Getting a growth strategy in place

James Caig

What is it?

Why do you need one?

How do you write one?

What is it?

Why do you need one?

How do you write one?

“Strategy is

God”

O

S

T

Morris Ernst, 1933

Publish Ulysses, legally

Win court case before publication

Get the right judge and jury

Make the case about literary opinion

Get prosecuted under import laws

Get myself arrested

O

S

T

I want to lose weight

Lose ten kilos

Diet (eat better, exercise more)

Record calorie intake and exercise output

Visualise ‘thinner me’

Use stairs instead of the lift

Join up with other dieters

O

S

T

Steve Jobs, Apple, 1997

Survival

Simplification

Products

Style

Management systems

Team structures

O

S

T

It’s not strategy until it’s written down

“THE STRATEGY KERNEL”

The diagnosis

A guiding policy

Coherent actions

The diagnosis

A guiding policy

Coherent actions

The obstacles in the way of success

Signpost your approach to dealing with the

obstacles

Feasible actions and resource commitments to

carry out the guiding policy

What is it?

Why do you need one?

How do you write one?

The future is wobbly.

The market changes

Technology changes

Your audience changes

4.2%

5.8%

UK Industry

average

Creative

Industries

* Create UK, A Strategy for the creative industries to 2020, progress report, Government guidance regional growth fund Feb 2015 gov.uk, Industrial strategy, aerospace infographic, automotive infographic gov.uk

+44%Amazon revenues

Netflix subscribers

Annual Google searches

Facebook users

£ generated by Kickstarter

+61%

+18%

+39%

+81%

Source: Creating growth: measuring cultural and creative markets in the EU, EY, 2011-14

$47bn $16bn2014‘Golden years’

$47bn $16bn20141995‘Golden years’

Craigslist

disruption map

Source:Budd Caddell https://medium.com/nobl-collective/culture-is-more-than-a-ping-pong-table-d8c634e475f

“Most people don’t appreciate why so many

great companies come out of Silicon Valley.

It’s not just that you build an app and

everything works out. First mover means

first mover to scale.

If you don’t play the move-fast game, you

can frequently lose out to someone who

is.”

Reid Hoffman, co-founder LinkedIn

“Most people don’t appreciate why so many

great companies come out of Silicon Valley.

It’s not just that you build an app and

everything works out. First mover means

first mover to scale.

If you don’t play the move-fast game, you

can frequently lose out to someone who

is.”

Reid Hoffman, co-founder LinkedIn

Having sat in countless pitches around

the world, this particular idea is the least

understood outside of Silicon Valley.

While everyone outside the Valley

pitches their app/idea/concept, people

inside the Valley are pitching their

growth tactics.

Paul Singh, Entrepreneur

A strategy brings focus.

It lets you track momentum.

It gives you (some) control.

What is it?

Why do you need one?

How do you write one?

“I think science is not about absolutes.

Science is about honesty.

The idea that scientists are some kind

of priests that have unique access to

knowledge about nature is nonsense –

in many ways I see it as the codified

application of common sense.

It’s like plumbing."

Source: http://gu.com/p/49je3/sbl

“I think science is not about absolutes.

Science is about honesty.

The idea that scientists are some kind

of priests that have unique access to

knowledge about nature is nonsense –

in many ways I see it as the codified

application of common sense.

It’s like plumbing."

Source: http://gu.com/p/49je3/sbl

strategy

Strategy

strategists

“I think science is not about absolutes.

Science is about honesty.

The idea that scientists are some kind

of priests that have unique access to

knowledge about nature is nonsense –

in many ways I see it as the codified

application of common sense.

It’s like plumbing."

strategy

Strategy

strategists

Source: http://gu.com/p/49je3/sbl

Define your purpose

Know your audience(s)

Commit to a plan

“People don’t buy what you do,

they buy why you do it.

What you do is the proof of what

you believe.”

Simon Sinek

To create a better everyday life for the many people

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use

business to inspire and implement solutions to the

environmental crisis

To get the jeans makers of Cardigan Bay their jobs back

“Purpose makes you strong.”

David Hieatt

“It supplies your inner drive. It fuels innovation. It

finds your best people. It keeps them with you when

other companies come poaching. They will.

It keeps you staying true, when it would be easy to

compromise. It stops you from quitting when times

get tough. And, they will.

Purpose gives you a backbone because the goal is

bigger than yourself.”

To invent our clients’ digital

futures with work that inspires

both us and them.

Define your purpose

Know your audience(s)

Commit to a plan

Key questions:

Who are they demographically?

Are they current, potential or lapsed users of your category?

What do you know about their attitudes, lifestyle and behaviour?

What do you know about their digital behaviours?

What do your early adopters look like, and who can they reach?

How can you bring them to life beyond numbers?

Understanding your audience

Cultural

Creatives35-75

Male/Female 50/50

Likely to have children

What really counts

Worries and aspirations

What do they hear around them

Who influences the audience

What are others sayingWhat do they see around them

What is their environment

Attitudes

Behaviours

THINK & FEEL

SAY & DO

HEARSEE

THINK & FEEL

SAY & DO

People looking for a positive change. They’re focused on the future a better legacy for their

children but also want a fairer society. They realise things could be different

and want to take control. They’re proud of their beliefs and able to make a

difference. Ethical decisions no longer about self-sacrifice

but critical for all. They like the satisfaction

of being part of something.

Ethical messages are

everywhere. CCs are aware

that is a political issue as well as

a moral one – they see the burden of

regulation, and also how a green

agenda hasn’t always translated into

sympathetic policy.

They live well – are

affluent and live in nice areas,

both rural and urban.

They might be academics, or retired

professionals, or people who are excited by the

new wave of social entrepreneurship that

exists around them.

Popular parts of the country are Bristol

and Bath, Lancaster and the Lake District - free

thinking areas where countryside is close enough

to feel important.

They’re reading about positive investment,

renewables, and ethical business everywhere.

Campaigns like The Guardian’s Keep It In

The Ground are normalising

the movement and giving

people agency.

They hear about banker’s bonuses, but also

the innovations coming from the start-up

community and understand that alternative

methods are achievable if the will exists.

They have the time to seek financial advice.

They are prepared to investigate and

understand options before making a decision.

They won’t necessarily use an IFA, but

they will consult popular figures like

Martin Lewis.

35-75

Male/Female 50/50

Likely to have children

They are activists and are happy to belong

publicly to cause-based campaigns and more militant

charities – Avaaz, 38 Degrees.

Could be existing investors. Cash ISA customers could be new or looking to switch.

Existing customers often attend Triodos AGMs. Hardcore Greens are likely to

convert directly, but those less sure will investigate and need reassurance.

Cultural

Creatives HEARSEE

Understanding barriers (and drivers)

Define your purpose

Know your audience(s)

Commit to a plan

“Stubborn on vision. Flexible

on details”

Jeff Bezos

“Checklists beat brains.”

Dave Trott

The diagnosis

A guiding policy

Coherent actions

The obstacles in the way of success

Signpost your approach to dealing with the

obstacles

Feasible actions and resource commitments to

carry out the guiding policy

Action plan techniques

S. T. E. E. P.

A. C. T. I. O. N.

Behaviour x Motivation

Three simple questions

Strategy frameworks

S. T. E. E. P.Social

Technological

Economic

Environmental

Political

Social Technological Economic Environmental Political

A new FS mindset

Generational change

Financial and job insecurity

Category inertia

New platforms

Greater choice and more control

Switching made easier

Ethical funds performing well

Generally poor rates and lack of

trust

Punitive conditions for

Third Sector loan

More recognition for local and

ethically sourced products

Greenwash

Financial compromise?

Tax relief schemes

Bonus caps

Polarisingmainstream

discourse

Social Technological Economic Environmental Political

A new FS mindset

Generational change

Financial and job insecurity

Category inertia

New platforms

Greater choice and more control

Switching made easier

Ethical funds performing well

Generally poor rates and lack of

trust

Punitive conditions for

Third Sector loan

More recognition for local and

ethically sourced products

Greenwash

Financial compromise?

Tax relief schemes

Bonus caps

Polarisingmainstream

discourse

Mistrust in institutions and new ideas about

saving mean that more people than ever

don’t want to only do well, they want to do

good too.

People are overwhelmed by choice in FS.

They don’t know what to do for the best.

When the most likely outcome of a decision

is that it’ll be wrong, the smartest thing to

do is nothing. Unless there’s a bigger

reason, a higher purpose that can drive the

choice

As green and sustainable propositions become

more commonplace, there’s a risk that

credible pioneers get out-shouted or look

out-dated. Now is the time to stand out with

products that connect back to the brand’s

beliefs.

Messaging

Connect your beliefs with the product more clearly

Content

Promote a different kind of return: the customers’ success

you have enabled

Channels

Zig when others zag: grab attention by doing what your

competitors won’t

Making Cash ISAs stand out

AMBITION CULTURE TECHNOLOGY

INSIGHT OPPORTUNITY NEEDS

What problem are you trying to solve

today?

What’s the single thing that would make

the biggest difference to your business?

What is your ultimate ambition?

What is your roadmap to get there?

What do we know about our target

audience?

What are the drivers and barriers to using

your service?

What do we need them to do differently

to impact our business problem?

Capabilities and confidence in digital

Integration and operations

Measurement and effectiveness

Appetite to try new things

Experiment vs roadmap?

Test and learn vs Just do it?

What platforms do you use?

What’s your capability in digital and what

do you need?

What channels could you expand into?

How will you measure what digital does

for you?

What trends do we observe in consumer

and category behaviour?

What opportunities do new technologies

give us to unlock our business problem?

What can we learn from what others are

doing?

What does the business need?

What do customers need?

What do internal stakeholders need?

How can we reconcile those needs?

http://planninginhighheels.com/

...at the point of use

…so that they are the first to hear about it

…so that they choose you over your competitors

…where you have identified your barriers

What opportunities can you create?

Think through the whole journey

Where are we

now?

Where do we

want to get to?

What will we do

to get there?

Shutterly Fabulous California Shutters The Shutter Store

No other shutters come close. See it. Love it. Do it yourself.You measure, you install, you

save.

Grow consideration of Shutters in the bigger Window Coverings market with a smart portfolio approach What do we want to achieve?

What’s the proposition for each brand?

What’s the source of business?

High revenue M&I customers prepared to pay for quality and

service

People who want quality but would rather spend in time or effort to get

the look they want

New buyers needing an accessible entry point for a premium alternative

to curtains or blinds

How will we target buyers?

What’s the focus for content?

What’s the role of media?

Generate visibility and use of our premium assets to make it easier for

people to buy into the dream.

The premium and authentic nature our product and materials. Sell the

dream and how we realise it.

To inspire and motivate an affluent audience with a design-led offer

Go the extra mile to help aspirational customers with innovative service to

help them get their dream look.

Bespoke and on-demand help and advice to meet the needs of each

individual customer.

Reach target segments, demonstrate service from first contact

Educate and reassure customers with the practical and economical benefits

of Shutters

The benefits, barriers, options and value offer by Shutters. Confident

price comparison.

Unlock opportunity of in-market Window Coverings customers

With practical, achievable steps that realise the vision as part of a manageable roadmap Where do we start?

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK – SHUTTER GROUP

Reduce prevalence -

21% to 18.5% by 2015

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK – PHE STOPTOBER

BRAND PLATFORM/WORLD

CARE-ABOUTS

PURPOSE

KEY AUDIENCE GROUPS

ROLE FOR COMMS

CHANNEL

METRICS

FRAME OF REFERENCE

MESSAGING

STAKEHOLDER

BUDGET SPLIT

Increase the overall number of quit attempts

2012: XK quitters, beat target by XK, etc

Stoptober (Brand Wheel, 28 days, October, 5 times more likely to quit)

CHANGE AMBITION

CAMPAIGN PROPOSITION TBC - Dare

Public SectorDH Ministe

r/Policy

Local

authorit

ies

HCPs

Private SectorCEOs

InfluencersMedia

partner

s

Media

influenc

ers

Stoptob

er

Advoca

tes

Celebrit

ies

Individuals

Stop-porters

(Mosisters)

SMEs Retailers Potential quitters

Define your purpose

Know your audience(s)

Commit to a plan

What is it?

Why do you need one?

How do you write one?

james.caig@truedigital.co.uk

@jamescaig