Determining where you company wants to ‘play’ is a key part in developing your strategy that will have a huge impact on how successful and profitable your company will be.
Let’s look at four questions to help you define where you want to ‘play’.
What will you sell?
This sounds like a pretty simple question, but prospects and customers are going to push the boundaries of what you may be thinking. Is it contract labour, or a finished product? Will you offer on-site support, set up and service? These are important decisions in determining your business model.
Who will you sell to?
Is there a particular market segment you are interested in? Are you going to sell business to business or business to customer? What industry or customer size are you targeting?
Where will you sell?
Think about the geography of the market you want to serve. Are you going to market and sell regionally, nationally, internationally? Can you follow the sale up with effective customer service and support? Are there obstacles like this you need to consider?
How will you sell?
How are you going to get your products and services into the market? Will you control the complete sales cycle with inside and outside sales people? Will you use manufacturer representatives or distributors? These decisions have an impact on how effectively your product is presented to the market and what margins you can expect. You could also sell online or in a retail environment. What decisions have you made on how you will sell?
So, there you have it, it all boils down to Where, What, How and Who? Answer these four questions carefully and you will be on the way to developing a strategy that will keep you one step ahead of your competition.
