The Right Formula For Grabbing Market Share in a tight economy.
In these challenging economic times, the attached approach for grabbing market share is certainly worthy of consideration.
An excerpt from the opening paragraph of the attached article states “When most people see the symbol CO2 they think of the acidic oxide. According to many sources, CO2 in concentrations of 7% to 10% can cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour.”
The authors of the article took a slightly different spin on the properties of CO2. “C=02. This business formula signals that Chaos equals Opportunity to the second power. What better time for a company to grab market share than when there is a sense that their competition is on their heels. Strong, well positioned brands are always looking for an opportunity to grab their share of the market – there has never been a better time than now!”
Much of the news today is consumed with bleak economic data. Many companies are going inward, cutting CapEx, laying people off, cutting “discretionary” spending and waiting for the economic downturn to pass. This is a certain formula for disaster and an express ticket to the dead pool. What is most important today is to use these times to not cut expenses and staff indiscriminately, but rather to put everything under the microscope to cut those things that never really made sense, but made their way into your operating budgets when you were flush with cash and your investments were returning healthy returns. Everything else must stay and be used for you to create a battle plan that will ensure you are victorious over your competition.
We are in a period of economic correction people! This is a natural business cycle, which, at the moment may feel like a free fall from 30 thousand feet. I do not wish to minimize the severity of this economic downturn, but this is not a time to forget what made your company a world class brand or a company on its way to greater things. You must continue to invest in the important things that will make your customer continue to choose you over the competition. You must continue to be strategic and to innovate. You must put even more emphasis on doing the things that are required to win the minds and hearts of your customers, with a focus on doing things better, faster and cheaper. This is a time to leverage the data assets you have. Use the data to drive the insights which will help you to devise the best possible battle plans to gain share. You must exploit every weakness of your competition and strengthen your most important assets. If you data suggests you should be trying some new things to gain share, by all means test. Test often, using this time to strengthen your position. If you fail, fail quickly and learn. Get yourself back on course and positioned for a stronger market position.
Be smart, be bold, be strategic, but most importantly, be the things that are most important to your customers. Don’t forget about your guiding principals, your mission statement and your key points of differentiation. If you see your competition pulling back, don’t follow their lead, go grab share and make certain you give your new customers what your competition could not or would not deliver. It is not about slashing prices, it is about providing value. Value is a multi-dimensional equation that encompasses price, product, promotion, assortment, service, trust and a open two-way communication with your customers.
If you are on the service side, spend more time with your customers to better understand their pain points. What do you need to do to re-invent yourself to be responsive to how your clients are changing their business. Are they looking to outsource more services, are they looking for better technology that reduces costs and cycle time, etc. These will serve as signals to where their heads are and if they get the concept of C = O x 2. This is a time to be a value added strategic partner more than ever. Companies can fire vendors, but they are less likely to fire value added business partners that provide a strategic differentiation to the competition that translates to increased revenue, margin and ROI. If you have clients who do not get C=O2, which I am sure you do, take the time to explain it to them. Help to minimize their fears.
We are in these turbulent times for the balance of 2009 and most likely the first half of 2010 so strap on your seat belts and pull them tight as it will be a bumpy ride, but it is not the end of the rode. Those who see opportunity to the second power in this chaotic time will come out on top, stronger than those who make cost cutting their primary objective in hopes of just weathering the storm.
Take the challenge, thrive on chaos and find your opportunity to the second power C = O x 2
