One of the most difficult questions to resolve within any company is strategy. This is particularly true in the areas of sales and marketing. The truth is the myth of one size fits all continues to confuse and boggle even the largest companies.
Why is this?
It’s crucial to understand who your company is first – your corporate strategy. Simply listing total number of employees, countries served, etc. does not answer this question for your prospects. Here is one way to better define your corporate strategy:
Determine whether your company is making a horizontal or vertical play. Either one can be successful, but you should only be using one. Let’s look at a company that has five web offset presses and serves a smattering of customers in various fields. What is driving this business? It’s either expertise as an offset printer or knowledge in the customers’ niche markets. If the resounding reason is printing ability the company is making a horizontal play and should, assuming the company is successful, expand into as many other markets as it can.
On the other hand, if the company is known as the “healthcare printing company” then it may want to deepen its printing and related services to this one core market niche. This will support its vertical play and allow it to leverage its strongest brand assets.
Cue: The size of your company is not a key driver in defining who your company is. What your company successfully does for the largest number of customers usually defines who your company really is.
