“Of course it is,”' said the Queen. “Now here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else you must run at least twice as fast as that!" -- Lewis Carroll, Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1871

Today, organisations “need to run hard just to stay where they are, particularly when a company throws money at a problem instead of being transformative.” -- Roger von Oech.

Why are most business strategies today ineffective, and how can it be fixed?

Photo by: Dream Designs

The problem with most organisational and marketing strategy is that they're too superficial. Organisations tend to examine environmental conditions e.g. perceived customer needs, what competitors are doing and economic trends.

While this is important, it is almost more important to take a look in the mirror, so to speak.

Another mistake many make is to develop response strategies. For example, they change the message, change the brand, develop new products or services, cut costs or find new and unique channels – such as social media -- to communicate the same old things.

While many of these are good ideas and strategies (valid in their own right), the more critical transformational strategies are often ignored.

The way to win

In the words of Sun Tzu’s (Art of War), the clever general wins the battle before it is even fought.

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” – Sun Tzu.

To do this, an organisation needs to apply transformative strategy. That is, instead of playing by the rules… change the rules.

Here are two examples of a transformative strategy:

1. Instead of ‘interrupting’ the lives of busy customers by trying to get their attention with clever advertising or special deals, try instead to become a part of their lives.

Example: Cause Marketing: If you sell franchises, host a ‘Strategies to Cope Seminar’ for middle managers who have been made redundant recently. If you sell lingerie, participate in a breast cancer fundraiser.

Immerse yourself in your local community by becoming a vital
part of it.

2. Instead of trying to seize more market share, grow the market or create a new market for your product or services.

Example: Northland company Hansen sells pipe fittings, valves and irrigation systems to the agricultural sector.

Some years ago they took their irrigation pod, designed for paddocks, and converted it into product for holiday makers in the USA and Canada -- who needed a supply of fresh, flowing water to their lakeside baches.

Bought at the local hardware, the modified irrigation pod is placed in the lake where it pumps water back up to the batch. The changes required a minor technical tweak, but a whole new way of thinking.

Every business, every market, every customer is different.

Finding effective response and transformational strategies that allow you to win the battle before it even begins should be a thorough, thought-out process drawing on input from all your stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, staff, management etc.

For more information on how to create an effective strategy for your business, speak to Colin Kennedy at Iron Road Ltd on 027 245 6060 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it