Innovation has been at the heart of companies' business strategy for a long time. Every business has extraordinary resources: people. Without putting people at the center of change, an innovation cannot be successful. If he follows suit, he will become the best spokesperson there is.
Before reaching the wall, every entrepreneur must do a serious reflection on the innovation within his company. Go ahead, become a leader and stand out from the competition. Are not all these qualities the foundations that we ask of a good manager? The answer is yes !
Have you ever wondered why consumers are snapping up the new iPhone X when, between you and me, it remains basically a cell phone? Consumers want to discover the innovation contained in this cell phone with the new functions and technologies that will put them at the heart of a new generation of smartphones.
Business strategy of large retailers
Mc Do burgers (fast food), Bic pens (disposable), the iPod (thousands of songs in a small box) were concrete breaks, because these products brought an innovation that did not exist before. If the vinyl record evolved into the CD, the arrival of iTunes was synonymous with a breakthrough in the way consumers got their music. Without leaving home, he had millions of songs overnight at the click of a mouse.
If we take a closer look at the products mentioned above, all of them have passed two stages: continuous improvement and value creation. The innovation was successful because these brands added value, thus increasing its potential. By doing so, creating a need to own and consume one of their products. Creating a need without it being present beforehand also means innovating.
The common factor of all this remains the human being that they have placed at the heart of all these technological upheavals. From then on, it is no longer a question of price, it even becomes secondary in the choices to acquire it. By changing cultures, therefore by creating a circumstantial break with the past, the big brands are offering consumers what they will not find elsewhere. Luxury cars are mostly a few years ahead of safety innovation, right?
Quebec has entrepreneurs who sometimes lack the little push to take the ultimate step, namely to develop maximum potential value for one of their products.
Together, we are stronger, but by supporting you, we will go even further!
A company is a structure that positions itself in constantly changing markets, in order to meet a demand and, more specifically, the needs of consumers. Depending on the context, it has to determine its areas of development. It must also find the means enabling it to achieve its objectives . For that, it must put in place a strategy .
Here is a file that presents the different business strategies that can be implemented.
Areas of activity development
The company has 3 main choices to pursue the development of its activities:
Focus on the growth of existing activities;
Maintain its activities at their current level in order to stabilize the company;
Give up some activities to refocus on others.
To implement these lines of development, it must adopt a strategy and determine the means to be implemented to achieve the set objectives. Here are the main business strategies.
Company strategies
The strategy deployed by a company must enable it to seek to obtain competitive advantages . The goal is to stand out from your competitors, to do at least as well as them, if not better. A company has an interest in preserving its success factors by making them difficult to imitate.
The main business strategies are as follows:
The cost domination strategy ,
The innovation and technology strategy ,
The differentiation strategy ,
The cooperation strategies .
The cost domination strategy
With this strategy, the company seeks to reduce its costs as much as possible (fixed costs and variable costs) in order to be able to offer consumers goods or services at prices lower than those charged by its competitors .
The company that adopts this strategy must therefore act on its costs:
Supply, in particular through negotiation with its suppliers,
Production: find new processes that allow them to be reduced without losing quality,
Distribution, marketing ...
This strategy is suitable for companies that are well established in their market and can achieve economies of scale.
The innovation and technology strategy
To fight against competition, a company can distinguish itself from others thanks to technological innovations and thus obtain a competitive advantage.
Technological innovations can make it possible to differentiate oneself from competitors. It is therefore a strategy compatible with the strategy of differentiation , see a means of implementing it. This can also allow a company to create new demand and respond to it, which makes it possible to position itself in a new market by eliminating competitors ( “blue ocean” strategy ).
The differentiation strategy
It will be a question here for the company to seek to stand out from what its competitors offer in order to offer a unique offer on the market.
The advantage over competing products can be commercial, qualitative, and technical… The most important thing is that the consumer is aware of the added value of the product / service. He must perceive the value creation brought by the company. It is for this reason that we must communicate massively in this direction.
Cooperation strategies
The company, instead of competing against its competitors , can decide to cooperate with them so that everyone can enjoy advantages.
Cooperation will allow everyone to specialize in one activity and to cooperate with other companies in other areas of activity.
Here are some forms of cooperation between companies: subcontracting , license agreement , franchise , concession ...