bad strategy?

http://mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/the_perils_of_bad_strategy
reading this article above, reminded me of a recent engagement reworking on corporate strategy and business planning.

i had a very interesting initial-discussion with the director in-charge of marketing and strategy.

q: what is the current strategy.
a: our strategy is very simple:
"get as much clients as we can. charge as much money as we can. cut as much costs as we can."

my humble opinion & response was that, we can't have such strategy.

q: why do we charge customers so much?
a: we are the oldest and the best. we have the most reputation. we have the widest reach. our employees are the best trained.

q: do we have a target customer segment?
a: we target everyone.

but we can't target everyone. a celebrity-footballer (potential client) might have very different expectations, than another man on the street.

i don't think this is bad strategy. in fact, there is no strategy. the firm has been bleeding increasingly, since the past few years. but, there is hope, and we can turn it around, within the next 2yrs.

i might chart something on this blog, if i can suitably obfuscate pertinent details…

Popular Posts