Business Strategy
Ing. Miroslav Focht, MBA, DBA
“If you don't know where you are going to, any road takes you there...."
Cheshire cat, Alice in Wonderland
"Being relevant to your customer only when you are trying to sell something means choosing to be irrelevant to them for the rest of the time"“
Stan Slap
Module Annotation
A company that does not have a strategy is at best doomed to mediocrity. Without strategy we do not know what the big picture is, and we are sentenced only to react to problems. As Vince Lombardi, the legendary NFL coach, put it, "Hope is not a strategy".”. The strategy gives a clear direction to all people in the company and contributes to the rationality of individual actions and projects that are part of a well-thought-out plan. The strategy gives us a clear idea of estimated evolution of the market environment , our market position and how to improve it, giving us an indication of what new product/solution we will develop, how to innovate our business model and what are the target customer groups and why. High-quality strategy motivates people in the company and helps to loyalty and pride of employees,
Research shows that 80% of companies have a well-articulated strategy, but only 20% of these strategies are well communicated and implemented. As Peter Drucker says: "Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art." Therefore, in addition to the development of the strategy, we will also look in detail at these important aspects.
Management of Customer Relationships is an equally important and complex matter and establish our position with customers. Only through quality and managed customer contacts we can fully understand their strategy, needs, development programs and what is our role and development potential. At the same time, it will help us to identify the decision-making process and use the feedback system to continuously increase our value to the customer. Remember!! Customer satisfaction = Value - Price
A separate chapter is Key Account Management (KAM), where all the aspects mentioned so far are of multiple importance. Key customers are crucial to us now and have great growth potential. Therefore, we will focus on methods and techniques of development of key customers.
Module Content
In this section, we will discuss the basic types of business – Product Leadership, Cost Leadership and Customer Intimacy, how they differ and possible combinations of these strategic directions. We will learn the methodology of creating a strategy from vision to implementation. At the same time, we will discuss the methodology of market analysis, competition, our position in the market and the development of strategic scenarios. Good strategy is not only about marketing and sales, but also includes imperatives how to develop new products, enter new markets, acquisitions and process innovations across the company
We will discuss how to communicate a strategy so that people in the company understand it, adopt it and understand their role. We will discuss methods and techniques to implement the strategy so that it delivers the desired results. Winston Churchill expressed it with typical humor: "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."
In the area of customer relationship management, we first take on the role of customer and use critical discussion to define what the customer expects from the supplier. On this basis, and using proven models, we will learn how to manage customer relationships in areas such as communication, quick response, cooperation in defining customer needs (we are experts in our field!) and especially in the field of Key Account Management cooperation on customer development programs.
Module Targets
A deep understanding of the complexity of business. Understanding the fact that strategy must be based on customer feedback and anticipation of their future needs and their strategies. Applicants will learn the mastery of strategy creation, its communication and implementation. The aim is to achieve a deep understanding that a quality strategy arises from a constructive clash of possibilities and capabilities of the company, customer needs, market and technological trends.
On specific examples of successful and unsuccessful strategies, applicants will learn the practical implications of the strategy. Michael Porter expressed the meaning of the strategy in one sentence: "A strategy delineates a territory in which a company seeks to be unique".
Another important goal is to get full understanding that customer relationships must be based on understanding the needs and challenges customers might face and our actions to help address those needs and challenges.
The whole module will be very interactive, theoretical models will be subject of critical discussion, with practical examples and case studies in order to deeply understand the topic.
Module Structure
The importance of the strategy
Types of business and strategic implications
Strategic vision
Analysis of markets, competition and our market position
Creation of strategic scenarios and their evaluation
Financial summary of scenarios
Communication strategies in all directions
Implementation of strategic projects
Feedback and strategy correction
Through the eyes of the customer – what does he want and needs from us?
Customer Influence and decision map – which people are important to us and why?
KAM - principles, meaning, methods and techniques
Customer feedback – gold mine of information for continuous improvement, methods and techniques
Recommended Literature
MARGRETTA, J.: Michael Porter Clearly and Comprehensible, 2012, Management Press
COVEY, S.: How to Achieve Predictable Results at Unpredictable Times, 2011, Management Press
COLLINS, J.: Good to Great, 2001, by William Collins
SUN TZU: Art of War, 2007, Amazon
Team of Authors: About Strategy, 10 Best Contributions from Harvard Business Review, 2018, Management Press