The most important question you should be asking about your business is what it wants to be when it grows up. Your current sales and customers are the life blood of your company, but you should also think about who will be buying those things from you in the future. Your strategy should always be one of constant growth, seeking to outdistance competitors and discover new markets. Our roundup looks at some ideas to consider.
Survival of the Fittest
Back to the future. Apple has enjoyed steady growth in recent years, but that trend is changing. Numbers show growth is slowing, despite record sales of the company’s top products last quarter. However, it’s not clear where Apple is headed in the future. With no announced plans for new products, the company’s growth path is unclear. The question many ask is where future revenue will come from as sales on current products plateau. Your company must answer the same question. Gigaom
A bigger bite. Martin Lindeskog reviews Stefan Engeseth’s book “Sharkonomics: How to Attack Market Leaders” looking at how smaller “sharks” can attack larger competitors in the deep waters of an ever changing economy. The book also devotes time to how market leaders can defend themselves against these attacks from smaller competitors. No matter what category your business may occupy, there is something here for you. In his review, Lindeskog also pulls out 10 tips smaller businesses can use for attack or defense in a competitive market. Small Business Trends
The Best Defense
From breakdown to breakthrough. No, we’re not advising you to have a breakdown because of the stress of running your business in a highly competitive market.:) Instead, Lew Turnquist explores the need to break down your business model from time to time and find new ways to expand and grow. For example, Turnquist recalls an instance in which a company worried over decreasing profitability despite increase sales. Sound familiar? Here’s what a break down found. Kirchner Private Capital Group
A SWOT at the competition. Small business coach Elli St.George Godfrey gives an overview of the SWOT analysis, standing for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of the purposes of the SWOT is to look at strategic issues connected with your business, including factors that might impact your company’s strategic future and success. “These are external factors such as obstacles in the marketplace, cash flow issues, new trends, or competitors’ focus,” Godfrey writes. Ability Success Growth
A better workout. Just as exercise is important to keep your body fit, so a business strategy workout can help you get rid of bad habits in your day-to-day operations and make your company more fit and competitive. Business consultant Olwen Dawe takes your business through its paces in this lively post that gives you an idea of how better to create the business you’ve always wanted. The workout includes research, analysis, creating new products and services, understanding what success for your company should look like and more. Start exercising your business today. Tweak Your Biz
The Digital Arena
A face in the crowd. Sometimes the best way to move your business forward lies with your audience or customer base. The people who buy your product or use your service are probably best equipped to tell you what they need next. Blogger Julie Joyce suggests this same crowdsourcing approach can work well for creating your content and telling your company’s story. Here Joyce takes a poll to see what other Search Engine Optimization professionals think of crowdsourcing content. SEO Chicks
The perfect words. With the coming of online marketing, the emphasis on keyword research has totally changed the way we think about the competition and about how to effectively grow a business in a competitive market. Here blogger D. Dixon looks at a new kind of competitor, not a rival company making a similar product, but the competition for a keyword or series of keywords to be used in a cost per click campaign. Here’s how to research your competition correctly. 1 Singular Sensation
Anita Campbell
I really liked the SEO Chicks post about crowdsourced posts. There’s an art to it, for sure.
On the topic of Apple, well you can’t stay on top forever. I think it’s a combination of things: Jobs is gone. And the tablet and smartphone market has a lot more competition. I got a Google Nexus 10 recently, and love it. I think it’s better than the iPad (other than in app selection, but I don’t use that many apps so no loss there).
Martin Lindeskog
Anita: I agree with your analysis of Apple’s situation. It will be interesting to the ongoing battle between the business giants. I have a gut feeling that Apple is not giving up…
Personally, I will stick with iPhone as my mobile phone of choice due the great apps, touch and feel of the product. But I am not in a hurry to get the newest phone. I will keep my iPhone 4S for another year or so.
I am borrowing an iPad 1 now and then and I am comfortable to use it due to the fact that it has so many similarities with the features of the iPhone. I wonder if an iPad mini will fit my worklife activities?
Martin Lindeskog
Thanks for including a link to my review of Stefan Engeseth’s book, Sharkonomics. I love these wrap-up posts! 🙂