Mastering the Strategy Board Game: A Key Asset for any Market Expansion

In the ever-evolving landscape of business, market expansion is a critical goal for companies, whether it’s internal growth or venturing into international markets. While there are various tools and methodologies to achieve this, one often overlooked asset is akin to playing a strategy board game.

I have used this strategy in many different business sectors, but to make things short and very understandable, let me use the B2B segment as an example for this article so I can clearly illustrate this statement of mine.

Be aware! In my experience over the years, nothing is as powerful as a good session of strategy board game played over and over again at all new information acquired!

The Game Within Your Mind

Imagine sitting across a virtual board, strategizing your next move. As a business leader, you must play out multiple scenarios in your mind to predict how the competition will act, what your company is capable of, and how the market will respond. This mental exercise is essential for effective decision-making.

Feeding Your Strategic Mind

To play this game well, you need a constant stream of information. Here’s how you can feed your strategic mind:

1. Competitor Research: Investigate your competitors’ current open positions. Why are they hiring? Triangulate information from open sources, market rumors, and shareholder reports. This triangulation ensures you’re well-informed and ready to play the “strategy board game.”
2. Scenario Analysis: Once you’ve identified potential scenarios, focus on the next 3 to 6 months. Which scenario is most likely to play out? Anticipate market shifts and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Understanding Your Clients

Your clients hold the key to success. Dive deep into their needs:

1. Pain Points: What keeps your clients awake at night? Identify their pain points. These could be operational inefficiencies, unmet needs, or unresolved challenges.
2. Existing Solutions: If you are on B2B for example and your potential clients already use services from other providers, understand what they like and what they miss. Standard meetings where you offer your own products and services are excellent opportunities to gather valuable insights.

The Competitive Edge

Here’s where the magic happens:

1. The “One Thing”: In B2B interactions, clients often emphasize a single crucial aspect. It’s the one thing they desperately need but rarely find. Pay attention! This is where your competitors might be lacking.
2. Bingo!: When you identify that critical pain point, you’ve struck gold. It’s your strong sales point. Optimize your product or service to address it promptly.

Test-Drive Marketing Campaigns (After your "Bingo! moment" )

1. Test-Drive Your Solution: After identifying the critical pain point and optimizing your product to address it, it’s time to let potential clients take your solution for a spin. Consider the following approaches:
2. Leverage Top Clients: Once you’ve secured a few top clients in the market, use their partnership as leverage: You must ask your Marketing team to focus on share study cases and publish content showing how relevant you are to the top current customers.

The Multilevel Mind Board Game: A Symphony of Strategy

Now that you’ve grasped the concept of the mind board game, let’s explore its multilevel nature. Imagine yourself as the maestro of an orchestra, skillfully coordinating diverse instruments and harmonious chorals to create a magnificent symphony. Each level of play contributes to the grand crescendo—the big goal that resonates throughout your organization.

Like a 3D multilayer chess board, you need to look at different games at the same time.

1. The Levels of Play:

• Marketing: Like the strings section, marketing sets the tone. It weaves melodies of brand awareness, lead generation, and customer engagement. Each campaign, each social media post contributes to the harmonious whole.
• Sales: The brass section enters with power and precision. Sales orchestrate deals, negotiate harmonies, and hit high notes of revenue. Their rhythm determines the pace of growth.
• Customer Nurturing: The woodwinds play softly, nurturing existing relationships. Customer success teams ensure clients stay in tune with your offerings. Retention and loyalty are their sweet melodies.
• New Technologies: Percussion and electronic beats introduce innovation. R&D, tech teams, and data scientists compose futuristic tunes. They experiment, adapt, and keep the symphony fresh.
• Mergers and Acquisitions (Sometimes happens!): The choir joins in—a harmonious blend of voices. M&As harmonize different cultures, systems, and visions. Integration becomes a delicate dance.

2. The Conductor’s Role:

• As the maestro, you wield the baton of strategy. You cue each section, ensuring they play in harmony. Your score sheet includes KPIs, milestones, and performance indicators.
• Balancing crescendos ensures no section overwhelms the others. The symphony must rise and fall in unison.
• Listen intently. Is the flute too soft? Are the drums overpowering? Adjustments are made—tweaks to the game plan, shifts in resources, and realignment of priorities.

But my final tip here is: remember, the mind board game isn’t a solo act; it’s a symphony. Each note matters, every instrument contributes. Conduct with purpose, and create a masterpiece that echoes through time.

BONUS

The Power of Customer Care (Just because I do LOVE this topic!)

1. Valuable Assets: Your existing clients are invaluable assets. They not only contribute to your revenue but also serve as references for potential clients.
2. Deliver on Promises: Always ensure that you deliver what you promise. Consistency builds trust, and satisfied clients become your brand advocates.

Feedback Loop: Establish a robust feedback loop with your Customer Success (CS) team by regularly touch base with clients. Understand their evolving needs and address any concerns promptly.

Here I would say to always Listen Actively. Encourage clients to share their experiences as their feedback it's a powerful tool that can guide product improvements and service enhancements but the most important: it is the most effective measure against the famous "Churn Rate of clients".

Trust me: it is much more cost-effective to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. However, what can cost you even more in the process are dissatisfied customers. A dissatisfied customer will likely stop using your product/services but the revenue you will fail to earn is only a fraction of the total potential loss. The opinion propagated in the market by a dissatisfied customer can cause huge damage to the operation of any company, but this impact is felt much more quickly within the B2B universe.