Execution eats strategy for breakfast

Peter Thomson

EXECUTION EATS STRATEGY FOR BREAKFASTHOW TO GROW YOUR BRAND BY DELIVERING WHEN IT COUNTS

@peterjthomson2011, London

Peter Thomson

LAST MILE

The last mile is the final step in a supply chain. It’s when the rubber hits the road. Where you have to deliver every time.

Peter Thomson

LAST MILE

Example: Even if the entire grid is intact, the loss of the last mile that leads to your house will take out the power.

Peter Thomson

If you can’t get your product to market then no-one can buy it. Your channels to market are so important that sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands.

CHANNELS TO MARKET

Peter Thomson

CHANNELS TO MARKET

Example: Vibram were simply a rubber sole maker until the shoe companies refused to use their new toe-shaped soles. They took the risk to create the product themselves. Now Fivefingers is a global consumer brand.

Peter Thomson

DECISION POINT

You need to win at the point where the decision is made. Everything else leads up to or follows on from this moment.

Peter Thomson

Example: Having come hundreds of miles to the store, your breakfast cereal simply needs to be picked from the shelf. Everything is geared to that moment.

DECISION POINT

Peter Thomson

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Every product has a moment of purchase and a moment of use. You need to win at both of these touchpoints.

Peter Thomson

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Example: Apple streamline the in-store point of sale by making it mobile and instant. This blends with the products to create a total experience.

Peter Thomson

VALUE CHAIN

You are part of an end-to-end chain of events. Each incremental step adds value to the final moment of use.

Peter Thomson

VALUE CHAIN

Example: From the fishing boat maker and crab fisherman, to Chef Heston Blumenthal and retailer Waitrose. Each step adds value to a branded ready-to-eat risotto.

Peter Thomson

LONG CHAIN

You need to take responsibility for how every step adds value to the final moment of use.

Peter Thomson

LONG CHAIN

Example: When you purchase a can of coke a computer system sends a cascade of re-stocking orders that result in mining more bauxite for a replacement can.

Peter Thomson

USER CENTRED

Whatever product you make, eventually someone will use it. That user is a human being with wants, needs and fears.

Peter Thomson

USER CENTRED

Example: Multi-million dollar industrial equipment can be rendered almost useless by a hard to use interface.

Peter Thomson

WIDGETS

Whatever product you think you sell, you are really selling the experience of using your product.

Peter Thomson

WIDGETS

Example: Fred Perry don’t sell t-shirts. They sell sunny sunday afternoons playing tennis in the park with your friends.

Peter Thomson

AUDIENCE

Every product has an archetypal consumer. The embodiment of your audience. Know their geography, identity and aspirations.

Peter Thomson

AUDIENCE

Example: BMW sell freedom to a 38 year old accountant from suburban Essex who wishes he was a nightclub promoter or a secret agent.

Peter Thomson

REAL STORIES

People are more influenced by editorial reviews, peer testimonials and even celebrity endorsements than any other brand factors.

Peter Thomson

REAL STORIES

Example: Red Bull uses sponsored athletes to create ambassadors that convey the Red Bull attitude better than any advertisement

Peter Thomson

EXECUTE

Even with the best of strategic intentions, you will ultimately be judged by what you can execute and deliver for your end-users.

Peter Thomson

‘Execution eats strategy for breakfast.’ - Peter Thomson

DELIVER

Peter Thomson

NEXT STEPS

1. Deliver on the last mile

2. Manage your channels to market

3. Win the decision at point of sale

4. Smooth out the purchasing experience

5. Find out about the rest of your value chain

6. Manage the value that each step adds

7. Obsess over the end user

8. Sell the experience not the widget

9. Know your audience

10.Tell real stories

Peter Thomson

NOTES

All images are copyright by their original owners. Use in this presentation does not assert any copyright over the images. If you wish to use any images for commercial purposes you should seek permission from the original owners listed below.

Cover: www.flickr.com/photos/tavoppPower lines: www.flickr.com/photos/noonebutmeVibram Fivefingers: www.vibramfivefingers.comSupermarket Aisle: www.flickr.com/photos/tommsApple store payments: www.tigerlim.comHeston Blumenthal: www.waitrose.comAluminium can: www.jobwerx.comMachinery keyboard: www.ceratek.co.uk Fred Perry: www.fredperry.comBMW australia: www.ausmotive.comRed Bull: www.infinitipress.eu Credits: www.flickr.com/photos/professorcooperBack cover: www.flickr.com/photos/peterandersonThe contents of this presentation itself are copyright 2011 with a creative commons attribution & share-alike license. I’m granting you the rights to use the material in a wide range of ways because I believe in spreading the cause.

Peter Thomson

ABOUT

Twitter: @peterjthomsonWeb: www.peterjthomson.comBlog: www.economicsofinnovation.org