unique business strategies

I ran across a really interesting story the other day. It’s a story of a new company in the aluminium business; one with a clear view on how to improve customer service and reduce prices based on greater productivity.

Faced with responding to depressed demand and strong competition, Coventry based Jack Aluminium, a systems supplier, has strengthened its market positioning with a greater offer of value for its customers and is set to raise sales throughput even further!

Essentially Jack has created a business model to match demands of small scale high street and commercial users for specific and affordable window systems delivered within hours! It is the operational element that gives the edge.

Operating with aggressive sales and marketing and great products is vital and has brought success but it is the move to localised cutting and painting to specification, buffer stocks and fast delivery that will give Jack a clear and sustainable edge over rivals.

Here, indeed, is a business whose strategic positioning truly supports the claim; “Fast and Affordable Aluminium Window and Shop Front Systems”

Here is the nutshell:

Jack Aluminium Strategic Positioning

WHO:  The Customer Nationwide small scale high street and commercial users.

WHAT:  The Offer Superior vlaue shop front and office products at affordable (competitive prices), delivered in hours.

HOW:  The game plan Local cutting and painting to spec locally to meet local demands for finished product quickly. A number of small efficient paint shops in dense areas of demand around the country able to stock and deliver within hours. Sections cut to spec to meet specific requests, off cuts held in stock which are topped up. Targeted marketing and sales. Avoid large systems suppliers and build sales in smaller end.

For the full Monty go to Jack Aluminium site

Best wishes Andrew,

Good Afternoon

Have you ever wondered how James Dyson was able to build business when people had already been sweeping carpets with vacuum cleaners for decades?

And how Zara have created such a devoted following for its  fashionable clothes in a hotly contested market?

These successful companies leave clues about how to create and exploit unique strategic positions that enable them to muscle into established markets, make long-lasting connections with new customers AS WELL AS existing customers and often go on to market leadership.

What about you? Do you have this kind of connection with your market - like Dyson and Zara do?

Think about this…

If you are planning ahead, and want to check to find out what to do to create real value for your customers AND stay two steps ahead of your competition then stay on this site for a series of posts on an easy to follow system for crafting today’s - and tomorrow’s - BREAKTHROUGH BUSINESS STRATEGIES.

With best wishes

Andrew Pearson
Unique Business Strategies

A client question

We were talking strategy in tough times and then my client blurted out “What about Toyota? What should they do, they are laying people off and halting production!”

That was an interesting one. And then I thought of a couple of things.  The first was how even the largest and most successful companies must constantly reinvent themselves. And the larger and more successful they are, the greater the practical and cultural challenges involved.

I just have this feeling that the business world will be an entirely different place within the next 3 to 5 years. Therefore, now is the time to ask not just questions such as what to offer the targeted customer and who the targetted customer will be but also how to do this efficiently - and differently to competitors.

In fact the whole issue of who, what and how can be used to question the established rules of the game and put innovation back into the heart of strategy.

I’m not sure I solved my clients question at that moment - but then we went on to look at Xojet as a case example

We’ll look at that next time.

BFN

Andy