How do you prioritize strategic business units and investments?

The BCG Matrix is a strategic tool that helps businesses prioritize their units based on market share and growth. It classifies units into four categories: Stars (high-growth, high-market-share), Cash Cows (low-growth, high-market-share), Question Marks (high-growth, low-market-share), and Dogs (low-growth, low-market-share). Stars need investment to maintain their lead, while Cash Cows provide steady cash flow. Question Marks require more attention to determine their potential, and Dogs may need to be divested. This matrix guides investment decisions by highlighting which units offer the best returns.

Prioritizing strategic business units and investments requires a balanced approach using several key frameworks. The BCG Matrix helps categorize units into Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, and Dogs, guiding investment decisions based on market share and growth potential. The GE-McKinsey Matrix evaluates units on industry attractiveness and competitive strength. Ansoff's Matrix informs growth strategies like market penetration and product development. SWOT Analysis identifies internal strengths and external opportunities. Additionally, factors like financial performance, strategic alignment, innovation, risk management, resource allocation, and stakeholder impact are crucial. Combining these tools ensures informed, strategic prioritization.

The BCG Matrix is a pivotal tool for prioritizing strategic business units (SBU's) and investments. By categorizing SBUs into four quadrants-Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, and Dog-based on market growth rate and market share, Businesses can allocate resources more effectively. Stars require investment to sustain growth, Cash cows generate steady cash flow, Question marks need careful evaluation for potential growth, and dogs might be divested. This matrix helps in making informed, strategic decisions to optimize the overall portfolio performance.

I often see emotional bias when it comes to the DOG category, especially if a product initially represented the success of the company. Some founder would not let go and insist to push budget to make it shine again.

The BCG Matrix is like a report card for different parts of a business. Stars: the popular lemonade stands in busy areas where people keep coming back for more. Cash Cows: your reliable stands in quieter areas with a steady flow of loyal customers. Question Marks: Stands in growing neighborhoods, but haven’t caught on big yet. Dogs: Stands in slow areas, not bringing in much money. Using the BCG Matrix helps you decide where to invest and where to avoid wasting resources. Ignoring the BCG Matrix could lead to spending too much on the wrong stands and missing opportunities for growth elsewhere. It’s about making smart choices to grow your business effectively.

The GE-McKinsey Matrix is an advanced tool that evaluates business units based on two key dimensions: industry attractiveness and competitive strength. Industry attractiveness includes market size, growth, profitability, and competitive intensity, while competitive strength focuses on market share, brand reputation, and innovation. Business units are plotted on a nine-cell grid, with those in the upper-left being the most attractive and deserving of investment. Units in the lower right are less promising and may need to be divested. Middle-range units require deeper analysis to determine the best strategy.

As a Senior Manager in Business Intelligence, I can't help but chuckle at the thought of plotting business units on a grid like a game of Battleship. But in all seriousness, the GE-McKinsey Matrix is a powerful tool for strategic planning. It's like having a crystal ball that shows you where to invest your resources for maximum impact. By considering both industry attractiveness and competitive strength, you can make informed decisions that will set your business up for success. So, don't just play the game, win it with the GE-McKinsey Matrix! ????

The GE-Mckinsey matrix is a robust tool for prioritizing strategic business units and investments. By evaluating SBUs on two axes-industry attractiveness and high-strength units warrant investment for growth, while low-attractiveness and low-strength units may require divestment. This matrix ensures a balanced portfolio, guiding strategic decisions to maximize overall business value.

The GE-McKinsey Matrix is a strategic business tool used for portfolio analysis, similar to the BCG Matrix. It was developed by General Electric and McKinsey & Company to help companies assess their business units and allocate resources effectively. The vertical axis of the matrix is "Market Attractiveness" It assesses the overall attractiveness of the market where a business unit operates. Factors considered may include market size, growth rate, profitability, and competitive environment. The horizontal axis of the matrix is "Business Unit Strength" It evaluates the internal strength and competitiveness of a business unit. Factors considered may include market share, brand strength, technological capabilities, and management quality.

The GE-McKinsey matrix gives a “how do I perform vs my competitor” perspective per business units whereas the BCG offers a “my performance only per units” view.

The Ansoff Matrix is your strategic roadmap for your lemonade stands. Market Penetration: Boost sales in your town with a loyalty card or a modest price increase due to popularity. Market Development: Take your lemonade to new locales, same refreshing recipe, new customers. Product Development: Introduce new flavors or a healthier line to cater to more people. Diversification: Venture into complementary industries, like partnering with an ice cream vendor to create lemonade-infused sorbets, leveraging your existing customer base while satisfying their craving for something new. Each quadrant of the Ansoff Matrix presents a unique blend of risks and rewards, guiding where to channel resources to expand your lemonade venture wisely.

The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic tool used to evaluate growth opportunities based on product and market types. It offers four strategies: Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development, and Diversification. Market Penetration focuses on increasing sales of existing products in current markets, while Market Development involves expanding into new markets with existing products. Product Development emphasizes creating new products for existing markets, and Diversification explores launching new products in new markets. This matrix helps businesses assess the risks and rewards of each strategy, guiding investment decisions for growth.

The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic tool that helps prioritize business units and investments by assessing growth opportunities through four key strategies: Market penetration, Market Development, Product Development, and diversification. By categorizing initiatives within this framework, businesses can identify the most promising areas for investment and focus resources on strategies that align with their growth objectives and risk tolerance. This structured approach facilitates more informed decision-making and effective allocation of capital, driving sustained business growth.

Alright, let's talk about prioritizing strategic business units and investments. One way to do this is by using the Ansoff Matrix. Imagine a grid with existing vs. new products and markets. It helps us decide where to focus our efforts. For example, if we have a new product, we might choose to enter a new market, like offering a software to a different industry. Or if we have a loyal customer base, we might introduce a new product to them. The matrix helps us see which moves make the most sense for growth.

This is a strategy I personally prefer and use. For Diversification I would suggest investing in complementary industries to use your current consumer base. It differs from product development in ways that it's a completely different industry you're investing in, yet it satisfies other needs your target audience has.

Strengths: 1.Provides a clear framework for assessing and prioritizing business units. 2.Encourages a strategic, data-driven approach to investment decisions. Weaknesses: 1.Can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. 2.May rely heavily on the availability of accurate and up-to-date information. Opportunities: 1.Helps identify high-potential areas for growth and innovation. 2.Can reveal underperforming units that need restructuring or divestment. Threats: 1.Risk of biased analysis due to subjective judgment. 2.Market volatility and unforeseen economic changes can impact the relevance of the analysis.

This is a great model. What I really like it’s that it is very easy for other non-marketers stakeholders in the company to understand.

The classic SWOT does not give you much in modern marketing strategy. Yes, it's useful to know your strengths and weaknesses but if you don't have a market validation it will constantly change. Find what you are doing, for whom you are doing it, and how to make it all work (to add more value) to your customers and the market.

Another tool to use is the SWOT analysis. It's simple but effective. We look at our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Say we're considering investing in expanding our online presence. We assess each unit's strengths (e.g., loyal customer base) and weaknesses (e.g., outdated marketing tools). We then identify external opportunities (e.g., emerging market trends) and threats (e.g., new competitors). It helps weigh the pros and cons before making big decisions.

This is an incredibly powerful analysis to do, both from an organization and offering perspective. Do both an organization SWOT and offering SWOT so you review factors and can help position yourself across performance, positioning, and where you need to make investments and address gaps.

SWOTS are great for everyday decisions, but for starting a brand new project/business, a PESTLE is a really good starting point to see where your business may fit in the market. I like to do both to begin with and then use SWOTs for smaller stages too like my website design, online business plan, visitor experience, user route for buying a product etc.

Prioritization must root in overall business strategy, stemming from your organization's mission and vision. This prevents vacuum decision-making, demanding consideration of performance goals, productivity targets, customer objectives, and operational best practices. The crux lies in deeply integrating marketing into the enterprise, transforming it from an isolated function to a core solution. As a growth-focused leader, I strive to elevate marketing's role, bringing it to the table in ways that resonate with CEOs/Boards and drive tangible impact. This ensures marketing becomes a critical driver of organizational success.

Prioritization of business units must be rooted in the percentage (or proportional) contribution that that unit makes to the overall bottom line. Avoid the temptation of getting caught up in investing marketing resources (money, time and people) into business units for reasons that have little or nothing to do with its relative contribution to total profit. Such 'temptations' include that unit's target segment (requiring heavy marketing investment); easy-to-implement marketing strategies; and C-suite leadership personalities that can sway decision-making.

Besides those frameworks, there are a few other things we keep in mind. Even a fantastic idea might flop if the market isn't ready. So, we factor in market trends and customer needs. For example, we might prioritize promoting a cloud-based solution over on-premise software if the industry is rapidly shifting towards cloud adoption. Customer feedback is crucial, too. If we hear consistently positive feedback about a particular product or service, it might be worth investing more in that area. And, of course, financial considerations play a big role. We have to ensure we're allocating resources wisely and getting the best return on our investments. It's a mix of data analysis, market research, and good old-fashioned intuition.

Embrace the notion that there is no such thing as a mature business, only mature mindsets. This mindset shift can open up new possibilities and avenues for growth. Regardless of how you approach this prioritization exercise, take your time with your thoughts about potential. I've seen steady businesses that were thought not to have the potential for explosive growth any longer thrive after uncovering a new consumer insight. It may be beneficial to have those in your organization who don't work on a given part of the business provide their perspective. They may uncover something others can't, which can open the door to entirely new strategies and tactics to reinvigorate growth.