Business Acumen and Business Opportunity Workbook

Instructions on Using Workbook Use this workbook to evaluate your business acumen. Score each item on a 7-point scale. If your answer is “Don’t Know” to any question, give yourself a score of 1. Add your total score for all 25 items and then refer to the scoring guide to diagnose the strategic health of your business and identify opportunities for your business.

1 = Strongly Disagree/Don’t Know 2 = Disagree 3= Mildly Disagree 4 = Neither Agree nor Disagree 5 = Mildly Agree 6 = Agree 7 = Strongly Agree

Item Score 1. Last year, our revenues were higher than those of our competitors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2. Over the past three years, our market share has grown compared 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 to our competitors 3. Over the next year, we expect revenues to grow faster than our 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 competitors 4. There is a clear definition and agreement in our firm about the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 role of marketing.i (In unsuccessful businesses there is ambiguity about the role and definition of marketing.) 5. There is clear understanding in our firm about who our customer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 is.ii (In many firms there is ambiguity and lack of consensus on who the customer is – channel partner, end user, etc.) 6. In our firm we devote resources to understanding our customers’ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 needs and general market trends. (Successful firms dedicate resources, at other firms the effort is ad hoc.) 7. Besides using traditional methods of market research (surveys, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 focus groups, etc.) we use non-traditional methods such as ethnographic research (spending time with customers to understand their needs and pain points), web listening posts, etc. 8. We have a deep knowledge of our customers’ needs and trends in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 the marketplace 9. We have a deep knowledge of our competitors and our 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 competitive advantages 10. We segment our customers. (In contrast, many organizations use 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a one-size-fits-all approach to customers, treating all customers the same.) 11. We segment our customers based on customers needs. (Using 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 demographic variablesiii to segment is easy, but rarely effective.)

 Dr. Ajay K. Sirsi, Schulich School of Business Page 1 [email protected] 12. If we were asked what business are we in, our reply would be 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 clear: “We are not in the IT business, but in the business of creating value for the customer”iv 13. We have developed a marketing (go-to-market) plan in our 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 business. (We can also call this the business strategy.) 14. Our business strategy is based on voice of customer. (In many 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 organizations decisions are made on gut feel, politics, personalities, personal biases, half-baked truths, etc.) 15. Our people understand our business strategy. (Successful firms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 spend a lot of time communicating the business strategy to employees.) 16. We have a detailed action plan to implement our go-to-market 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 strategy 17. To help each and every employee “live” our strategy, we have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 translated our business strategy into functional strategiesv 18. Because markets change, we have put in place mechanisms to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 examine our go-to-market strategy periodically. (Successful businesses question their business models and renew themselves strategically.) 19. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities, regardless of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 how successful we are today 20. We evaluate our customers on a yearly basis and “fire” the ones 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 who are unattractive to us 21. We deal with a few selected suppliers, rather than spreading our 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 business across many suppliers 22. We know who our strategic suppliers are: these are suppliers who 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 are interested in helping us succeed in business 23. We measure customer satisfaction every year or once every two 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 years 24. Our customers would say they are very satisfied with our service 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 25. There is a clear reason for customers to choose our company over 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 others. (Winning organizations build a strong brand.) Total Score

 Dr. Ajay K. Sirsi, Schulich School of Business Page 2 [email protected] Evaluation Score Diagnosis 150 or above Indicates a smart business. Examine each item for which you scored less than 7 and take corrective actions. 100 - 150 Indicates a business that has potential, but is “stuck in the middle”. Examine all items and take corrective actions. 100 or below Indicates a business that needs to think about day-to-day operations and long term business strategy. Take action today!

What Corrective Actions Do We Need To Take? o Understanding customer needs ______

o Developing a go-to-market plan ______

o Building a strong brand ______

o Building a customer focused business ______

o Satisfying customer needs ______

 Dr. Ajay K. Sirsi, Schulich School of Business Page 3 [email protected] ______

o Other ______

Further Reading Marketing: A Roadmap to Success (Pearson Canada) by Ajay K. Sirsi.

 Dr. Ajay K. Sirsi, Schulich School of Business Page 4 [email protected] i There are three major roles a marketing function can play in any organization: as a support tool for the sales function (developing brochures, etc.), as an internal consultant to the organization (doing market research and making recommendations), or as an engine of corporate transformation (in such businesses, there is clear recognition that a market orientation is a pre-requisite for success. ii Do you know who your customer is? The answer to this question may not be as obvious as you think. Many businesses make the mistake of assuming that the customer who pays the invoice (e.g., channel member) is the customer. In reality, it may be another customer down the value chain. iii In business-to-business markets, demographic variables refer to customer size, location, industry, etc. In business-to-consumer markets they refer to the customer’s income, gender, education level, etc. iv Answering this question is fundamental to building a strong brand. A business must learn that defining its brand in terms of what it does is disastrous. Look at what is happening to Kodak, a firm that defined its brand in terms of what it did – make film. v A business that does not translate the marketing plan into functional plans is guaranteed to suffer from functional silos. A customer-focused business is one where all functions are implementing the same go-to-market strategy.