01/10/2009 by Stephen Coe.

I have just returned from the Leicester Business Event 2009 held once again at the Walkers Stadium. I must say that I was impressed by the number of people who took the time to attend the event. The deepest days of the recession maybe behind us, but there are still hard times ahead for many. That is why it was refreshing to see so many people networking and to hear once again talk of growth. What was equally refreshing was the number of new faces in attendance, young SME’s and start-ups busily taking notes and absorbing the advice and information that was on offer.

All the people that I spoke to, recognised the need for a clear strategy, that addresses the changed world that we now live in. This is something that has become a recurring theme of mine for those of you who follow this blog. If you have not already begun the process we at Balmoral Strategy Development encourage you all to do so as soon as possible or run the risk of being left behind.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Ltd

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28/08/2009 by Stephen Coe.

Competitive advantage is vested in a range of competencies which when combined provide a level of uniqueness. Sustainable competitive advantage requires maintenance of that level of uniqueness through continual development. Competencies themselves are a complex combination of; skills, processes, technologies and assets.

This is recognised by leading companies worldwide, which is why most have set up formalised competency development processes.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we term this a competency development plan and it is a fundamental element of our strategy development work. 

We also believe that this overall process can be cascaded down to an individual level and have created a process whereby competency development plans can be created for all employees.

Synthesis of these plans then allows company needs to be matched with the aspirations of its employees in an holistic way, with obvious benefits to all.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe - Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited 

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05/02/2009 by Stephen Coe.

 I have spoken on several occasions of the opportunities that arise during a downturn. We at Balmoral Strategy Development firmly believe that decisive bold strategies  in a downturn cycle have the capability to redefine a market and generate long term competitive advantage for those with the will and determination to answer the call to action.

 Consider the following as a bold alternative to retrenchment

 Five point action plan

1. Assess risk and exposure and put the necessary mitigation in place.
2. Assess competitiors exposure and vulnerabilities.
3. Brainstorm for opportunities to take advantage of competitor weakness, look forward not back, focus firmly on emerging customer needs and indistry trends. 
4. Re-assess competencies, determine what needs to be strengthened or acquired to gain competitive advantage.
5. Develop action plan and implement.

Each of the above has many elements , particular attention needs to be paid to risk and competitor reaction

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited

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15/01/2009 by Stephen Coe.

We all know the traditional methods of segmenting markets, that is by customer buying behaviour. Quite often many companies fall short due to a lack of hard market data and as a result most fall back into a standardised industry segmentation used by everyone, that ultimately provides no new insight and white-space.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we look beyond the obvious. We take into account developing trends and emerging needs to project possible buying behaviours of the future. With this approach we create new market segments that cut across many products, services and geographies.

The insights gained in effect redefine the market, provide the company with a direction and early mover competitive advantage.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited 

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24/12/2008 by Stephen Coe.

First of all I would like to extend Season’s Greetings to all readers of this blog, I wish you all well.

As we approach the end of the year, I would like to ask those in retail to consider this. As you reflect on what has been a extremely difficult last quarter, take some time to understand what exactly has sold and what has not. Do this not from a product viewpoint, but from the service or need that the product provides.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we believe that understanding these customer needs is the first step towards shaping a business model, which provides significant competitive advantage.

So make it a new years resolution to look at your sales figures in this way and we are sure that new opportunities will be revealed.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited 

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17/12/2008 by Stephen Coe.

Customer needs evolve, but all to often many companies fail to develop their product to meet those needs. Many companies stick to their original business model because it is what they know and it has served them well in the past. They still see the sale of a product itself as the cash generator and all too often fail to recognise the opportunities that surround it.

These very opportunities are usually service based and as such provide the potential for real differentiation. Never has this been more the case than for High Street retailers struggling to compete with the Internet box shifters.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we believe that every product sold has an attached service, which can be added to provide  customer value and competitive advantage. Our strategy processes delve deep into emerging trends and involve deep analysis of the customer. This approach provides insight into ‘pain points’ and is the starting point for a differentiated strategy, which has an innovative business model at its core.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe , Director Balmoral strategy Development Limited , Leicester, UK 

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28/11/2008 by Stephen Coe.

 Differentiation is key for any company, if it wishes to avoid competing on price and the inevitable reduction in margins that comes with it.

At Balmoral Strategy Development we dedicate a significant amount of time in our strategy processes considering ways to differentiate. We utilise many tools in our analysis. Today I would like to draw your attention to ‘The Value Curve’

Put simply a Value curve provides understanding of where the competition is currently investing, what factors the industry currently competes on and the products and services that customers receive from the offerings to the market. Analysis of the value curve can provide insight not only under-served needs, but also over-served needs. 

Thus the benefits of such an analysis are two fold:

1. Reduction of costs by eliminating non value added activity
2. Closer alignment of value proposition with customer needs and the associated differentiation that this brings.

 As usual all comments are welcomed - Stephen Coe, Director, Balmoral Strategy Development Limited.

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