Session13: Portfolio Strategy and Unique Selling Propositions Dr. Mark H. Mortensen and 212 Tues &Thurs 2:00 to 3:15 3:30 to 4:45 Manning School of Business

Mortensen Consulting Group Today 1. Attendance 2. Discussion on portfolio strategy 3. Group workshop on portfolio strategy 4. Discussion on unique selling propositions 5. Assignment for next class Welcome back. I’m feeling better.

Mortensen Consulting Group Portfolio Planning and Corporate Level Strategy Portfolio planning: A process that helps executives make decisions involving their firms’ various industries  Offers 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 8-3

Mortensen Consulting Group Portfolio Planning and Corporate Level Strategy The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix  Best-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 8-4

Mortensen Consulting Group Managing a portfolio of products

Mortensen Consulting Group 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.

Mortensen Consulting Group 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?

Mortensen Consulting Group 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.

Mortensen Consulting Group Thursday Read Chapter 8

Mortensen Consulting Group Strategic Management – Spring 2013