Strategy

Leadership & Management

It's Happening Again

Graham, March 15 2022

- Great Uncertainty needs Exceptional Strategic Thinking - This war is creating LOTS of uncertainty, and in times of uncertainty, some good strategic thinking is the order of the day.  I have written before about the effects of uncertainty (Insidious Uncertainty); we humans, and I include business owners in that, really dislike uncertainty. When fa...

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Market Strategy

Global Trends that will Change your Business – Like it or Not.

Andrew Penny, November 11 2021

As a business leader, you own your company’s strategy.  But most of us get tied up in the day-to-day and, at best, are focusing on tactics that will see us through this quarter or this year.  The next few years are guaranteed to be full of big changes and therefore will present equivalently large threats and opportunities.

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Market Strategy

Beyond The Bubble

Graham Birkenhead, September 30 2021

While many people are trying to 'get back to normal', I think many of us have realized that for a whole range of aspects of our existence - whether at home or in business - we are looking at a new or different normal - and exactly what that looks like, is still being defined. Times of uncertainty always provide great opportunity for those willing...

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Market Strategy

How to Set up a Direct to Customer Sales Channel

Andrew Penny, September 2 2021

For many new companies, selling direct to the customer is quite natural. However, if you run an established company, you might be asking yourself how difficult will it be to set up a direct to customer model. This is the fourth in a series of articles on D2C. In previous articles we’ve looked at the factors that make D2C possible, the non-cash be...

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Market Strategy

Is It Time To Dump my Resellers?

Andrew Penny, August 19 2021

This is the second in a set of short articles on Direct To Consumer (D2C) sales models. This one explains what you can gain from this approach. OK – so the above are benefits of a D2C model. But (and it’s a big but) it is not for everyone in every situation. You need to look at the value that each member in the value chain is adding to the end use...

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Market Strategy

Is there a D2C Distribution Model in your Future?

Andrew Penny, July 6 2021

As we continue to work with more and more manufacturers coming into North America, we are seeing a sharp increase in the number of companies that are exploring a Direct-to-Customer (D2C) model. The advantages of this are many, including: In the manufacturing segment, markups are typically 100% on the wholesale cost before it goes to retail. Innova...

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Leadership & Management

Risk Joining the Lemmings

Andrew Penny, June 8 2021

Success in business is a rare thing, in fact 70% of businesses fail within their first 10 years. And that number holds true for all types of business. Of those that don’t fail, only a few really soar. Why am I saying this? Simply to suggest that you be careful when you think about emulating your peers or you may well be joining a pack of lemmings h...

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Market Strategy

Get Better Clients

Jelena Franco, June 1 2021

For many companies, the idea of just having clients sounds good, and the more the merrier. However, the quality of your clients could have a considerable bearing on the success not only of the individual relationships, but on your company too. But what does a ‘quality’ look like and how do you find ‘better’ clients? Well, ultimately, they will ch...

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Market Strategy

What Did SaaS Companies Ever do for Manufacturers?

Jelena Franco, May 25 2021

Twenty years ago, Salesforce invented the phrase “Software-as-a-Service” or ‘SaaS”. Since then, the growth of this concept has been phenomenal. A few years ago, I was collating Latvian SaaS companies into a single database to facilitate investors. Now, categorizing SaaS enterprises is not a straightforward activity as they fall into so many differe...

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Channels

Going to a New Market? Do these 3 things:

Andrew Penny, April 13 2021

ONE:You need to obtain a high-level view of the market. This needs to be from your perspective, not a distributor or potential agent who will have inherent bias. Think of it as a 30,000-foot flyover to understand how the market works today. This will give you an indication of your potential revenue from this market. And it will give you a sense of...

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