How to Create A Value-Based Strategy

One of the toughest things for professional services firms to do – especially those that operate in the advice space – is settle on a strategy to guide the decisions in building the business .It is helpful to consider strategy from a very broad perspective to begin with, and settle on a broad line of thinking that feels like the right combination for your values, aspirations and beliefs regarding future opportunities.Previously I have discussed these 4 broad strategic value propositions that one should begin with.

They are:

1. innovation – doing new things or things in new ways2. excellence – focussing upon being the best in the business3. eliminate – get rid of things the rest of the industry takes for granted4. reduce – deliberately operate at a lower standard to meet lower price pointsBy themselves, none of these are a strategy as such. They are chosen battlegrounds: they are where we decide to develope and deploy our competitive strategy. We then begin to consider how to bring a different, hopefully unique, slant to this broad strategic concept.For example: Different business models, or structures, remuneration and service propositions, service or delivery methods all are capable of shaping a broad strategic direction into something which begins to take on the shape of uniqueness.While the strategy begins to take shape as a working concept, as you now have a clear direction and a more firm idea of how you will execute that differently to others, it is not complete.Related: How To Deliver Value During Prospect EngagementThere is a missing step in the thinking at this point which is necessary to will help clarify your strategy:

How do you think you should create value for customers?

  • give them the same benefits for about the same cost as others in your space?
  • give them the same benefit for a lower cost?
  • give them more benefits for lower cost?
  • give them more benefits for a higher cost?
  • give them more benefits for more cost?
  • give them more benefits for less cost?
  • Is this consistent with the broad strategic proposition outlined above?If you are clear about the general strategic direction you want to take, and have a clear idea about how you want to create value for customers, and have thought about how to deliver that, you have just sorted your business strategy – and then the business planning can begin in seriousness!