is also sometimes inter-changeably used or also referred to as a Positioning Statement.

A Value Proposition is a clearly defined concise statement (in three-four sentences) that describes to customers a brand’s (or company’s) unique value-creating attributes.

A Mission Statement outlines the main strategic intent of a business (e.g. to be a Top 3 player in a market-segment, to generate profits for shareholders, to gain market share etc.). It is more an internal focus while a Value Proposition describes your position to your markets in relation to your competition.

For example, the Value Proposition of company ABC Limited’s brands is to “provide good quality products at mass-market price points for everyday people to consume as part of their daily needs.”

The Mission Statement of the same company is to “improve the quality of living of the middle-income group in the Northeast part of the United States by providing them with quality products at affordable prices”.

It is possible to use a Value Proposition statement verbatim in your Brand Positioning statement but it is generally used to express what the Value Proposition is and what the Cost-Benefit Ratio to your target market is.

That Value Proposition can then be communicated in different visual and textual ways with relevant and meaningful supporting messages that then becomes the Positioning statement. Positioning is the cornerstone of an effective marketing and communications plan and a well-crafted positioning statement defines your brand’s/company’s position in the market-space as well as in the consumer’s mind-space.

Therefore, the Positioning Statement could also be defined as the pointed and concise communication of your Value Proposition to your consumer.

Accurately positioning your product in the mind of your target customer is one of the most important aspects of your marketing strategy – your Value Proposition might be the best in the market but unless you can convince your customer that it is, you won’t win the consideration battle. (Tip: “Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind” by Ries and Trout is a defining piece on this topic)

Do I need a Value Proposition?

stock chart with calculator and penYes, but of course you do!

Regardless of size, nature of business or current positions on their company/product life cycles, all businesses, brands and products benefit from a well-defined and compelling Value Proposition.

However, a Value Proposition isn’t something that you develop and forget about.  Since the definition of value is dynamic and constantly evolving, it is something that you must constantly evaluate.

Expressed differently, it is the “Cost-Benefit Ratio” that your customer sees. Therefore, this ratio must always be one where the customer “receives” (i.e. the benefit from consumption) more than what he “gives up” (i.e. the monetary or any other value in receiving the benefit). Your Cost-Benefit Ratio must also be better than competitive offerings.

Next week: how to craft a Value Proposition and a worked example…see you then!

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Goal Execution: Putting your “To Do” List into Action

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

images3Making a list of amazing goals and ideas is easy. Putting those thoughts into action–not so easy. But a famous Chinese philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

So, here are a few “small steps” you can take toward reaching your goals.

Start Now

Putting off your goals won’t make them disappear.  The sooner you start reaching toward your goals, the sooner you’ll achieve them. Give your goal a deadline, this will make it seem more urgent and you’ll be more likely to start right away.

Don’t Lose Steam

One of the key traps in setting out to achieve your goals is that we often put our goals “on the back burner” when more important projects emerge. Don’t fall for this one! The best way to avoid losing traction is to keep pushing forward.  In fact,  Guerilla Marketing pioneer Jay Levinson recommends that small businesses undertake at least three to five marketing items each day. If you force yourself to stick to this rule, you should reach your marketing goals in no time! (If three to five sounds like too many, check out our blog on motivational speaker and author Lynette Lewis’ “one-one-one” strategy.)

Make it a Habit

Studies show it takes about three weeks to develop a habit, so the good news is once the first weeks are over you’re past the hard part! Building positive habits that are constructive and relevant to your goals, ensures that you’re taking steps in the right direction.

Share your Strategy

Communication is key. Whether these are personal goals or business goals, sharing your strategy with your team ehttp-_wwwtelesiscucom_images_services_cycle_invstmntservc1nsures that the job gets done. Make sure that key players and decision-makers are on board, and get your team involved as well. Harvard Business School suggests managers ask these three questions:

  • How should the strategy affect our unit?
  • What must we thus accomplish?
  • How will we accomplish it?

Once you find the answers to these questions and create your strategy for goal execution, the rest is a breeze. Check out the diagram to the right for ideas about how your overall goal execution plan should function. Note that the diagram is a circle, which means that this process should never end.  Constantly revisit and review your goals with your team to take your business strategy to new heights!

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Goal-setting: How to Make the Ultimate “To Do” List

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

So you’ve completed an analysis of your business and its strategy. Great! Now, it’s time to take all that knowledge and put it to todouse for your business. Get out a pad a of paper and get ready to set some new goals for your business! First, a few pointers.

1. Set good goals. A good goal:

  • challenges you
  • is realistic
  • can be measured
  • must have a deadline

Don’t forget to write it down! Written goals are concrete and easier to act upon. (Plus, writing your goals down will keep you from forgetting them!)

2. Get creative with goal setting!

Create a color-coded goals poster or collage with powerful images that really get you motivated. Tap into your inner artist by drawing pictures that relate to your goals. Write your goals list with the hand you don’t normally write with–this may open different parts of your brain. (Take this short quiz to find out if you’re right or left brained.)  Have a team brainstorm and make it fun! Throw in a few crazy goals–reach for the stars!

3. Share your goals.

If you decide timages-12o make a goals poster, display it in a place where everyone can see it. Tracking goals by measuring them (think of the fundraising thermometer.) Share your goals with other members of your team. Have your friends and family members bug you until the job gets done.  Discussing your goals with others helps you realize what needs to be done. Plus, the shared sense of accomplishment when you achieve your goal is so much better than celebrating your success alone!

4. Revisit your goals.

Check in with your goals often. Track progress. Modify your goals based on changes in your business needs or situation. This will keep your goals practical and current.

Want more goal-setting tips? Check out the Ten Commandments of Goal-Setting.

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What’s running your business?

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

images2If your business is a car, strategy is the engine. Your business strategy is, essentially, what runs your business.  But what exactly is strategy?

In the book Exploring Corporate Strategy, authors Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes define strategy as:

“the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations.”

So how do you figure out if your business strategy meets all of the requirements above?  You can start by taking this short survey to find your Strategy Quotient or you can ask yourself the following questions:

What direction is our business headed?

What’s the scope of our market?

How can we outshine competition and maintain our competitive advantage?

What resources do we need?

What are the needs of our consumers?

What are the needs of our stakeholders?

Is my business a pioneer or a follower?

Is our market broad or niche?

Are our products high-end or low-end?

By evaluating the environment in which your business operates, you can better determine what strategy will work for you. But it’s important to look at your business itself.

Take another look at your mission statement and business plan. What is your value proposition? Conduct a SWOT Analysis on yourself and take stock of what your company needs to work on, as well as what your company’s strengths are. Re-evaluate your business goals and set a new plan into motion. Hop into the driver’s seat today and see where your strategy takes you.

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Conduct a SWOT…and be honest!

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

swot_img2

Posted By: Sumontro Roy, strategy@perksconsulting.com

SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for looking at the Opportunities and Threats you face. It helps you carve a sustainable niche in your market by taking the best advantage of your resources, talents, capabilities and opportunities. In general, Strengths and Weaknesses are often internal to your organization while Opportunities and Threats often relate to external factors.

What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that it helps you uncover opportunities that you are well-placed to exploit. And by understanding the weaknesses of your business, you can manage and eliminate threats that could affect you negatively.
Using the SWOT framework to assess your strengths and that of your competitors’, you can analyze the competitive landscape and develop a strategy that helps you differentiate yourself from your competitors, so that you can compete successfully in your market.

To carry out a SWOT Analysis, start with:

Strengths:
•    What advantages does your company have?
•    What do you do better than anyone else? Is this a critical part of your offering? Are you delivering it effectively?
•    What unique (differentiated) attributes or cost-advantages do you have?
•    What do your target-audience view as your strengths?
•    What factors clinch your sale?

Quick tip: If you are having difficulty with this, make a list of your characteristics. Some will be “positive” and, in turn, your strengths. Others will likely be your “negative/limitations” and your weaknesses.
While assessing your strengths, think about them in relation to your competitors – for example, if all your competitors have strong and efficient distribution networks, then that is not a strength in the market-space, it is a necessity.

Weaknesses:
•    What do your competitors do better than you do?
•    What could you improve upon?
•    What should you avoid? (E.g. market segments)
•    Are you focused enough?
•    What do people in your market (customers, competitors) likely to perceive as weaknesses?
•    What factors drive customers to choose your competitors over you?

Quick tip: analyze them from an internal and external basis: Do other people identify weaknesses that you do not see? Are your competitors doing any better than you? Make sure you are brutally honest in your answers: it is easy to be blind to what you don’t want to see!swot2

Opportunities:
•    Where opportunities/openings are available for you?
•    What are the coming trends that you are aware of?
•    Useful opportunities can come from such things as:

Changes in markets needs (micro and macro levels)
Changes in laws, rules and regulations
Changes in technology, social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, local environments etc.

Quick Tip: A good practice is to identify your strengths and see whether these open up any opportunities. Similarly, look at your weaknesses and see how they are limiting you and whether eliminating them –or managing them better – could create opportunities by eliminating them.

Threats:
•    What obstacles do you face?
•    What is your competition doing that you should be worried about?
•    Are the required specifications for your job, products or services changing?
•    Is changing technology threatening your position?
•    Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?
•    Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?

Endnotes:

  • Do a similar SWOT Analysis on your competitors. This will help you in understanding how they stack up against you and how and where you should plot your strategies against them.Only accept precise, verifiable statements (“can charge up to $5 more per unit”, rather than “can command a premium”)
  • Make an exhaustive list of attributes, prioritize them and give appropriate importance to each
  • Conduct it at the right level i.e. the level at which the opportunity/problem exists (e.g. brand, product, corporate)
  • Supplement it with other Situation Analysis tools (PEST, 5C) since none is likely to be completely comprehensive.

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Have you cleaned out your professional closet?

Tuesday, January 6th, 2009

And I don’t mean your office supply cabinet or your ever expanding file cabinet. Have you taken stock of what worked in 2008? If not, there’s no better time than the new year! As you are making your personal resolutions, and setting your professional agenda for the year dig beyond the surface to determine what changes need to be made to ensure 2009 is a success.

During the month of January Perks Consulting will be focusing on what you as business, owners, managers, and employees can do to clear the clutter. A “Best-Practice” in business consulting requires an analysis of what is missing, what is not working, and what is working. A drill we often do internally and with our clients, simply put is: Start. Stop. Continue.

Start.
What is missing? There are always things that can have been overlooked or have been pushed to the side due to a lack of resources. The new year, is the perfect time to assess what things have been put on hold. Second to that, it is time to ask yourself and your colleagues: what can we be doing that we have not?

Stop.
So how do you make way for the items you just decided you need to start doing? Yes, that’s right. It’s time to evaluate what you have been doing and determine which tasks, projects, or strategies you have been working on tirelessly with little or no positive results. Cut the fat, this year and eliminate what is not working.

Continue.
This is a test of the tried and true! In your new year analysis when you are determining what has not been working you will and should uncover what you have been doing and what things are yielding the best results. Put your focus on the things that have been delivering time after time!

The core of what has been working will give you stability to cut away the fat and add strategic opportunities, Give this drill a try. You’re sure to find a couple things in each category where you can make improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback or questions. Did this drill help you? Your organization? If so, how?

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