Thank You 2011

As I sit here on the last day of 2011, I look back on a great year for Bamboo Strategy. The firm continued its relationship with one of Canada's leading innovators in the natural health products industry, by providing Afexa Life Sciences with initial insight services leading to this year's launch of Coldsore-Fx. We added Canada's largest privately owned recruiting firm (Design Group Staffing Inc.), and Alberta's largest Credit Union (Servus) to our client list. As well, long time client Trixstar Productions brought William Shatner's one man show to thousands of his fans across Canada.

On top of this wonderful activity, I merged Bamboo Strategy with IMC, the world's only management consultancy dedicated to the resource industry in Western Canada. This new relationship as a division of IMC, will provide Bamboo Strategy with resources in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, and deeper access to businesses in what is undoubtedly the economic driver of Canada. In return IMC deepens its service offering and positioning as the resource industry's trusted resource.

So as I say goodbye to 2011 I say thank you and look forward to 2012 as a year of tremendous growth and opportunity. May your 2012 be one that thrives as well.

The Good, The Bad, And The Strategy.

For a few years now I have been telling my clients and students that success and brand relevancy comes from strategies and positions based on real insight. Today I came across a great article on McKinsey Quarterly based on a new book from Richard Rumelt called Good Strategy/Bad Strategy.The Difference And Why It Matters., that so easily drives this point home.

I love Richard's style and experience, both proven and to the point. You see Richard is fed up with bad strategy masquerading as good strategy. In short he says that "bad strategy embraces the language of broad goals, ambition, vision and values'. Wow I have seen a pile of broad strategy statements in the recent past. That's why I believe the Heath brothers book "Made To Stick" is bang on. It has taught us about creating missions and visions that will stick, not just sit there and cause nothing good for the company to happen.

Too many organisation are not taking the time to uncover insights that will lead them to better understand their barriers, and then take actions to overcome them. Instead as Rumelt says, they are doing one or all of the following bad strategy hallmarks.

1. Failing to face the problem.
2. Mistaking goals for strategy.
3. Bad strategic objectives.
4. Fluff.

Do your self a favour and quickly read the Richard Rumlet's McKinsey piece, and see if you have been making you strategies as good as they could be.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/The_perils_of_bad_strategy_2826

Staying Marketing Oriented Is Everyone's Job

As I watch the restructuring of marketing departments to deal with the reality of customers demanding more relevant and rewarding engagements, I recognise that holding true to the belief that a company is really marketing oriented is tougher that ever. Marketing has always been about a philosophy that everything a company does is with the customer's drivers fully in mind. However rapid change in technology is highlighting the reality that the entire organisation must now, more than ever, be involved in "marketing".

I think the term "customer experience" can play a key role to helping companies simplify as they battle to stay a true marketing oriented company. As a recent article from McKinsey points out, "In today’s marketing environment, companies will be better off if they stop viewing customer engagement as a series of discrete interactions and instead think about it as customers do a set of related interactions that, added together, make up the customer experience."

I think if you keep in mind that to engage with people you need to understand the experiences they want with all aspects of the company, and then build engagement strategies that meet those insights. As I have been saying for sometime now, the key is to uncover insights into how people experince things, and usually this is on an emeotional level. The McKinsey article also reinforces this points by stating, "A premium will be placed on problem-solving and strategic-marketing skills, rather than on traditional market research capabilities such as designing surveys and commissioning focus groups."


I highly recommend reading the McKinsey article that I have linked to below. It serves as a timely reminder that staying marketing oriented in today's climate is not just business as usual and some innovation in structure is a likely need.



http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Were_all_marketers_now_2834

Screw Your Youth Strategy, What's Your Elder Strategy!

When I was working on Molson and Labatt and Coca-Cola, it was imperative you had a youth strategy, as youth consumed a pile of your product. Working on Intel in China we were concerned with youth and the need to get them earlier to build brand relevance beyond the laptop. However, in no case can I remember having an elder strategy, a strategy to tap into the desires, needs and wants of the 50+ consumer. Well today all brands need to think about building one.

It is said that in 2009, 46% of Apple's consumer base was older than 55. We know that in the US, 46% of cars, and 80% of luxury travel is sold to the 60+ demographic. An old colleague of mine from FCB in Toronto, for some time now has run a successful business selling luxury items to the 50+ market. I know Johnson&Johnson and Afexa Life Sciences (the Cold-FX people and a client of mine) always keep a close eye on the elder market when developing new products. These two organizations, for obvious reasons, recognise that an ageing consumer base in most of the worlds key markets means health care will be high on their need list. I believe though, that all brands need to take a look at how their product and services can be better positioned to be consumed by this massive 50+ demographic. This baby boomer group will change pre and post retirement mind-sets just as it has changed everything else they have touched. So ask yourself and your brand, what do you know about the older consumer as it relates to your business. Are you relevant to them now, and if not can you be relevant to them going forward.

On BrandVertising (my WebTV show on branding and advertising) I recently focused on the issue of the ageing consumer with my guest Dave McCaughan, the Director of Strategy for McCann Worldgroup in Asia Pacific. Check out the show below and start now to build your elder strategy!

The Life Blood of Product Development

Last week on my WebTV show called BrandVertising, I had a great chat with Timothy Lee (a client of mine from Afexa Life Sciences in Canada) about product innovation and development. The show highlighted that invention and innovation are not the same thing, look no further than apple to learn how to innovate versus invent.

We also talked about the fact that engaging with customers is the only way you can do any type of inventing or innovating. Which is why a recent Interbrand study that shows so few companies are engaging with their customers is even more shocking. How will products that are relevant be developed in these organizations?

Have a look at the show and see what were rated by LaunchTV as the best new products of 2010.

5 Forces Of Competition Revisited

I often use the classic strategic tool Michael Porter introduced in the 1970's when he first came to Harvard. I love Porter's 5 Forces because it makes organizations look at what business they are REALLY in, by having a real look at all the competition that surrounds and influences them, not just their obvious direct competitors.

From HBR On-Line

So often people ask me "have you read this new business book on strategy?" To me the disposable world we live in that is always looking for the next thing, often forgets the most powerful tools we already have. Porter's 5 Forces is an example of this. It does not need to be improved on as it adapts to every business environment. I love the fact that it reinforces that business strategy starts by looking at your competition and industry, at the same time you are looking at the consumer or customer. To often we are too focused on the buyers of our product or service and do not step back and see what is driving the industry we compete in. How has the power of the suppliers of our products changed? What new technologies could make our product or service less relevant in the months ahead? These are few of the critical questions that will never die, and that's why in all my interactions with clients and students, I ask, do you know what business you are really in, and who are the competitors that will influence your success?

I attach a link to a Harvard Business Review page that has a great 15 minute video with Michael Porter and the evolution of his 5 Forces. Take a coffee break and listen to it, then ask your self when was the last time your organisation really looked at their industry with such depth.

http://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy/ar/1

Related articles

• The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Competitive Forces: An Analysis of How Competitive Pressures are Identified and Evaluated Through The Porter Five Forces Model (bizcovering.com)
• Tools for Conducting a Marketing Audit (blogs.sitepoint.com)