Two unspoken rules that you must follow before launching business concept

Most companies fail in the market even with highly innovative business concept because they fail to follow two golden rules before launching it. The unspoken rules are development and validation of business concept. Here is a preview:

1. Concept development:  Once you have zoomed in on a workable business concept you have got to add flesh and bones. In other words, you have to develop it from the stretch. Copy paste does not work here. If you are already in business you must appoint a task force comprising heads of operations, human resource, marketing, finance and technology to look at the new business concept in two streams: Up-stream and down-stream:

In the up-stream segment business concept is developed taking into account objectives, purposes, key resources, key partners and key activities so that value proposition is seamless. On the down-stream it must address the needs of the ultimate users, customer segments, and customer relationship and distribution channels and how these work towards value proposition.

2. Concept validation:     After developing a business concept in both streams it must be subjected to internal and external validation. Internally it must conform to corporate belief system, shared culture and the obvious necessity to conform to internal standards covering sustainable profit for the business. External validation is via industry standards, B2B & B2C ethics, customer perception of quality and durability and overall market acceptance.

A product concept might have made waves on the drawing board. Nonetheless it could prove to be a laggard in the market. Initial public issues of many technology related stocks suffer the fate of under-subscription because either or both internal and external dimensions are not validated to the satisfaction of investing public

It is not that market has no appetite to absorb technology stocks. Rather there is no convincing financial proof made available to the market ensuring that both internal and external dimensions are validated before launch.

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist

Three steps to get your business concept done

A business concept encompasses every business activity undertaken by an enterprise in creating value for customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Therefore, business concept extends its arch from manufacturing a product to marketing it successfully in order to amass revenue. Creating a business concept is an easy task if you adopt a three step approach explained below:

1. Concept generation:    Generation of business concepts could take place in two forms: in-box solutions that have had previous history of successful implementations or out-of-box solutions that originate with parameters un-known or not tested before. More is merrier when it comes to concept generation in the second group because innovation has the underpinning of success today.

2. Concept evaluation:    In evaluating concepts, you go in quick steps through screening and scoring processes. As you begin to screen, most, if not all, concepts would fall on the way side. If there is no viable option you have to brainstorm once again. If you have concepts worthy of further analysis you have to apply a scoring system.

One such scoring system that is widely used is Pugh Matrix. It is an evaluation tool, where you presume a base case with score of 5 and rank the new concepts introduced by your team on the scale 1-5-9. Any concept that is worse than the base case is ticked 1, concepts equal to base case is marked 5 and the ones that are better than base case are scored 9.

3. Concept selection:      Out of the concepts that had a score of 9 you need to select the one that can balance internal capability and external opportunity. It is not the question of maximizing revenue that matters here. Rather how the business concept you have zeroed-in optimizes internal and external dimensions, production and marketing and risk and reward. The concept that has the best line of fit must be chosen.

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist

Transforming idea to business concept; leave that to business strategist

You got a spark! You got a brilliant business idea from your studied imagination. You mind says this is a workable proposition. Because you have been sleeping with this for some time now your conscious mind confirms this is as really great. Can this be translated into practical concept?  And who can do that for you? 

If the idea makes sense to you, probably you are in right path to take it forward. If you have experience in drafting business concept go ahead and do that promptly. If you have no such experience yet you are armed with a MBA then have a try on it. In case you have neither experience nor educational attainment then it is useful to get professional input as to how you can transform your spark into business concept. Business strategist is one such professional you may approach!

Let me say few things about business concept. A business concept is defined as the result of organized thought of your business idea. It has several limbs structured into a useful form. Let me give an example: you draw few dots vertically or horizontally on a paper. When you link each dots you get a vertical or a horizontal line. In this case, dots are ideas; line is your concept.

Typically a business concept has limbs such as profit motive, product as unique value proposition, how the product fits the market needs, how it performs against competition, the cost of product, its revenue generation and finally how it services your overhead and gives you profits.

If you have a business concept developed then you will be able to take charge and influence the outcome of your efforts in a business because a well-designed business concept gives you direction, motivation and tenacity.

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail:   cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist