Session13: Portfolio Strategy and Unique Selling PropositionsDr. Mark H. Mortensen66.490.211 and 212Tues &Thurs 2:00 to 3:15

3:30 to 4:45

Manning School of Business

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Today1. Attendance2. Discussion on portfolio strategy 3. Group workshop on portfolio strategy4. Discussion on unique selling propositions5. Assignment for next class

Welcome back. I’m feeling better.

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Portfolio Planning and Corporate Level Strategy Portfolio planning: A process that helps

executives make decisions involving their firms’ various industriesOffers suggestions about what to do within

each industry, and provides ideas for how to allocate resources across industries.

It first gained widespread attention in the 1970s and it remains a popular tool among executives today

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Portfolio Planning and Corporate Level Strategy The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

matrixBest-known approach to portfolio planning Using the matrix requires a firm’s businesses

to be categorized as high or low along two dimensions:

Its share of the market

The growth rate of its industry

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Managing a portfolio of products

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Workshop on Product Portfolio

Come up with some examples of products that occupy the various positions on the matrix.

Discuss in your groups how you would manage the different products in the matrix.

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Unique selling proposition

Step 1: Market Who will buy your product?

Step 2: Need What simple need does your product satisfy?

Step 3: Pain (starts to differentiate your product) What "pain" does your product relieve for the buyer?

Step 4: Solution How does your product relieve that pain and therefore separate

itself from the competition that still inflicts the pain?

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Product Differentiation Sometimes, you are not unique. What then? Understand the Characteristics that Customers Value:

First, brainstorm what customers value about your product or services and those of your competitors. Move beyond the basics common to all suppliers in the industry, and look at the criteria customers use to decide which product or service to buy.

As with all brainstorming, by involving knowledgeable people in the process, you'll improve the range of characteristics you'll identify. So talk to sales people, customer service teams and, most importantly, talk to customers themselves.

Rank Yourself and Your Competitors by These Criteria:Now identify your top competitors. Being as objective as you can, score yourself and each of your competitors out of 10 for each characteristic. Where possible, base your scores on objective data. Where you can't, do your best to see things from a customer's perspective and make your best guess.

Identify Where You Rank Well:Now plot these points on a graph. This helps you spot different competitors' strengths and weaknesses.

And from this, develop a simple, easily communicated statement of what differentiates you from your competitors.

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Thursday

Read Chapter 8

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Strategic Management – Spring 2013