This document provides guidance on developing a successful business growth strategy. It recommends that companies understand their strengths and weaknesses, build a tailored marketing strategy for each product based on its life cycle stage and portfolio role, and choose a generic strategy such as niche player, commodity supplier, or market trader. The niche player approach of selling a differentiated product to a narrow market while emphasizing non-price elements is highlighted. Successful strategies differentiate the company, deliver value to customers, and focus on continual innovation to sustain this advantage.

1. Understanding Business
Growth Success
Sesh Sukhdeo@yahoo.co.uk

2. Keys to Growth
• Understand why you have been
successful
• Build on strengths and core competencies
and shore up weaknesses
• Build a marketing strategy for each
product that reflects the appropriate
generic strategy, plus
– the stage the it is at in its life cycle and
– all in the context of its place in the
portfolio of products

3. Generic Marketing Strategies
Broad market
COMMODITY
SUPPLIER
OUTSTANDING
SUCCESS
Low price
High price
Low differentiation
MARKET
TRADER
High differentiation
NICHE
PLAYER
Focused market

4. Strategy Imperatives which
one?
Selling on low price
Maintaining cost leadership
Continually driving down costs

5. Generic Marketing Strategies
Broad market
COMMODITY
SUPPLIER
OUTSTANDING
SUCCESS
Low price
High price
Low differentiation
MARKET
TRADER
High differentiation
NICHE
PLAYER
Focused market

6. When you’ve got single digit market share – and
you’re competing with the big boys – you either
differentiate or die

7. Niche Player
• Selling a differentiated product/service to a
well-targeted, narrow market segment
• Emphasising non-price elements of the
marketing mix
• Focusing on customers or products rather
than methods of production
• Stressing the inherent advantages
of
the product/service over its competitors

8. Strategy Imperatives
Selling on high differentiation
Understanding basis of differential advantage
Reinforcing & building differential advantage
Building the brand
Often involves
continual innovation

9. The Pricing Range
Variable
cost per
unit
‘Too-low’
price
Average
cost per
unit
Value to the
customer
‘Going-rate’
price
Pricing Range
‘Too-high’
price

10. Pricing options at launch
Going rate pricing - matching prices in
market place
Skimming - charging higher price
because people will buy anyway
Penetration - charging lower than
going-rate to gain market share
quickly because people will try
product or switch

11. Customer Loyalty Ladder
Advocate
Where are your
customers on this
ladder?
Supporter
Regular
Customer
Customer
Prospect
Increasing
Loyalty

12. Dimensions of Differentiation
Functional Core
Aesthetics
Emotions
Where are your products/service placed?

13. Successful Strategy
• Strategy should emphasise something
that makes your firm as unique as
possible and delivers as much value as
possible to the customer
• The best chance of doing this comes
from differentiation with the aim of
dominating your market and to do this
effectively and quickly
• Then to continue to innovate based
upon your differential advantage

14. Sustaining Competitive Advantage
• Reputation – often encapsulated in
the brand, but communicated through
relationships
• The way the organisation innovates
– again and again
• The organisation’s strategic assets
– particularly the ones that can’t be
copied or competitors do not have
access to

15. AND……...
• Strategy should be clear and focused
• Supported by
- a culture that aims high
- a structure that is flexible & responsive
• A good strategy is important but effective
strategy execution is vital
(and often ignored)