Every business is in competition. Even if the competition is apathy or the preservation of the status quo. Your positioning is the simplest statement of how you can add value to your customer, so it is the simplest statement of how you stand in comparison with your competition. It’s tempting to believe that your business [...]
Your company may be hugely successful and well positioned within some of your target segments, but how do you know if you are effective in all the potential segments that would benefit from your products and services? Establishing metrics and processes across segments to ensure the most profitable operation is a key capability for organizations [...]
Sometimes restructuring is the best solution for an organization in times of change. Most executives assert that by the time they are ready to restructure, they wish they had started sooner. Restructuring is a painful process for everybody involved, and for this reason many managers are reluctant to do it.
It’s been said that the world is now flat—in other words you can do business everywhere, on a level playing field. Sadly this is a simplistic and over-optimistic view. The reality is that taking your business into new markets is challenging at many levels. Some of the key issues include: Finding the right partners Understanding [...]
The nature of the electronics food chain means that long-term differentiation is difficult. Some companies have it easier: specialized analog, a worldwide franchise in processor design, specialized memory architectures for example. But the bulk of semiconductor companies, while they may start with a strongly differentiated product, quickly find themselves operating in a standards-based, commodity-ridden business [...]
Increasingly, the big winners in electronics are the systems companies that can claim consumer-level differentiation. Apple, for example, has been able to preserve margins and to maintain a powerful corporate brand and consumer loyalty even in the current difficult economic times. At the same time, many of their semiconductor suppliers have struggled to differentiate and [...]
With tight head-count constraints, sometimes hiring a consultant is the right thing to do. What should you expect from every consultant you work with? Experienced, professional, executive-level consultants A collaborative style that puts your needs and concerns at the top of the list A track record of pragmatic, positive results Deep skills in the domains that matter [...]
There are many ways to innovate, but one of the most reliable is in the customer relationship. It’s reliable because you can quickly measure the impact of changes in the way you manage the relationship with your customers. You don’t even have to have a brilliant idea—your customers will often provide it for you (if [...]