8 examples of winning business strategies
My experience has led me to work in different contexts to market diverse and varied solutions. My conclusion is that there are probably as many examples of business strategies as there are active companies. But in your case, what is the right business strategy to adopt?
The ideal business strategy is one that maximizes the profitability and sustainability of your business over a defined period taking into account your current and potential resources. Carrying out a regular review of the actions carried out makes it possible to determine where to reinvest.
In this article, I present you with different examples of concrete and effective business strategies that may be able to help you execute your business idea.
Example 1: Approaching niche markets
As you know, we live in a world that is more and more competitive and less and less certain.
It is therefore not uncommon to find a large number of players who dominate the market where you want to enter.
In BtoB, a winning strategy can be to orient your solution towards the resolution of the problems encountered by a particular industry.
Let’s say you operate in the energy sector. By focusing on prospecting for SMEs in the renewable industry, you will be more effective with this specific target than if you attack the whole market.
Another example, if you are in real estate, a focus on the commercial property segment of specific square footage, can also be a niche approach. You thus bring a value proposition and a mastery different from those who are not specialized in one particular target.
The risk of this business strategy:
Be careful to check that the segment you want to attack is on the rise.
Indeed, studying long-term trends will allow you to avoid building your business model on a niche on the verge of extinction.
That would be a shame.
Example 2: Extend its offer to its existing customers
Often, no need to look very far. Your current customers are an invaluable source of information. They can, therefore guide you in choosing the best business strategy to adopt.
By taking an interest in their activities and the challenges they encounter, there is a good chance that you will detect additional and joint problems.
In this case, you can offer them a complementary solution to the offer you already have to maximize your earning potential on those existing accounts.
Make sure you have noticed that the need is strong before going on big projects. Within the framework of this commercial strategy, your company can move towards partnership with other companies and form synergies.
For example, as a website creation company, you can develop a partnership with a freelancer who makes mobile applications for the same targets as you.
In this way, you exchange your address book and enter a virtuous circle.
The risk of this business strategy:
By wanting to sell a wide range of products and services to your customers, you decrease your price negotiating power. Also, a mistake in choosing the partner with whom you collaborate can cost you dearly in terms of the image in a long time.
Example 3: Approaching large accounts
For some companies, doing most of their business by approaching large companies allows them to propel their growth potential.
In this way, they face the problems of a single company rather than having to manage several. The idea is that these large companies have more resources and can invest in solutions that are generally more expensive.
It is essential to keep in mind that the purchasing processes of large companies are also longer and put you in competition as much as possible to negotiate prices.
This commercial strategy will be firmly based on the personalization of your solution to these large accounts that you target. An excellent way to do this is to create a group of these companies that have this similar problem and to try to build a relationship with them little by little.
The objective here is to become a kind of department external to your client (and that he cannot separate himself from you at the risk of jeopardizing his growth).
The risk of this business strategy:
The danger of this business strategy is that you risk losing a large chunk of your revenue if your customer decides to switch providers. If your value proposition is easy to replicate, go your way.
Example 4: Adopt an innovation business strategy
Offering an innovative solution to your prospects is a winning business strategy when the competition becomes too fierce in your market.
The SONCAS method can also put you on the path to this strategy when the psychological lever of novelty is essential.
The four main innovation methods are:
Incremental innovation consists in differentiating yourself through new functionalities that optimize your product or service. Market research is needed in this case to avoid the flop.
Innovation on the customer experience. In the case of a recruitment firm, you can take a new approach to the selection of the candidates that you provide. This could mean performing personality and assessment tests that your competition is not using.
Adjacent innovation: That is to say when you integrate functionality that already exists in another market into your product. We can take the example of the Bluetooth function integrated into the automobile.
You can realize the marketing innovation of your solution. Video communication on social networks is a lever that is little used today. Its easy use can make your approach innovative for your prospects.
The risk of this business strategy:
By trying to create something new, you take the risk of investing in a business model that has not yet proven itself. Carrying out market research is often required before embarking on this type of project.
Also read 14 Low budget marketing ideas for small businesses
Example 5: Focus on a unique offer and master it
Why diversify when you have a product or service that works?
Sometimes the right business strategy to adopt is to maintain and improve upon your current approach.
Focusing on a single offer makes it possible to strengthen cost control as well as its notoriety in a specialty. Under this approach, your resources are mobilized to improve a limited number of products and services.
It also leads you to improve the added value of your solution compared to your competitors. No risk of spreading yourself too thin, your sales force will also be focused on a single sales process, and this can help you close more sales.
For example, a publisher of CRM-type IT solutions can offer extensive and customizable functionalities to sales departments.
It will be more credible in this product segment than a company that does everything. (Who would you trust more to acquire a CRM, Salesforce or Microsoft?)
The risks of this business strategy:
If you pick the wrong market, the wrong product, or the false value proposition, you won’t have invested in other alternatives and may have a more challenging time bouncing back.
Example 6: Adopt a freemium business strategy
Here, the goal is to offer a free solution that solves a common problem in your market. This product or service is thus adopted because everyone likes what is accessible and useful.
If they want to improve their user experience, they can access some handy features that they pay for. Your business strategy, therefore, consists of selling paid benefits on a product by personalizing them to your target.
This business strategy is widely adopted by SaaS (software as service) companies. It is beneficial when it is well managed and requires a lot of patience.
Risk of this strategy:
Only attract prospects who are hunting for what is free and who never convert into a customer. This business strategy can be dangerous if you don’t control your costs and don’t have a good system for analyzing your users’ behavior.
Example 7: Respond to calls for tenders
Individual companies constitute the central part of their commercial strategy by positioning themselves on calls for tenders. These can be public or private and generally require proven expertise and know-how.
To succeed in winning these markets, you have to develop a specialist approach and learn to prepare important files to differentiate yourself from the competition. Here are five tips to know before starting:
- Position yourself on calls for tenders that you have mastered
- Build relationships with decision-makers
- Identify the critical success factors to be selected
- Write a clear, relevant, and competitive offer
- Show your references and master the deadlines
The risks of this business strategy:
Responding to calls for tenders is often a complicated and time-consuming process. Even if there is a substantial reward, you have to pay attention to hidden costs and control your budgets.
Example 8: Focusing your business strategy on volumes
If in your market the purchasing power is low and you want to shorten the selling process as much as possible, you can adopt a trading strategy based on volumes.
Your product should be simple to use, easy to acquire, and quick to purchase. Using the recruiting firm as an example, this could be the marketing of psychometric tests or inexpensive management applications.
For a real estate agent, this may mean leasing property of a lower range.
In the case of a service, it is better to automate the sales process as much as possible to be profitable. Indeed your selling price will be low and therefore your margin too.
Risk of this strategy:
The sales volume-oriented business strategy can be stressful. If you don’t make large amounts of sales, you may end up with a large stockpile of unused resources that will end up costing you dearly.
There are no perfect business strategies, but these seven examples provide insight into what businesses are doing. I hope this can give you some ideas to create what will be best for you.