Develop a strong business model for growth

Question:

Is your business model robust and secure, and will it drive the spectacular results you deserve?

Answer:

At The Alpha Group we make certain that you assess your company’s business models and plan how to strengthen you.

So, how does this happen?

Easy, its a six step-process using the power of the peer-to-peer advisory board.

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Firstly the peer-to-peer advisory board help you learn what is a business model?

The “Business Model” is the blueprint which defines how your business operates and makes money.

Every business invests money in resources and activities to create value & benefits which customers are prepared to pay more for.

Every business model is founded on 2 simple questions:

• Who is the customer?

• What does the customer need or require having done?

Businesses competing in the same industry may have very different models depending on your view on who the customer is, what that customer requires and how best to deliver it.

However, unlike the market or the economy, every one of the building blocks of your business model is within your control.

Your decisions on each element will define the future success of your business.

Why is it important?

Simply because change happens and change today is happening at a faster rate than ever before and well beyond our personal control. New disruptive competitors appear who don’t follow the rules, with new technologies, different ways of doing things, massively lower cost / prices. Some even give your products away free.

Customers keep changing the rules too, demand more, ask for discounts and share opinions on your product or service. World-wide, every year 134 million new “customers” are born and 56 million die – similarly in business established customers cease and the potential new ones have other ideas and ways of doing things.

Within your business as it grows in size, your methods, structures, processes, policies and practices which worked so well last year may not work next year. The entrepreneurial spirit which drove your early years is insufficient to drive through to future phases on its own. Do nothing and your weaknesses will get worse and your strengths will decay.

The internet has had a radical impact which has destroyed many businesses that have failed to adapt your models; whilst it has created many new ones who use it as the core of your business models.

So why not do today, what your competitors will do tomorrow? Take the opportunity to change now, before you really have to.

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Secondly the peer-to-peer advisory board help you assess your company’s current business model.

Using the 1 to 10 rating system, where “10” is outstanding and “1” is barely adequate; please assess the strength of your current business model on each of these 5 main elements:

BUSINESS MODEL ELEMENTS YOUR RATING TODAY

1 CUSTOMER FOCUS (Who?)

Do you have the right customers?

Do you have enough of you?

How well do you know you? Especially the highest value ones?

Are your customers the right ones for the future?

Are your customers in clear niches or market segments?

Could your customers buy more, more often?

How well do you understand your needs?

Do you get enough repeat orders?

2 VALUE PROVIDED TO CUSTOMERS (What?)

Do you understand the real value you deliver to the customer?

Which of your problems are you solving? Could you solve more?

Are you offering products and services to each segment?

Which customer needs are you satisfying?

Are there other needs you could satisfy?

How distinct and unique is the value you provide?

What is your value based on? (e.g. innovation, technology, convenience, price, design, brand or status, cost reduction, risk reduction, personal service etc.)

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3 MANAGING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS (How?)

How easy is it to buy from you?

How would your customers like best to be serviced?

Do all parts of your service match the value promised?

How often do you communicate with customers?

How often do you listen to customers?

Do you have many complaints / queries / support requests? Do you manage complaints effectively?

What plans do you have to acquire new customers?

• How do you plan to retain or grow existing customers?

• Do your customers really understand the full scale of what you could do for you?

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4 RESOURCES APPLIED (With what?)

How well do you manage all the activities necessary to deliver customers’ expectations?

Do you have sufficient resources to do this?

Do you have a plan to optimise the use of out-sourced resources, distributors, channels, partners & suppliers?

Are you clear on which skills are best retained in house and which are best out-sourced?

Do you have clearly defined purchasing and HR processes?

How efficient are your key business processes?

o Making – manufacturing, designing, developing

o Selling – promoting the value, marketing, sales

o Distribution channels – delivering, re-selling, stocking o Business support – HR, admin, accounting

o Customer support – service, advice, repair

How adaptable & flexible are your resources?

5 MARGIN GENERATED (How much?)

Does the balance of revenue, fixed costs and variable costs generate sufficient margin for the “unforeseeable” future?

How well could you handle a significant:

o Increase in demand?

o Increase in resource costs?

o Reduction in market price?

How well do you understand & manage the most significant?

o Costs in the business?

o Sources of revenue?

o Revenues by customer?

o Risks?

What are customers really prepared to pay for now and how can you increase this in future?

Is your break-even point low enough?

Are your revenues predictable, recurring, diverse, and sustainable?

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YOUR TOTAL BUSINESS MODEL SCORE

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Thirdly the peer-to-peer advisory board help you define where they are vulnerable.

1 What are the key weaknesses in your current business model?

2 What would a competitor need to do to destroy your business?

3 If you were starting again as a “new entrant”, what would you do differently?

4 What are the constraints which hold you back from substantial growth?

5 Any other points of vulnerability?

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Fourthly the peer-to-peer advisory board help you identify your key changes to your business model.

Thinking about your Assessment of your current model and its Vulnerabilities what changes do you need to make to ensure that you will be doing the right things for your successful future? What will be your “unfair” advantage?

YOUR BUSINESS MODEL CHANGES

1 Customer focus

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2 Value provided to customers

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3 Managing customer relationships

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4 Resources applied

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5 Margin Generated

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YOUR TOTAL NEW BUSINESS MODEL SCORE

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Lastly the peer-to-peer advisory board help you take massive action.

The profound impact on you and your company of developing a strong business model for growth is that you will substantially increase your profit through your stronger business model.