Quadric consulting fokuserer nu på Danmark

november 23rd, 2009

To nye danske partnere introduceres

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Skrevet af admin, november 23rd, 2009 i kategori Marketing, Quadric News | 2 Comments!

Can social media build strategic differentiation?

oktober 8th, 2009

According to the latest research, it seems that social media is now exploding in terms of users, but also content being uploaded on a daily basis. See Erik Qualman’s great video for inspiration.

The question is: How can companies use social media to build strategic differentiation?

One example could be the ongoing campaign from Danske Bank. They have desperately been trying to salvage their reputation by changing their strategic differentiation to customer satisfaction. In relation to this, they allowed users to freely comment the bank and its actions on a dedicated Danske Bank site. According to Danske Bank, 3500 people either commented or uploaded comments to the site – not bad for a couple of months of running in the Danish market!

The campaign has now turned into 23 specific actions and a twitter account. Time will tell if their new focus and media channel strategy will bring them closer to their customers.

Skrevet af Søren Falck Hansen, oktober 8th, 2009 i kategori Marketing | 1 Comment!

Increasing the efficiency of your marketing

oktober 7th, 2009

Even though economic recovery might be in sight, marketing budgets won’t bounce right back and there is certainly no room for waste. More than ever before, marketing needs to focus on that part of the business that differentiates you strategically. You’ll understand in which business areas marketing spend can be cut and which areas need extra investments. In essence, marketing investments need to become more efficient.

One of the weapons in the fight for increased efficiency is behavioral segmentation. While it has been around for some time, relatively few companies have actually discovered it. Many still stick to traditional, less insightful, and thus less effective segmentation methods - if they segment at all. The great advantage of behavioral segmentation is that it allows you to get into the mindset of a customer, and it will give new insights in how you should differentiate strategically. By doing so you can more effectively drive product development, sales initiatives, and marketing communication from it.

I recently read an article in the McKinsey Quarterly that zoomed in on the wealthy in China, underlining the benefit of behavioral segmentation. “…Easily obtained demographic information - age, gender, and income, for instance - offers little help in separating China’s wealthy into segments with differing attitudes toward, say, borrowing, fashion, or obvious displays of wealth… More meaningful differences emerged when we considered what respondents said about their needs - the need to feel unique, for example, or to feel financially secure.”

Tuning into customers’ needs will offer a much better way out of the recession than price dumping - a strategy used by many companies. A recent survey in the Netherlands showed that while supermarkets are aggressively offering discounts, the amount of the Dutch consumers that are price sensitive hasn’t changed due to the recession. According to Trendbox, whom conducted the survey, the only consequence the discounts have had, is that discounted products have replaced the purchase of normally priced products. However, the discounts did not bring any extra customers, as the choice of their supermarket is based on other, more valuable parameters.

Especially when combined with demographic segmentation, behavioral segmentation helps companies to truly move from being product oriented to being value oriented. It will give companies the opportunity to position themselves in a way that is true, relevant and high value to their customers. Once this is done, companies can focus on the right customers, with the right proposition, and make sure that the right customers stick around longer.

Skrevet af Pim Schuitemaker, oktober 7th, 2009 i kategori Marketing | 1 Comment!

Philips - Realizing the value of sense and simplicity

oktober 6th, 2009

In mid September Philips issued a press release, announcing that the total estimated value of the Philips brand in 2009 was USD 8.1bn. This represents a dramatic climb since Philips launched its “sense and simplicity” brand promise in 2004, when its brand was valued USD 4.4 billion. In 2008, Philips’ brand value value grew more than twice as fast as that of its closest competitors.

Is it just juggling with numbers, or is Philips able to translate “sense and simplicity” into a positive customer experience designed around their needs? According to a Philips investor relations presentation, a significant amount of sales is attributable to the brand alone:

• Healthcare 29%
• Consumer Lifestyle 24%
• Lighting 21%

“Sense and simplicity” has become the driver of a strong internal brand, with 83% of employees now mentioning that they are “proud to work for Philips”.

Clearly, the repositioning has enabled Philips to become true, relevant and of high value to everyone across the value chain.

Skrevet af Pim Schuitemaker, oktober 6th, 2009 i kategori Operations, Philips | 1 Comment!

Volvo - improving safety for both passengers and pedestrians

september 30th, 2009

Volvo introduces the world’s first pedestrian avoidance system.

Volvo’s new Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection may never be activated in most owners’ cars. It’s like airbags in that way. Also like them, if it is activated, it’s the sort of system that will make owners praise such advances in road safety.

Volvo’s pedestrian detection system is effectively an evolution of the Swedish brand’s impressive City Safety technology.

Except that where City Safety only detects other vehicles - applying the brakes to help reduce or avoid an impact - the Pedestrian Detection keeps an eye out or humans.

Then it can apply the brakes, avoiding the crash at below 25km/h and reducing speeds by 25km/h at higher speeds.

As Volvo rightfully points out, though, while it may not detect every pedestrian it will detect a lot, which has the potential to save plenty of lives.

Skrevet af Mark Ronan, september 30th, 2009 i kategori Operations, Volvo | 1 Comment!

Take control of your value chain

september 22nd, 2009

In my recent article for Mindshare’s Markedshorisont magazine, I describe the upcoming race to re-take the highest value market positions as the economic downturn begins to bottom out. Companies will need to have clear positioning strategies in place and be able to adapt their brands, cultures, operations and marketing to reflect those strategies. Well-prepared companies will be able to increase control of their value chains in three key ways.

Click here to read the article.

If you read Danish, I also recommend that you register online to read the full magazine including articles on neuroscience, brand equity and preventing brand erosion. Click here to register.

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, september 22nd, 2009 i kategori Brands, Culture, Marketing, Operations, Positioning Strategy | 1 Comment!

The differentiated workforce

september 18th, 2009

Harvard Business Press just released a book called The Differentiated Workforce. It’s worth taking a look at because it focuses on something many managers and advisors overlook - the importance of strengthening the link between HR and market impact.

Many companies have good corporate cultures. However, industry leaders have corporate cultures that directly reinforce their differentiation in the market. We’ve always said your goal should be to build “cultural uniqueness” and this priority occupies the left side of the Quadric framework. This book puts the priority on the agenda and describes ways of translating differentiation goals into practical HR approaches. In our experience, HR teams welcome the chance to be more closely linked to the market but functions are often disconnected.

Read the book description here

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, september 18th, 2009 i kategori Culture | 2 Comments!

Stora Enso learning from Philips

september 3rd, 2009

In the global paper industry, companies fight to lift their products above the “commodity” label. Now, Philips Design has been hired to strengthen the differentiation of Stora Enso. Competitors beware.

It’s hard to argue with the power of Philips’ differentiation in a field of similar competitors. As mentioned in a previous post, the involvement of people in the process made the difference. Now, Philips Design is helping Stora Enso through a brand-driven transformation and it sounds like they are using the same thoughtful and engaging approach.

Jouko Karvinen, CEO of Stora Enso, was head of American Philips Medical Systems during 2002-2006, the years in which Philips developed and implemented their positioning strategy. He is already defining Stora Enso’s business more broadly than most, viewing materials like plastic and metal as the real competitive landscape. The collaboration with Philips Design, and the investments that follow, have the potential to change the game in the forest products industry.

Read the announcement by Philips Design

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, september 3rd, 2009 i kategori Brands, Philips, Positioning Strategy, Uncategorized | 3 Comments!

Healthcare to be GE’s next “problem”

august 28th, 2009

While browsing the FT yesterday I came across the following article.

In addition to describing the success of GE’s focus on Ecomagination, it speculated that healthcare was the next “megatrend” they would focus on “solving”. Clearly a company that knows where they are going to build their reputation for “solving the world’s toughest problems”.

Skrevet af Mark Ronan, august 28th, 2009 i kategori General Electric | No Comments yet!

Webinar about strategic differentiation

august 12th, 2009

Someone recently asked me where they could find a webinar I gave last year about strategic differentiation. It was produced by Børsen (the Wall Street Journal of Denmark) as part of their leadership education series.

View seminar

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, august 12th, 2009 i kategori Uncategorized | 1 Comment!

What lies beyond safety for Volvo?

august 3rd, 2009

Coming out of this downturn, Volvo should lead the auto industry into an environmentally responsible future. Like “safety,” “environment” has been a Volvo corporate value for years. They could take a cue from GE and formalize it as their growth strategy. Safety and the environment are two sides of the bigger truth behind Volvo - genuine responsibility.

GE only had a modest environmental record in 2005 and many of their products were central to industries with the worst carbon footprints. With leadership commitment, excellent brand work, innovation and acquisitions, they are now an environmental leader in many ways.

Volvo is responsible, but responsibility hasn’t been the biggest growth driver in the past. In the future, the safety premium still has value. However, if Volvo’s positioning can be broadened to envelop environmental benefits and cost savings, they may find a much bigger market.

Ford’s heritage and compatibility with Volvo thus far make it a worthy owner in all but financial strength. If Ford sells Volvo, the new owner will be getting much more than a solid luxury car company.

Skrevet af Mark Ronan, august 3rd, 2009 i kategori Volvo | No Comments yet!

Volvo sets the safety standard

juli 23rd, 2009

In interviews and workshops we’ve conducted around the world, we’ve found that people have an intuitive sense for Volvo. There’s no doubt, Volvo has built strategic differentiation by making protecting human life the highest priority across its value chain. They drive volume and pricing of safety, influence safety trends and guide safety innovation internally and with partners. Although safety requires conservatism, Volvo also knows they need to try harder not to be boring.

Take a look at our interpretation of Volvo’s strategic differentiation below:

Skrevet af Mark Ronan, juli 23rd, 2009 i kategori Positioning Strategy, Volvo | No Comments yet!

Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility

juli 10th, 2009

Back in 2007, Ian Davis, McKinsey’s managing director, explained the importance of integrating social issues into corporate strategy. The video is even more relevant today. He points out that in many cases, CSR policies and programs were connected with reputation management. In the future, more and more companies will embrace social issues as part of their strategic differentiation in addition to other strategic objectives.

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, juli 10th, 2009 i kategori Positioning Strategy | 2 Comments!

Chr. Hansen - Intel of Ingredients

juni 30th, 2009

Last week I met with Lars Frederiksen, President and CEO of Chr. Hansen, to discuss his company’s strategic differentiation.

Behind the scenes, Chr. Hansen is a company with the integrity and capability to lead their industry. Their unique way of building working partnerships with customers differentiates them today. Probiotics, linked to strengthening of immune systems, is one of the most exciting opportunities for the future. With the right strategy, Chr. Hansen could help customers drive the change in consumer behavior that would lead to market growth and related health benefits that would otherwise take years to develop.

Read the full article.

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, juni 30th, 2009 i kategori Chr. Hansen, Positioning Strategy | No Comments yet!

The sense in Philips’ simplicity

juni 22nd, 2009

People often ask us how generic ideas like performance, reliability or problem solving can be the basis for strategic differentiation. One part of the answer is that the idea you choose needs to be true, relevant and high value across your value chain. However, differentiation depends on how thoroughly and uniquely you execute on the idea. In fact, the simpler the idea is the better, and nothing illustrates the power of simplicity better than Philips.

Josephine Green, one of the primary drivers behind Philips’ repositioning, once told Mark and me how it came about. She described the research, the insights and the link to the business strategy. But the most important thing she said was that the focus on simplicity felt right to everyone involved in the process. They where putting people in the center and taking a very human view of the future.

That leads to the other part of the answer. Positioning strategy isn’t science. For most companies, there is more than one right direction. The important thing is that people believe in the direction you choose.

This video describes the sense in Philips’ simplicity:

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, juni 22nd, 2009 i kategori Philips, Positioning Strategy | 3 Comments!

Two sides of GE’s Ecomagination

juni 11th, 2009

On the 15th of January, Steve Fludder, the new head of Ecomagination at GE, was interviewed in Fast Company magazine. His honesty reveals a lot, “Customers can always buy on the economics alone. That’s why it’s a sustainable business strategy.” More clearly than ever, he emphasized that “eco” stands for both ecology and economy. In a very short time, Ecomagination repositioned GE as an environmental leader. And, their R&D focus and M&A focus has ensured it is a viable strategy even in a downturn by balancing environmental benefits and cost savings for customers. To ensure we (in the bigger sense) don’t lose the momentum of the past few years, every company should be sure they overtly link environmental responsibility with business benefit. If you can make environmental leadership a true, relevant and high value differentiator across your value chain, don’t hesitate just because everyone else is talking about it.

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, juni 11th, 2009 i kategori Brands, General Electric, Positioning Strategy | 1 Comment!

tagged with: ecology, ecomagination, economy, fludder, green

GE’s branded commitment

juni 1st, 2009

Surprising as it is, GE caught most of its major competitors off guard in 2005 by making the environment their growth strategy. Creating a “branded commitment” called ecomagination was a brilliant move. Without compromising the power of “imagination at work,” they lifted the environmental focus up to the level of their corporate brand for all employees, customers, media and analysts to see. They leveraged the strategic differentiation they had built as a problem solver, focusing the company on a clear opportunity and driving growth.

When we analyzed GE’s Quadric in 2004, the environment didn’t even show up. Since then, they innovated and bought their way into environmental leadership. Recently, GE was one of the companies with the guts to buy a Superbowl spot (and keep it). The reason is that they see improving the environment and cost savings as two sides of the same opportunity.

The video below describes what happened when GE decided to make the environment their growth strategy:

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, juni 1st, 2009 i kategori Brands, Positioning Strategy | No Comments yet!

Looking beyond economic trends

maj 20th, 2009

Strategic differentiation needs a focus that originates from within a company, but the way it is expressed needs to change with the times. Lately there has been a lot of attention given to economic trends. Here are two other perspectives worth a quick look: Trendwatching.com’s current briefing takes the “on-the-street” perspective and highlights themes found in their larger 2009 Trend Report. Leo Burnett’s Branding in 2009 video takes the advertiser’s perspective (although they may not appreciate it being put in that box). There are some common themes like the growing importance of authenticity, responsibility for the environment and respect for people.

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, maj 20th, 2009 i kategori Positioning Strategy | 1 Comment!

Seize advantage in a downturn

maj 8th, 2009

There is a great article on HBR.org called “Seize Advantage in a Downturn” by David Rhodes and Daniel Stelter. It presents a good balance of recommended defensive and offensive actions backed up by analysis of companies that emerged strongest from past recessions. Most importantly, the authors recommend strengthening your differentiation in terms of what you cut, how you inform investors and the focus you give to innovation. (And, now our obligatory “crisis post” is out of the way.) Read article at HBR.org

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, maj 8th, 2009 i kategori Positioning Strategy | No Comments yet!

Introducing the Quadric blog

maj 1st, 2009

The focus of this blog is “strategic differentiation,” the top priority of industry leaders. Our posts will:

• Show how the positioning strategies of industry-leading companies influence their brands, culture, operations and marketing
• Explore how the Quadric framework works
• Highlight companies, academics, consultants and creative professionals we think are worth watching

Skrevet af Michael Sherain, maj 1st, 2009 i kategori Uncategorized | No Comments yet!