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Using External Data to Excel at Pricing
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A study published last year in HBR, Forbes and Bain and Company’s own outlets looked at top-performing B2B companies (as defined by increased market share, self-described excellent pricing decisions and execution of regular price increases). The findings suggest that top performers are more likely to: Employ tailored pricing at the individual customer and product…
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Strategy as Learning – Why Your Strategy Should Be a Hypothesis You Constantly Adjust
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In the HBR article entitled “Your Strategy Should Be a Hypothesis You Constantly Adjust” (link below) authors Edmondson and Verdin examine two cases of recent business failure: Wells Fargo’s and Volkswagen, and discuss the concept of ‘strategy as learning’. In both cases, the companies’ strategies were viewed by their top executives as analytically sound,…
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Line of Sight Group: Proud Sponsors of SLA-MN & MALL Holiday Party
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One of the ways Line of Sight Group keeps current on trends is to attend and sponsor key events in the local market. Last month, we had a chance to learn what was on the minds of professional researchers by attending and sponsoring the SLA-MN (Minnesota Chapter of the Special Libraries Association) and MALL…
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Competing in Financial Services
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Competing in the financial services industry can be as risky as it is broad. While the services of our clients in the financial services industry range from consumer finance to sophisticated back-office technology in the insurance industry, they all share a common challenge of dealing with quick, continuous and sometimes dramatic changes in the…
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Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Tips and Techniques
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Last week, Line of Sight Group partnered with the Strategic & Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) Association to deliver a panel discussion to explore how various organizational roles define and use intelligence to formulate strategy and execute go-to-market initiatives. The panel consisted of practitioners from several industries and across several roles. There were panelists and…
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When Listening to the Market, One Plus One Can Equal Three
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I was talking with someone recently who wanted to accomplish three specific tasks – gather market intelligence, create competitive profiles and send out newsletters. As we talked further, we discovered that the three tasks were closely related. The conversation then shifted to what intelligence was needed and how would it be used? In this…
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Competing through Intelligence – The Journey to a More Proactive Strategy
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In my observation over the years in leading market research and intelligence efforts within organizations and then supporting them in a consulting role, I’ve observed how organizations tend to migrate along a ‘continuum’, based on their experience and skills in making data-driven strategic decisions. Phase 1: Surprise! The initial realization that organizations need better…
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All Roads Lead to Services When Competing in Technology
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Disruption has always been the norm in the technology industry. As all industries embrace waves upon waves of new technology…initially in the Cloud and with Mobility, then Analytics and Big Data, and now Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality to name a few. Along with all of these advances also comes disruption. Looking at the…
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Pulling the Sales Intelligence Advantage Levers
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One of the major trends in B2B selling over the past few years has been for sales teams to employ a strategy similar to management consultants – challenge, provoke and question clients and prospects about the status quo while building a case for a more compelling future. This approach has proven to be effective…