The 7 successful strategies that can guarantee us more possibilities of success in these supercompetitive and changing markets of the 21st century, and that have been tested in different sectors are:
- Low-cost strategy. Create a unique consumer experience. Reinvent our business model. Offer maximum product quality. Focus on niche markets. Be innovative. Be the best in design.
Developing a novel business strategy has always been one of the main obsessions of most companies, but when that becomes thinking of winning strategies, that is, those that enjoy guarantees of success above the average, it becomes in a true chimera.
In the past twentieth century we overheard the hackneyed phrase that the world is changing, but we could never imagine that this spiral of change was going to be taking more and more speed as its turn progressed, reaching what It happens nowadays that every year the new technologies that appear make change and break the paradigms and references that we had until now, forcing us to rethink the scenarios in which we live again and again and to no longer be able to give any market situation as basic, but to have to be daily alert of said changes to be able to adapt as soon as possible and not be lost in the oblivion of the clients.
And if this happens in life let's call it “normal” for companies, Marketing lives this much more intensely, since from start to finish it is affected daily by all these changes that we are talking about being the department that should live the most intensely These changes and more flexibility must be made in this new XXI century. According to prestigious “gurus” of this discipline, marketing must change.
And in this change, Philip Kotler gives us 7 strategies that he considers winners in these new scenarios and in view of the fact that the markets are increasingly competitive, since they have been tested in different business models and have shown that they can provide us with strategic models to take into account to implement them in ours.
1. Low cost strategy:
This form of business approach can be found in sectors as diverse as those used by companies such as Ikea, Wal-Mart, or low-cost airlines such as Easyjet.
It is not just a matter of reducing some costs, but of applying cost reduction in almost all areas of the company, but that is without damaging the expectations that the client himself has, nor the essence of the business itself. I am referring to two important points:
On the one hand, we must be ingenious and introduce a good dose of creativity in this process, as Ikea has done, introducing new concepts in furniture stores, such as having a nursery in the center itself, or creating attractive and modern establishments.
And on the other hand, if a business model works, it is not enough to take advantage of 30% of its approaches, but we must take the maximum of them and use us in our favor. I am referring to the fact that in recent years we have seen the birth of dozens of low cost airlines in Europe, but nevertheless most have failed in a short time and not because this business model does not work, but one of the main reasons is that they only adopted some parts of this model, which was making its competitors succeed and despised the rest, leaving too many holes where they lost bellows to death.
2. Create a unique consumer experience:
Another strategy that has been shown to work and is a safe bet if it can be carried to term, is to focus on getting the client to live an exceptional, unique, different experience and that will make them willing to even pay more money for a product or service similar to that you can find in the competition.
The two basic examples would be Harley Davidson, which far from offering us the fastest, cheapest, or most modern motorcycle, gives us a lifestyle. Driving a Harley is unmatched. Those who have one feel in possession of a precious asset, like those who have a Sorolla or a Van Gogh, and if we ask them what the difference is that they prefer this type of motorcycle, they will tell us that it is not the type of motorcycle. Well, driving a Harley is different.
Another more current example could be Starbucks, which has broken the traditional cafeteria concept to delve into a new way of conceiving this daily act. We are no longer talking about having coffee, but about having a different experience while having coffee. And that makes us willing to pay 3 euros for what they give us within 30 meters for only € 1.
3. Reinvent our business model:
On many occasions Kotler tells us, we strive to improve our product or service, adding features, functionalities, flavors or textures and yet we do not achieve the intended objectives.
There are times when all this does not work and that before continuing on the same path, it is advisable to stop and consider what is the true business model that we undertake and try to reinvent ourselves, not focusing on doing better but doing it differently.
In this way we can see as an example the Barnes & Noble bookstores, which while continuing to sell books, gave a twist to the concept and offered other types of satellite services around their business that added value to the essentials, to the sale of books For example, the authors themselves regularly give lectures on their works, making the consumer perceive them differently and consider them a reference in the sector for everything they find in this business.
4. Offer maximum quality in the product:
Penetrating the consumer's mind and leaving a brand footprint is the goal of any marketing department, although that destination has different paths, and one of them is to associate our brand with the image of quality, in such a way that just thinking about it, the client does not need us to provide more information about it. There are clients who want the best and only the best, and if we give it to them we will have captive clients and addicts to our brand.
And they know a lot about Toyota at this, because although that is not easy to achieve and of course it goes through a long-haul path, as it is not a short-term strategy, we do know that it is a guaranteed victory.
5. Focus on niche markets:
Another way to guarantee success is to focus on niche markets. This is not new, of course not, however we see how many companies today have not yet learned that this approach exists and try to sell to everyone, managing not to sell to anyone.
If we try to offer a product that pleases and is chosen by all ages, by both sexes, by all social strata, etc., we will be guaranteeing that we will never get anyone to buy it, because it is obvious that they do not have the same tastes, preferences or needs a young university student, a housewife, a construction worker, or a foreign retiree who comes to live in our country to enjoy the weather and the beach.
Packaging manufacturer Tetra would be a good example, although an additional winning strategy could be not only to tackle a niche market, but to do it in several simultaneously since in this way we may have more possibilities of success even though not all our strategies have success.
6. Be innovative:
Innovation, innovation, innovation. In some companies this is a maxim that persecutes them in any approach because they have assumed it as one of their competitive advantages, and if we wanted to put a name to this concept, Sony is one of the brands that we could say has adopted this principle with more assiduity over time.
If the client perceives that our brand is constantly launching products that represent a step forward, it associates it, and reinforces it against the competition. And this does not mean that we are only talking about technology products, but that it is applicable to any sector and any type of company.
7. Be the best in design:
This strategy is based on something as simple as that there are a type of people who not only like and prefer, but need, to be close and live with devices and elements that are well designed. It is a reality and we must take advantage of it, since there is a market for products with design.
Two companies that have opted for this differentiating line and that have obtained important successes using them, are Apple or Bang & Olufsen. And in both cases we all know what kind of products they offer and what is perceived of them as soon as they are seen.
Taking a company forward is a laborious task that is full of difficulties, and if we talk about a small or medium-sized company, this becomes even more complicated, but there are strategies that have been tried and tested for years in different sectors, and that they have finally produced results.
We are precisely the small and medium-sized companies that most have to take advantage of these experiences of others to avoid testing with our pockets, and to avoid losing a single euro in trials and to try to avoid any possibility of deviating from the course set for victory.
And as I usually say, all this is important, but it is even more important to continue Dreaming Big, because we cannot settle for less, and these strategies protect us from getting off the road that leads us towards those dreams.
