The fundamental flaw in this approach is that the manufacturer has no idea about the end customer. Nor does the manufacturer even have a relationship with the retailer. While it is true that the largest manufacturers make “direct” deals with the largest retailers, they still have no idea who the [More]
In service-based businesses, the same is true: every person either adds value, or adds value to someone (or to a process) that adds value, all in service to creating a deliverable for an end client. Welcome to Michael Porter’s Value Chain. Traditional transformation strategy often looks internally at the processes [More]
Not necessarily. Many organizations have bundled their products in a service wrapper, and many deliverables are often partly digital, if not digital-first. If either of these are true for your organization, the cost/benefit equation of widening your geographic reach has become vastly different. Even so, using a "new geography" strategy [More]
The Oxford dictionary defines crowdsourcing as "the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the internet." Crowdsourcing encompasses a spectrum of activities from engagement in internet discussion groups and social [More]
Most leaders would look closely at the source of the claim: is it coming from a credible source, or from a promoter with a dubious reputation? Hopefully, since it is coming from me, you would think it is coming from a credible source. But the question stands: is the claim [More]
The question, however, is whether each of those interdependent functions are really "best of class" in their area. Or perhaps more specifically, whether the staff in these areas are considered stars, and whether these areas deserve priority investments. The answer is, usually, no. The functions of these non-core areas of [More]
Here are four steps to begin the process: 1. Define your "as a service": At one time, it only meant software. It may have been an API (applications programming interface), a webhook, plug-in, a website, or some other mechanism that provided metered functionality, either to another application, or to a [More]
Years ago, companies realized that their (expensive) factories were sitting idle whenever there wasn't enough demand. They reckoned that if they built products in their factories for other companies during downtime, their ROI would skyrocket. In the food industry, this was called "co-packing". White labelling in the digital world uses [More]
One of the current practices (let's not call it a "best" practice) that people use on LinkedIn, is to reach out to a prospect based on an affinity of some type, and then ask to be a connection. The request to be a contact can start out innocently ("I notice [More]
While you may be doing many of these ideas already, it always makes sense to look at this question anew. Each of them probably deserves its own tipsheet, but for now, consider this one a checklist. Marketing (Bums in seats) Partners (put together a partner kit): Either share downstream revenue [More]
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