Strategy + Solutions

The Map Every Organization Needs -- A Map to Your Customer

Management consulting firm Strategy+Solutions International provides services for venture capital backed start-ups, small and medium businesses and divisions focused on the SMB market within Fortune 500 companies. Our goal is to provide sales & marketing VP's, Directors and Managers with strategic insights and actionable go to market strategies for a new product or service and/or how to improve existing market share for products or services that have hit the proverbial "wall."  Our services can help you and your business team by providing mission critical information and analytics and an objective context for internal discussions regarding your go to market strategy.  Below are examples of the key elements and fundamental questions we can help you and your team address and answer during a typical client engagement:

1. What is the most actionable market segment?  Who is your ideal or target customer? We conduct custom independent market research to help your organization collect and segment your customers properly.  You might be surprised about what you learn!  Are you properly allocating marketing dollars/budget to the right segment(s)?

2. What is the size and outlook of the market for your product or service?

3. What is the profit potential of the product or service you are offering?  We offer pricing elasticity and analysis studies to help you best enter the market or correct the pricing on existing products or services.

4. What buying behaviors does your customer or potential customer exhibit for your product or service?

5. What is the customer decision making process?  We conduct careful research leading to a decision matrix map to help guide your sales and marketing efforts.

6. What are the needs and expectations of your customer?

7. What are the competitive dynamics within your market or industry?  How will they influence your product/service go to market entry?

8. What are your customers channel or sourcing preferences?

These are some of the issues we address with our go to market service portfolio.  We consider this service as a map to your customer. To learn more please contact Strategy+Solutions International at 512-334-6520 or email us.

On Demand Services Go to Market Strategy Evolving

Great article about Serena Software in SmartMoney (and there are many) including BSG Alliance whose go-to market strategy is wrpapped around Web 2.0, SOA and SaaS services.

The research gem from the article according to Gartner, "Worldwide total software revenue for software as a service (SaaS) within the enterprise software markets is projected to surpass $5.1 billion in 2007, a 21 percent increase from 2006 revenue. The market is poised for strong growth through 2011, when worldwide revenue will reach $11.5 billion." ("Gartner Issues SaaS market report" ~ eBizQ.Com, August,9 2007)

Organizational and Managerial GPA

The key measurement for success in school in most people's minds is one's G.P.A or grade point average.  The success of a small or medium business or division within a Fortune 500 can be measured using the same letters.  The GPA we have created to train companies to improve sales, marketing, operations, the strategic planning process or bottom line results consists of an organization's goals, priorities, and actions.  These key elements could consistently dictate success or failure within your business. 

Tom Watson, the founder of IBM, was once asked what he attributed the incredible success of IBM to and he said three things:

1. He created a very clear image in his mind of what he wanted the company to look like when it was done.  (GOALS)

2. He then asked himself how would this ideal company have to act on a daily basis to look like the one in his mind? (PRIORITIES)

3. Then in the very beginning of building his company, he began to act that way. (ACTION)

How can you and your team or organization use this metaphor as a daily discipline to improve your sales, marketing, technology or operational results?  To learn more about public speaking engagements and training please email SSI. 

Spiceworks Network Monitoring Software for Network Management

Spiceworks, based in our corporate HQ town of Austin, TX, is a home run category killer solution for Small and Medium businesses (SMB's).  This tool will clearly create a rumble in the IT enterprise management market since it could displace or disrupt Computer Associates, HP and IBM's plans within the SMB space.  The Spiceworks IT Desktop, written using the open-source Ruby on Rails web application framework, performs network inventory and monitoring.  The package includes an integrated helpdesk system that can be installed in 5 minutes!  The home run is that it has most of the necessary features needed to manage the IT needs of a medium sized business.  It can report on and monitor desktop systems and installed software automatically without the need to install agents on each individual machine.  It appears the system can support firm with between 20 and 250 employees.  The only limitation of Spiceworks for a  larger enterprise is that it can't be used to manage systems over WAN links.  Check out this SMB category killer today for your SMB.

Baldridge Criteria and Fact-Based Management Consulting

A booklet on the Baldridge Criteria in 1997 summarizes the concept of fact-based management and SSI's approach to helping small and medium businesses and SMB divisions with Fortune 500 firms.  SSI's successful and growing international strategic management consulting practice based in Austin, TX, USA uses this approach to help improve sales, marketing, operations, customer service, and thus financial performance. 

"Modern businesses depend upon measurement and analysis performance.  Measurements must derive from the company's strategy and provide critical data and information about key processes, outputs, and results.  Data and information needed for performance measurement and improvement are of many types, including: customer, product, and service performance, operations, market and competitive comparisons, supplier, employee-related, and cost and financial.  Analysis entails using data to determine trends, projections, and cause and effect - that might not be evident without analysis.  Data and analysis support a variety of company purposes, such as planning, reviewing company performance, improving operations, and comparing company performance with competitor's or with 'best practice' benchmarks."

SSI is focused on creating actionable fact based tactics and strategies for measurable results.  How can your small or medium business benefit from this approach?  Email SSI to learn more and receive a free consultation valued at $500.

Differentiation and Blue Ocean Strategy

So what is "Blue Ocean Strategy?"

According to authors Kim and Mauborgne in the Harvard Business Review of October 2004 and later their book,  competition within over crowded or saturated industries is not an effective way to sustain high performance and results.  They believe that by focusing only on the competition and "competitive advantage" that organizations and their advisor's and even scholars ignore two important and vastly more bottom line oriented approaches: to find and develop blue oceans, and to exploit and protect blue oceans.  There are two ways to create blue oceans. 

Some very relevant examples of this ideology could include Google, Apple's IPOD, Digital Cameras and GPS Phones.

For the SMB, utilizing this strategy means aligning your business and its activities towards the pursuit of differentiation and low cost.  Read the book and see if you can leverage the information to grow your small or medium business in 2007-08.