Companies with diverse products or services must have a roadmap that will direct the commercial mix development plan
A portfolio strategy is a high-level approach to managing a company’s range of products or services to maximize growth, profitability, and long-term success.
For businesses with multiple offerings, a clear portfolio strategy ensures each product aligns with overall company goals and effectively meets the needs of distinct customer segments.
There are four key components to consider when setting up a portfolio strategy:
Defining Objectives and Goals. The portfolio strategy should clarify the purpose of each product, whether to drive growth, capture new markets, or maintain market share. A well-defined strategy helps prioritize resource allocation, marketing efforts, and innovation across products.
Analyzing Product Performance. Understanding how each product performs within its target market is essential. This analysis can identify which products are most performing well, which ones are challenged, and which ones may need to be de-prioritized or even phased out to focus on higher-value offerings.
Market Positioning. Positioning products within distinct segments helps ensure that offerings are relevant and tailored to the needs and preferences of different customer groups. Products aimed at young professionals, for example, will differ from those targeting retirees, with unique features, price points, and benefits.
Innovation and Adaptation. A strong portfolio strategy considers how products can evolve based on customer feedback, technological advances, and competitive pressures. Continual refinement of the portfolio can help businesses stay relevant to shifting customer needs and preferences.
CUSTOMER SEGMENTS
Aligning the portfolio strategy with customer segments is essential because it ensures that each product or service resonates with its intended audience.
Knowing your customer segments — groups with shared characteristics such as age, income, lifestyle, or motivations — allows you to tailor offerings specifically to each group’s unique needs and desires.
Here’s why alignment is crucial:
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: When products meet the unique needs of specific customer segments, satisfaction and loyalty are likely to increase. Customers feel understood and valued, which strengthens the relationship with the brand.
Efficient Resource Allocation: Aligning offerings with customer needs means resources like time, money, and personnel are invested in the most impactful areas. This focus minimizes wasted efforts on products that don’t resonate and maximizes returns on those that do.
Competitive Advantage: A well-aligned portfolio distinguishes a company from its competitors by demonstrating that it understands and meets its customers’ needs better than anyone else. This differentiation can lead to higher customer retention and more referrals.
PORTFOLIO STRATEGY IN ACTION
Consider a bank with a diverse portfolio of financial products — savings accounts, loans, investment services, and retirement plans.
Each product targets different customer segments, from young adults looking for savings accounts to retirees interested in secure investment options.
By aligning the features, marketing, and customer service approach of each product to its respective audience, the bank enhances its relevance and attractiveness to each segment, creating a more loyal customer base. Furthermore, if multiple products and services are targeting the same target market, you can align the organization by segment to serve customer needs more efficiently instead of approaching the same client one product at a time.
An effective portfolio strategy aligns each product or service with specific customer segments. This alignment helps businesses create offerings that meet the real needs of their audience, leading to stronger relationships, efficient resource use, and a sustained competitive edge.
A portfolio strategy must be based on deep analytical insights, data-driven, and drawn up through a rigorous and holistic process — an undertaking that could prove daunting for the company’s top executives.
Acumen Strategy Consultants, under its Growth Accelerator service, has the tools, methodology, and pool of experts that can help businesses with diversified products or services chart their portfolio strategy roadmap for a sustainable commercial growth. — Barbara Young, Vice-President Commercial Strategy, Acumen Strategy Consultants (acumen.com.ph)
Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by publishing their stories on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.
Join us on Viber at https://bit.ly/3hv6bLA to get more updates and subscribe to BusinessWorld’s titles and get exclusive content through www.bworld-x.com.