Companies today with legacy goods, services, and experiences are constantly challenged to develop new solutions that create real value. But the reason most struggle is because they focus on old jobs-to-do and build business strategy based on legacy thinking. There are three steps that any company can take to break out of the same-old “industry business strategy” doldrums.
1. Know the new job the consumers want done
Most companies (and their industries) are known for doing a certain type of job for their customers. They develop legacy systems to support that job and improve incrementally at delivering the job. Companies that succeed long-term learn how to design their business strategy so that it can adapt with changing consumers, and finding new jobs that consumers want done to do to ensure that the deployment of their legacy solutions accomplishes those jobs. New jobs meet unarticulated demand and display true innovation.
2. Organize around the journey the consumer will follow
The most important asset that any company has is the time that consumers are willing to spend with its brand. To be successful in today’s markets, business strategy frameworks must include a map of the journey that the business wants consumers to follow. Too many companies leave key moments up to chance, relying purely on consumer decision-making and usage. The companies themselves are organized around solid, functional operational areas rather than being deployed based on the journey they want customers to follow. Think journey first, then how to organize.
3. Sell experiences, not features
We continually find a flaw in how companies think and talk about what they are best-in-class at doing. They will tell us that they are the best at delivering a key feature at a price that consumers are willing to pay. They talk about the value that is associated with their expertise which is translated into a feature that consumers appreciate. Folks, features are easily replicated, hard to differentiate, and typically can’t be maintained over time. Experiences, strategically designed, create real barriers to competition. Sell the experience, not the features.
Posted by Dave Norton
Would you like to explore this topic with us further? Feel free to send an email to us at Ideation@gostonemantel.com and we'll discuss!
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