Are you reading the signals that will save your business?
As we move into 2018, I am getting requests from colleagues and businesses about the need to ensure that they understand their competitive environment and that they are clear on the focus of their strategy for 2018.
The problem that I often encounter is that most business strategies are generally ideas blowing in the wind without much competitive insight or analysis. You know what I mean – our strategy is to grow our business by 10% (or whatever other figure your CEO/Board has in mind) or to increase our customer relationships or improve our interaction with customers, and so on without much input from the competitive landscape!
So for those who believe that they really know their market – which competitor or new entrant is breathing down your neck to also deliver similar growth and/or improve customer interactions???? How are you going to differentiate your business? Maybe there is a business out there – in Never Never Land that just might make your business redundant!!
Nothing happens to you or your business in a vacuum…..there are always signals.
So here is my tip to all my wonderful readers, after 25 years as a competitive intelligence expert, author, strategic consultant, with over 350 client projects under my belt…….
Develop your analytical skills.
Make sure you have at least one analytical technique you can use in each of the following categories:
- Environmental
- Evolutionary
- Strategic
- Corporate/Competitors
- Customer
- Financial
And by the way, SWOT only sits in one of those categories. More on that in my forthcoming newsletter.
If you want to learn more about different analytical techniques have a look at: http://52.62.165.177/~mindshifts/ms/resources/babettes-books/
Or give me a call….(02) 94113900
Over the last twelve months or so, we’ve been bombarded by talk of ‘Fake News’. Whether you call it ‘Fake News’, ‘Fake Intelligence’ or just plain old wrong information – it’s always been around.