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9 Decision-Making Methods For Business

OODA LoopThe OODA loop was popularized by U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Colonel John Boyd to describe maneuver warfare during the Korean War. The OODA loop is a four-step approach to decision making where strategies must be adjusted quickly. Those four steps comprise observe, orient, decide, and act. Take-The-BestThe take-the-best heuristic is a decision-making shortcut that helps an individual choose between several alternatives. The take-the-best (TTB) heuristic decides between two or more alternatives based on a single good attribute, otherwise known as a cue. In the process, less desirable attributes are ignored.Decision MatrixA decision matrix is a decision-making tool that evaluates and prioritizes a list of options. Decision matrices are useful when: A list of options must be trimmed to a single choice. A decision must be made based on several criteria. A list of criteria has been made manageable through the process of elimination.Cost-Benefit AnalysisA cost-benefit analysis is a process a business can use to analyze decisions according to the costs associated with making that decision. For a cost analysis to be effective it’s important to articulate the project in the simplest terms possible, identify the costs, determine the benefits of project implementation, assess the alternatives.Go/No-Go DecisionIn general, terms, go/no-go decision making is a process of passing or failing a proposition. Each proposition is assessed according to criteria that determine whether a project advances to the next stage. The outcome of the go/no-go decision making is to assess whether to go or not to go with a project, or perhaps proceed with caveats. Speed-Reversibility Asymmetric BettingGrowth MatrixIn the FourWeekMBA growth matrix, you can apply growth for existing customers by tackling the same problems (gain mode). Or by tackling existing problems, for new customers (expand mode). Or by tackling new problems for existing customers (extend mode). Or perhaps by tackling whole new problems for new customers (reinvent mode).Revenue Streams MatrixIn the FourWeekMBA Revenue Streams Matrix, revenue streams are classified according to the kind of interactions the business has with its key customers. The first dimension is the “Frequency” of interaction with the key customer. As the second dimension, there is the “Ownership” of the interaction with the key customer.

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Business Development Frameworks For Business Traction

Business Development Business development comprises a set of strategies and actions to grow a business via a mixture of sales, marketing, and distribution. While marketing usually relies on automation to reach a wider audience, and sales typically leverage a one-to-one approach. The business development’s role is that of generating distribution. Marketing vs. Sales The more you move from consumers to enterprise clients, the more you’ll need a sales force able to manage complex sales. As a rule of thumb, a more expensive product, in B2B or Enterprise, will require an organizational structure around sales. An inexpensive product to be offered to consumers will leverage on marketing. Business Model Framework An effective business model has to focus on two dimensions: the people dimension and the financial dimension. The people dimension will allow you to build a product or service that is 10X better than existing ones and a solid brand. The financial dimension will help you develop proper distribution channels by identifying the people that are willing to pay for your product or service and make it financially sustainable in the long run. Tech Business Model Template A tech business model is made of four main components: value model (value propositions, mission, vision), technological model (R&D management), distribution model (sales and marketing organizational structure), and financial model (revenue modeling, cost structure, profitability and cash generation/management). Those elements coming together can serve as the basis to build a solid tech business model. Digital Transformation Digital transformation enables existing businesses to leverage digital technologies for business model innovation. The process of digital transformation is not just about new distribution channels. It starts by better serving key customers, and it completes by developing a new business mindset required to succeed in the digital era. Business Storytelling Business storytelling is a critical part of developing a business model. Indeed, the way you frame the story of your organization will influence its brand in the long-term. That’s because your brand story is tied to your brand identity, and it enables people to identify with a company.

3C Analysis Business Model

The 3C Analysis Business Model was developed by Japanese business strategist Kenichi Ohmae. The 3C Model is a marketing tool that focuses on customers, competitors, and the company. At the intersection of these three variables lies an effective marketing strategy to gain a potential competitive advantage and build a lasting company. GE McKinsey Matrix The GE McKinsey Matrix was developed in the 1970s after General Electric asked its consultant McKinsey to develop a portfolio management model. This matrix is a strategy tool that provides guidance on how a corporation should prioritize its investments among its business units, leading to three possible scenarios: invest, protect, harvest, and divest. McKinsey 7-S Model The McKinsey 7-S Model was developed in the late 1970s by Robert Waterman and Thomas Peters, who were consultants at McKinsey & Company. Waterman and Peters created seven key internal elements that inform a business of how well positioned it is to achieve its goals, based on three hard elements and four soft elements. AIDA Model AIDA stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. That is a model that is used in marketing to describe the potential journey a customer might go through before purchasing a product or service. The AIDA model helps organizations focus their efforts when optimizing their marketing activities based on the customers’ journeys. Pirate Metrics Venture capitalist, Dave McClure, coined the acronym AARRR which is a simplified model that enables to understand what metrics and channels to look at, at each stage for the users’ path toward becoming customers and referrers of a brand. Freemium Business Model The freemium – unless the whole organization is aligned around it – is a growth strategy rather than a business model. A free service is provided to a majority of users, while a small percentage of those users convert into paying customers through the sales funnel. Free users will help spread the brand through word of mouth. Freeterprise A freeterprise is a combination of free and enterprise where free professional accounts are driven into the funnel through the free product. As the opportunity is identified the company assigns the free account to a salesperson within the organization (inside sales or fields sales) to convert that into a B2B/enterprise account. Go-To-Market Strategy A go-to-market strategy represents how companies market their new products to reach target customers in a scalable and repeatable way. It starts with how new products/services get developed to how these organizations target potential customers (via sales and marketing models) to enable their value proposition to be delivered to create a competitive advantage. Customer Segmentation Customer segmentation is a marketing method that divides the customers in sub-groups, that share similar characteristics. Thus, product, marketing and engineering teams can center the strategy from go-to-market to product development and communication around each sub-group. Customer segments can be broken down is several ways, such as demographics, geography, psychographics and more. Psychographic Segmentation Psychographic segmentation is a form of market segmentation, that looks at consumers into sub-groups that share specific psychological characterizes, that comprise activities, interests, and opinions of customers. The rise of data-driven marketing enabled psychographic segmentation to become a key element of digital marketing activities to personalize those campaigns and reach a micro-audience.

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Organizational Frameworks To Unlock Business Growth

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model Harvard Business School professor Dr. John Kotter has been a thought-leader on organizational change, and he developed Kotter’s 8-step change model, which helps business managers deal with organizational change. Kotter created the 8-step model to drive organizational transformation. Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model was created by David Nadler and Michael Tushman at Columbia University. The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model is a diagnostic tool that identifies problem areas within a company. In the context of business, congruence occurs when the goals of different people or interest groups coincide. McKinsey’s Seven Degrees of Freedom McKinsey’s Seven Degrees of Freedom for Growth is a strategy tool. Developed by partners at McKinsey and Company, the tool helps businesses understand which opportunities will contribute to expansion, and therefore it helps to prioritize those initiatives. Mintzberg’s 5Ps Mintzberg’s 5Ps of Strategy is a strategy development model that examines five different perspectives (plan, ploy, pattern, position, perspective) to develop a successful business strategy. A sixth perspective has been developed over the years, called Practice, which was created to help businesses execute their strategies. COSO Framework The COSO framework is a means of designing, implementing, and evaluating control within an organization. The COSO framework’s five components are control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. As a fraud risk management tool, businesses can design, implement, and evaluate internal control procedures.TOWS MatrixThe TOWS Matrix is an acronym for Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths. The matrix is a variation on the SWOT Analysis, and it seeks to address criticisms of the SWOT Analysis regarding its inability to show relationships between the various categories. Lewin’s Change Management Lewin’s change management model helps businesses manage the uncertainty and resistance associated with change. Kurt Lewin, one of the first academics to focus his research on group dynamics, developed a three-stage model. He proposed that the behavior of individuals happened as a function of group behavior. Standard for Portfolio Management The Standard for Portfolio Management (SfPfM) describes a suite of portfolio management processes concerning programs, projects, and organizational strategy. The Standard for Portfolio Management is a creation of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Change Management Change is an important and necessary fact of life for all organizations. But change is often unsuccessful because the people within organizations are resistant to change. Change management is a systematic approach to managing the transformation of organizational goals, values, technologies, or processes. Organizational Structures An organizational structure allows companies to shape their business model according to several criteria (like products, segments, geography and so on) that would enable information to flow through the organizational layers for better decision-making, cultural development, and goals alignment across employees, managers, and executives. Organizational Structure Case Studies

Airbnb Organizational Structure

Airbnb follows a holacracy model, or a sort of flat organizational structure, where teams are organized for projects, to move quickly and iterate fast, thus keeping a lean and flexible approach. Airbnb also moved to a hybrid model where employees can work from anywhere and meet on a quarterly basis to plan ahead, and connect to each other.

eBay Organizational Structure

eBay was until recently a multi-divisional (M-form) organization with semi-autonomous units grouped according to the services they provided. Today, eBay has a single division called Marketplace, which includes eBay and its international iterations.

IBM Organizational Structure

IBM has an organizational structure characterized by product-based divisions, enabling its strategy to develop innovative and competitive products in multiple markets. IBM is also characterized by function-based segments that support product development and innovation for each product-based division, which include Global Markets, Integrated Supply Chain, Research, Development, and Intellectual Property.

Sony Organizational Structure

Sony has a matrix organizational structure primarily based on function-based groups and product/business divisions. The structure also incorporates geographical divisions. In 2021, Sony announced the overhauling of its organizational structure, changing its name from Sony Corporation to Sony Group Corporation to better identify itself as the headquarters of the Sony group of companies skewing the company toward product divisions.

Facebook Organizational Structure

Facebook is characterized by a multi-faceted matrix organizational structure. The company utilizes a flat organizational structure in combination with corporate function-based teams and product-based or geographic divisions. The flat organization structure is organized around the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, and the key executives around him. On the other hand, the function-based teams based on the main corporate functions (like HR, product management, investor relations, and so on).

Google Organizational Structure

Google (Alphabet) has a cross-functional (team-based) organizational structure known as a matrix structure with some degree of flatness. Over the years, as the company scaled and it became a tech giant, its organizational structure is morphing more into a centralized organization.

Tesla Organizational Structure

Tesla is characterized by a functional organizational structure with aspects of a hierarchical structure. Tesla does employ functional centers that cover all business activities, including finance, sales, marketing, technology, engineering, design, and the offices of the CEO and chairperson. Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, decide the strategic direction of the company, with international operations given little autonomy.

McDonald’s Organizational Structure

McDonald’s has a divisional organizational structure where each division – based on geographical location – is assigned operational responsibilities and strategic objectives. The main geographical divisions are the US, internationally operated markets, and international developmental licensed markets. And on the other hand, the hierarchical leadership structure is organized around regional and functional divisions.

Walmart Organizational Structure

Walmart has a hybrid hierarchical-functional organizational structure, otherwise referred to as a matrix structure that combines multiple approaches. On the one hand, Walmart follows a hierarchical structure, where the current CEO Doug McMillon is the only employee without a direct superior, and directives are sent from top-level management. On the other hand, the function-based structure of Walmart is used to categorize employees according to their particular skills and experience.

Microsoft Organizational Structure

Microsoft has a product-type divisional organizational structure based on functions and engineering groups. As the company scaled over time it also became more hierarchical, however still keeping its hybrid approach between functions, engineering groups, and management.

Read Next: Organizational Structure

Read Also: Business Model

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Lean Frameworks To Grow Your Business

AIOps AIOps is the application of artificial intelligence to IT operations. It has become particularly useful for modern IT management in hybridized, distributed, and dynamic environments. AIOps has become a key operational component of modern digital-based organizations, built around software and algorithms. Agile Methodology Agile started as a lightweight development method compared to heavyweight software development, which is the core paradigm of the previous decades of software development. By 2001 the Manifesto for Agile Software Development was born as a set of principles that defined the new paradigm for software development as a continuous iteration. This would also influence the way of doing business. Agile Project Management Agile project management (APM) is a strategy that breaks large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. In the APM methodology, each project is completed in small sections – often referred to as iterations. Each iteration is completed according to its project life cycle, beginning with the initial design and progressing to testing and then quality assurance. Agile Modeling Agile Modeling (AM) is a methodology for modeling and documenting software-based systems. Agile Modeling is critical to the rapid and continuous delivery of software. It is a collection of values, principles, and practices that guide effective, lightweight software modeling. Agile Business Analysis Agile Business Analysis (AgileBA) is certification in the form of guidance and training for business analysts seeking to work in agile environments. To support this shift, AgileBA also helps the business analyst relate Agile projects to a wider organizational mission or strategy. To ensure that analysts have the necessary skills and expertise, AgileBA certification was developed. Business Model Innovation Business model innovation is about increasing the success of an organization with existing products and technologies by crafting a compelling value proposition able to propel a new business model to scale up customers and create a lasting competitive advantage. And it all starts by mastering the key customers. Continuous Innovation That is a process that requires a continuous feedback loop to develop a valuable product and build a viable business model. Continuous innovation is a mindset where products and services are designed and delivered to tune them around the customers’ problem and not the technical solution of its founders. Design Sprint A design sprint is a proven five-day process where critical business questions are answered through speedy design and prototyping, focusing on the end-user. A design sprint starts with a weekly challenge that should finish with a prototype, test at the end, and therefore a lesson learned to be iterated. Design Thinking Tim Brown, Executive Chair of IDEO, defined design thinking as “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” Therefore, desirability, feasibility, and viability are balanced to solve critical problems. DevOps DevOps refers to a series of practices performed to perform automated software development processes. It is a conjugation of the term “development” and “operations” to emphasize how functions integrate across IT teams. DevOps strategies promote seamless building, testing, and deployment of products. It aims to bridge a gap between development and operations teams to streamline the development altogether. Dual Track Agile Product discovery is a critical part of agile methodologies, as its aim is to ensure that products customers love are built. Product discovery involves learning through a raft of methods, including design thinking, lean start-up, and A/B testing to name a few. Dual Track Agile is an agile methodology containing two separate tracks: the “discovery” track and the “delivery” track. Feature-Driven Development Feature-Driven Development is a pragmatic software process that is client and architecture-centric. Feature-Driven Development (FDD) is an agile software development model that organizes workflow according to which features need to be developed next. eXtreme Programming eXtreme Programming was developed in the late 1990s by Ken Beck, Ron Jeffries, and Ward Cunningham. During this time, the trio was working on the Chrysler Comprehensive Compensation System (C3) to help manage the company payroll system. eXtreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology. It is designed to improve software quality and the ability of software to adapt to changing customer needs. Lean vs. Agile The Agile methodology has been primarily thought of for software development (and other business disciplines have also adopted it). Lean thinking is a process improvement technique where teams prioritize the value streams to improve it continuously. Both methodologies look at the customer as the key driver to improvement and waste reduction. Both methodologies look at improvement as something continuous. Lean Startup A startup company is a high-tech business that tries to build a scalable business model in tech-driven industries. A startup company usually follows a lean methodology, where continuous innovation, driven by built-in viral loops is the rule. Thus, driving growth and building network effects as a consequence of this strategy. Kanban Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy. Rapid Application Development RAD was first introduced by author and consultant James Martin in 1991. Martin recognized and then took advantage of the endless malleability of software in designing development models. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a methodology focusing on delivering rapidly through continuous feedback and frequent iterations. Scaled Agile Scaled Agile Lean Development (ScALeD) helps businesses discover a balanced approach to agile transition and scaling questions. The ScALed approach helps businesses successfully respond to change. Inspired by a combination of lean and agile values, ScALed is practitioner-based and can be completed through various agile frameworks and practices. Spotify Model The Spotify Model is an autonomous approach to scaling agile, focusing on culture communication, accountability, and quality. The Spotify model was first recognized in 2012 after Henrik Kniberg, and Anders Ivarsson released a white paper detailing how streaming company Spotify approached agility. Therefore, the Spotify model represents an evolution of agile. Test-Driven Development As the name suggests, TDD is a test-driven technique for delivering high-quality software rapidly and sustainably. It is an iterative approach based on the idea that a failing test should be written before any code for a feature or function is written. Test-Driven Development (TDD) is an approach to software development that relies on very short development cycles. Timeboxing Timeboxing is a simple yet powerful time-management technique for improving productivity. Timeboxing describes the process of proactively scheduling a block of time to spend on a task in the future. It was first described by author James Martin in a book about agile software development. Scrum Scrum is a methodology co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity. Scrum Anti-Patterns Scrum anti-patterns describe any attractive, easy-to-implement solution that ultimately makes a problem worse. Therefore, these are the practice not to follow to prevent issues from emerging. Some classic examples of scrum anti-patterns comprise absent product owners, pre-assigned tickets (making individuals work in isolation), and discounting retrospectives (where review meetings are not useful to really make improvements). Scrum At Scale Scrum at Scale (Scrum@Scale) is a framework that Scrum teams use to address complex problems and deliver high-value products. Scrum at Scale was created through a joint venture between the Scrum Alliance and Scrum Inc. The joint venture was overseen by Jeff Sutherland, a co-creator of Scrum and one of the principal authors of the Agile Manifesto.

Read Next: MVP, Lean Canvas, Scrum, Design Thinking, VTDF Framework.

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20+ Entrepreneur Frameworks You Should Know

Growth Hacking Growth marketing is a process of rapid experimentation, which in a way has to be “scientific” by keeping in mind that it is used by startups to grow, quickly. Thus, the “scientific” here is not meant in the academic sense. Growth marketing is expected to unlock growth, quickly and with an often limited budget. Scrum Scrum is a methodology co-created by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland for effective team collaboration on complex products. Scrum was primarily thought for software development projects to deliver new software capability every 2-4 weeks. It is a sub-group of agile also used in project management to improve startups’ productivity.

Minimum Viable Product

As pointed out by Eric Ries, a minimum viable product is that version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort through a cycle of build, measure, learn; that is the foundation of the lean startup methodology. Continuous Innovation Leaner MVP A leaner MVP is the evolution of the MPV approach. Where the market risk is validated before anything else Engines of Growth In the Lean Startup, Eric Ries defined the engine of growth as “the mechanism that startups use to achieve sustainable growth.” He described sustainable growth as following a simple rule, “new customers come from the actions of past customers.” The three engines of growth are the sticky engine, the viral engine, and the paid engine. Each of those can be measured and tracked by a few key metrics. Lean Startup Canvas The lean startup canvas is an adaptation by Ash Maurya of the business model canvas by Alexander Osterwalder, which adds a layer that focuses on problems, solutions, key metrics, unfair advantage based, and a unique value proposition. Thus, starting from mastering the problem rather than the solution.

Lean Methodology

The lean methodology is a continuous process of product development to meet customers’ needs. It was in part borrowed by the auto industry and its roots are found in the Toyota Production System, which was heavily influenced by Henry Ford’s assembly line system. The lean methodology is, therefore, an evolution from lean manufacturing, based on continuous improvement. Kanban Kanban is a lean manufacturing framework first developed by Toyota in the late 1940s. The Kanban framework is a means of visualizing work as it moves through identifying potential bottlenecks. It does that through a process called just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing to optimize engineering processes, speed up manufacturing products, and improve the go-to-market strategy. Business Engineering Tech Business Model Template A tech business model is made of four main components: value model (value propositions, mission, vision), technological model (R&D management), distribution model (sales and marketing organizational structure), and financial model (revenue modeling, cost structure, profitability and cash generation/management). Those elements coming together can serve as the basis to build a solid tech business model. Web3 Business Model Template A Blockchain Business Model according to the FourWeekMBA framework is made of four main components: Value Model (Core Philosophy, Core Values and Value Propositions for the key stakeholders), Blockchain Model (Protocol Rules, Network Shape and Applications Layer/Ecosystem), Distribution Model (the key channels amplifying the protocol and its communities), and the Economic Model (the dynamics/incentives through which protocol players make money). Those elements coming together can serve as the basis to build and analyze a solid Blockchain Business Model. Asymmetric Business Models In an asymmetric business model, the organization doesn’t monetize the user directly, but it leverages the data users provide coupled with technology, thus have a key customer pay to sustain the core asset. For example, Google makes money by leveraging users’ data, combined with its algorithms sold to advertisers for visibility. Business Competition In a business world driven by technology and digitalization, competition is much more fluid, as innovation becomes a bottom-up approach that can come from anywhere. Thus, making it much harder to define the boundaries of existing markets. Therefore, a proper business competition analysis looks at customer, technology, distribution, and financial model overlaps. While at the same time looking at future potential intersections among industries that in the short-term seem unrelated. Technological Modeling Technological modeling is a discipline to provide the basis for companies to sustain innovation, thus developing incremental products. While also looking at breakthrough innovative products that can pave the way for long-term success. In a sort of Barbell Strategy, technological modeling suggests having a two-sided approach, on the one hand, to keep sustaining continuous innovation as a core part of the business model. On the other hand, it places bets on future developments that have the potential to break through and take a leap forward. Transitional Business Models A transitional business model is used by companies to enter a market (usually a niche) to gain initial traction and prove the idea is sound. The transitional business model helps the company secure the needed capital while having a reality check. It helps shape the long-term vision and a scalable business model. Minimum Viable Audience The minimum viable audience (MVA) represents the smallest possible audience that can sustain your business as you get it started from a microniche (the smallest subset of a market). The main aspect of the MVA is to zoom into existing markets to find those people which needs are unmet by existing players. Business Scaling Business scaling is the process of transformation of a business as the product is validated by wider and wider market segments. Business scaling is about creating traction for a product that fits a small market segment. As the product is validated it becomes critical to build a viable business model. And as the product is offered at wider and wider market segments, it’s important to align product, business model, and organizational design, to enable wider and wider scale. Market Expansion Theory The market expansion consists in providing a product or service to a broader portion of an existing market or perhaps expanding that market. Or yet, market expansions can be about creating a whole new market. At each step, as a result, a company scales together with the market covered. Speed-Reversibility Asymmetric Betting Growth Matrix In the FourWeekMBA growth matrix, you can apply growth for existing customers by tackling the same problems (gain mode). Or by tackling existing problems, for new customers (expand mode). Or by tackling new problems for existing customers (extend mode). Or perhaps by tackling whole new problems for new customers (reinvent mode). Revenue Streams Matrix In the FourWeekMBA Revenue Streams Matrix, revenue streams are classified according to the kind of interactions the business has with its key customers. The first dimension is the “Frequency” of interaction with the key customer. As the second dimension, there is the “Ownership” of the interaction with the key customer. Revenue Modeling Revenue model patterns are a way for companies to monetize their business models. A revenue model pattern is a crucial building block of a business model because it informs how the company will generate short-term financial resources to invest back into the business. Thus, the way a company makes money will also influence its overall business model. Pricing Strategies A pricing strategy or model helps companies find the pricing formula in fit with their business models. Thus aligning the customer needs with the product type while trying to enable profitability for the company. A good pricing strategy aligns the customer with the company’s long term financial sustainability to build a solid business model.

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Management Frameworks For Business Growth

Change Management Models Change Management Change is an important and necessary fact of life for all organizations. But change is often unsuccessful because the people within organizations are resistant to change. Change management is a systematic approach to managing the transformation of organizational goals, values, technologies, or processes. Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model Harvard Business School professor Dr. John Kotter has been a thought-leader on organizational change, and he developed Kotter’s 8-step change model, which helps business managers deal with organizational change. Kotter created the 8-step model to drive organizational transformation. McKinsey’s Seven Degrees McKinsey’s Seven Degrees of Freedom for Growth is a strategy tool. Developed by partners at McKinsey and Company, the tool helps businesses understand which opportunities will contribute to expansion, and therefore it helps to prioritize those initiatives. McKinsey 7-S Model The McKinsey 7-S Model was developed in the late 1970s by Robert Waterman and Thomas Peters, who were consultants at McKinsey & Company. Waterman and Peters created seven key internal elements that inform a business of how well positioned it is to achieve its goals, based on three hard elements and four soft elements. Lewin’s Change Management Lewin’s change management model helps businesses manage the uncertainty and resistance associated with change. Kurt Lewin, one of the first academics to focus his research on group dynamics, developed a three-stage model. He proposed that the behavior of individuals happened as a function of group behavior. ADKAR Model The ADKAR model is a management tool designed to assist employees and businesses in transitioning through organizational change. To maximize the chances of employees embracing change, the ADKAR model was developed by author and engineer Jeff Hiatt in 2003. The model seeks to guide people through the change process and importantly, ensure that people do not revert to habitual ways of operating after some time has passed. Force-Field Analysis Social psychologist Kurt Lewin developed the force-field analysis in the 1940s. The force-field analysis is a decision-making tool used to quantify factors that support or oppose a change initiative. Lewin argued that businesses contain dynamic and interactive forces that work together in opposite directions. To institute successful change, the forces driving the change must be stronger than the forces hindering the change. Business Innovation Matrix Business innovation is about creating new opportunities for an organization to reinvent its core offerings, revenue streams, and enhance the value proposition for existing or new customers, thus renewing its whole business model. Business innovation springs by understanding the structure of the market, thus adapting or anticipating those changes.Posci Change ManagementAccording to Prosci founder Jeff Hiatt, the secret to successful change “lies beyond the visible and busy activities that surround change. Successful change, at its core, is rooted in something much simpler: how to facilitate change with one person.”

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How does Gemini make money?

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange where users buy, sell, and store digital assets such as bitcoin. It was first announced in 2013 by brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss after observing that similar platforms were unsafe or unregulated.Gemini has a diverse revenue generation strategy that is nonetheless typical of a cryptocurrency exchange. Most revenue comes from transaction fees that vary according to order volume.Gemini also charges transfer fees, interchange fees, and money that it earns by lending out cryptocurrency to certain borrowers. The company also charges a 0.4% fee for its custodial services.Origin story

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the state of New York where users can buy, sell, and store digital assets such as bitcoin. It was first announced in 2013 by brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

The Winklevoss twins are famous for coming up with the idea of Facebook at Harvard University and having it stolen by fellow student Mark Zuckerberg. Using some of the $65 million they received in compensation, the twins started investing in cryptocurrency around 2012. But, at the time, they noticed there were very few safe and trusted places to do so. Many exchanges were used to launder money, while others such as Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy after most of its bitcoin was stolen by hackers.

Gemini was then born out of a desire to create a safe, easy, and regulated way for everyday consumers to invest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The brothers’ total purchases of bitcoin over the years had allowed them to own 1% of all bitcoin in circulation and, in the process, they became advocates of cryptocurrency in general. But as revolutionary as the twins believed Gemini to be, it was not above financial regulation.

After a year or so of wrangling with New York state authorities, Gemini was finally unveiled to the public in October 2015. The initial response to the platform was lackluster since Gemini charged fees to both the makers and takers in a transaction. A change in fee structure helped grow the user base in 2016, with bitcoin’s bull run in 2017 accelerating growth.

Today, Gemini offers a diverse range of products including credit cards, trading accounts, digital wallets, pay facilities, and the ability to earn interest on crypto balances. The platform raised $400 million in November 2021 as part of its first outside financing round to be worth around $7.1 billion.

Gemini revenue generation

Gemini has a diverse revenue generation strategy consisting of transaction, transfer, interchange, interest, and custodial fees.

Let’s now explain these in more detail.

Transaction fees

Most Gemini revenue comes from transaction fees that the company charges for facilitating trades on the exchange. On mobile, there is 99 cent fee for any order amount under $10. This increases to $1.99 for trades between $25-50 and 1.49% for trades over $200.

Gemini also collects maker and taker fees for any order that is placed by more sophisticated traders using its API or ActiveTrader tools. Here, fees are variable. The more trades a user places, the more the fees decrease.

Transfer fees

Deposit and withdrawal fees are also applicable for moving money into and out of a user’s Gemini account. Cryptocurrency and Gemini dollar deposits are free, as are wire transfer deposits. Debit card transfers, on the other hand, attract a 3.49% fee.

Withdrawal fees are more variable and depend on the type of customer and token involved.

Interchange fees

As noted earlier, Gemini offers a credit card to enable customers to make real-world purchases. 

This allows the company to earn interchange fees, which are paid by the participating merchant and then split between Gemini and the card issuer MasterCard.

Interest

Gemini customers can also earn interest on the crypto balance and even lend it out to others. To make money in this scenario, Gemini lends out this balance to borrowers who then pay interest on those loans.

In conjunction with lending partner Genesis Global Capital, the two companies split and then pocket the difference between the interest rate paid by the borrower and the interest rate Gemini must pay to its customers.

Custody fees

Gemini offers custodial services for its more exclusive clients and can store over 50 different tokens including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The custody fee is 0.4% of the total balance, with a $125 fee for administrative withdrawals.

Read Next: Non-fungible Tokens, How to make money with NFTs, NFT Games: What Are NFT Games And How Do They Work?, How Does OpenSea Make Money?, How Does Axie Infinity Work And Make Money?

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How does Noon make money?

Noon is an eCommerce platform that was founded by Mohamed Alabbar in 2016 and is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The company was founded to create a dynamic digital economy for consumers and businesses in the Middle Eastern market.As an eCommerce retailer, Noon utilizes the marketplace business model like competitors such as Amazon. The company sells various private label brands for a profit and offers a full suite of tools to third-party sellers. Fees are charged for cancellation, storage, and fulfillment, among other scenarios.Noon also charges money for its next-day and same-day delivery services. These services allow customers to have a range of fresh food items and other home essentials delivered straight to their door.Origin story

Noon is an eCommerce platform that was founded by Mohamed Alabbar in 2016 and is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Noon was started with a vision to create a dynamic digital economy for consumers and businesses in the Middle Eastern eCommerce market. The market, which encompasses the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, is home to around 440 million wealthy consumers with a high internet and smartphone penetration rate.

Despite the impressive size of the market, Middle Eastern consumers have been much slower to warm to eCommerce as a way to purchase goods and services. Even with the pandemic moving more of them online, eCommerce only accounts for around 2.5% of all sales in the Middle East compared to around 22% in the USA, for example.

When Noon was launched in 2017, it encountered several unique obstacles. For one, Alabbar needed to build trust with consumers by creating a reliable, predictable, efficient online ordering experience. Noon also had to make allowances for Saudi Arabia’s unreliable postal system, with many consumers not having a home address and instead collecting their mail from the post office.

Because of the unreliable postal system and future aspirations to scale more rapidly, Noon decided to keep its logistics and fulfillment services in-house. Delivery vans and drivers are all Noon employees and each fulfillment center has a “sortation” area where orders are grouped by customer location before they are distributed.

In October 2021, Noon secured as much as $2 billion in financing from investors that included Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The capital would be used to secure more of the Middle East eCommerce market and upgrade infrastructure to improve delivery times. The company hopes to own 15% of the eCommerce market by 2026, or approximately $70 billion worth.

Noon revenue generation

As an eCommerce retailer, Noon utilizes the marketplace business model like competitors such as Amazon. In addition to selling private label products for a profit, the company also makes money from numerous merchant fees and delivery fees.

Merchant fees

Merchant are charged a sales commission whenever they sell a product on the Noon platform. The exact commission depends on the product category, with home appliances attracting a fee of 4.5% and footwear at 27%.

To increase revenue, merchants can utilize the company’s custom-built seller tools, support team, and end-to-end delivery system. For those who desired more visibility, there are also various marketing and advertising tools. Merchants can advertise on Noon using various banners and so-called “mega modules”, while there is also an opportunity to advertise via Noon’s Instagram stories. Prices for advertising services are available on request.

Shipping and handling fees are typically charged at 9% of the total order amount. There is also a storage fee which can be as much as around USD 1.40. For items that sit in storage for more than 180 days, a long-term storage fee also applies. Larger items such as furniture that take up the most space attract the highest fees.

Lastly, a fee is charged for seller-initiated cancellations or those that arise because the product is faulty. Like sales commission, footwear and apparel (27%) attract the highest fees, whilst audio and video (4%), video game consoles (5%), and car accessories (5%) attract the lowest.

Noon Daily

Noon Daily is a next-day grocery delivery service ideal for fresh foods, bread, dairy, meat, household essentials, and baby food.

Noon Daily delivery fees depend on the city, the total order amount, and whether or not the customer is a VIP member.

Now Now

Now Now is a similar delivery service to Noon Daily except the items are delivered in a matter of minutes. The company partners with exclusive stores in a customer’s local neighborhood to ensure delivery occurs on time.

Delivery fees for this service are 6 Emirati Dirhams, equivalent to approximately $1.60.

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Flanking Marketing

Flanking marketing is a strategy where one company attacks the weak spot of a rival in terms of a geographic region, product or market segment where it is underperforming.There are four types of flanking marketing: low price flanking, high price flanking, flanking with size, and distribution flanking. Within these types, a company can exploit various weaknesses related to price, product, region, or customer experience.Real-world examples where flanking marketing has been used effectively include Volkswagen, LG, Apple, Premier Inn, and Mercedes-Benz.What is flanking marketing?

Flanking marketing is a strategy where one company attacks the weak spot of a rival in terms of a geographic region, product or market segment where it is underperforming.

Understanding flanking marketing

Flanking marketing, also known as the flanking attack strategy, involves one company going after its competition in an attempt to win market share from them. This is an effective strategy for the attacker that is also very hard to defend for the company in a weaker position.

Fundamental to this approach is the attacker zeroing in on a competitor’s weak points. This can include deficiencies in almost any aspect of a business such as price point, product features, customer availability, customer support, or underrepresentation in a specific geographic area. 

For flanking marketing to succeed, the attacker needs to identify which of their strengths will exploit the weaknesses of a competitor. To do this, a combination of the Value Disciplines model and SWOT analysis can be effective. For competitors with a product or service portfolio, the BCG matrix is also used to identify products that have low growth potential and low market share. Whatever the method is chosen, however, it’s important to be as specific as possible when identifying weaknesses.

Flanking marketing types

There are generally accepted to be four different types of flanking marketing:

Low price flanking – where a company lowers the price of its products or services below those offered by its competitor. When products are more or less identical between brands, the company with the more expensive prices tends to lose market share.High price flanking – where a company raises the price of its products or services with respect to a competitor. This is often done to alter the status quo, set a new standard, or redefine some characteristic of the market. See the Mercedes-Benz example below for more detail on this strategy.Flanking with size – Apple referenced the small size of the iPod when it was marketed to customers and won market share from cassette and CD player manufacturers. Volkswagen’s famous “Think Small” marketing campaign also positioned the Beetle as a smaller (and better) alternative to much larger sedans from American makers.Distribution flanking – new distribution channels can also be incorporated into flanking marketing attacks. American watch manufacturer Timex started selling watches in pharmacies while competitor watches were sold only in department stores. Some more flanking marketing examples

There are numerous examples of flanking marketing in the real world. We hope that the following examples are of some interest:

Mercedes-Benz – in an early form of flanking marketing in the 1950s, Mercedes-Benz orchestrated an attack against General Motors in the prestige car market. The German manufacturer priced its luxury sedans much higher than the incumbent GM Cadillac as part of a campaign to position it as the superior vehicle. Over 50 years later, Mercedes outsold Cadillac for the first time and the latter lost its reputation as a luxury brand.Premier Inn – British limited-service hotel chain Premier Inn flanked its competitors by attacking a weakness most of them shared: a lack of quality. While its rivals were focused on low prices, Premier Inn introduced the Good Night Guarantee to take market share from them. Here, the company referenced a quality stay as its strength to emphasize its competitors’ deficiency in this area.LG Corporation – South Korean multinational LG noticed that rural areas of India were underserved by its competitors in the television market. Other firms were focusing on city areas where consumers could afford to pay higher prices. In response, LG developed a cheaper alternative for rural markets known as the “Sampoorna”. To market the new television, LG sent promotional vehicles across the country covering some 5,000 kilometers each week to increase brand awareness and secure market share before a competitor could move in.Connected Marketing Concepts

Email Marketing

Email marketing leverages a set of tactics to build a stronger brand, drive traffic to your products, and build a solid funnel for converting leads into loyal customers. While email marketing isn’t new, it’s still one of the most effective marketing strategies to build a valuable business.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing describes the process whereby an affiliate earns a commission for selling the products of another person or company. Here, the affiliate is simply an individual who is motivated to promote a particular product through incentivization. The business whose product is being promoted will gain in terms of sales and marketing from affiliates.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing involves the marketing of products or services that leverages the popularity, expertise, or reputation of an individual. Influencer marketing is often associated with those who have large social media followings, but popularity should not be confused with influence. Influence has the power to change consumer perceptions or get their audience to do something different.

Sustainable Marketing

Sustainable marketing describes how a business will invest in social and environmental initiatives as part of its marketing strategy. Also known as green marketing, it is often used to counteract public criticism around wastage, misleading advertising, and poor quality or unsafe products.

E-commerce Marketing

E-commerce marketing is part of the digital marketing landscape, and beyond, where e-commerce businesses can enhance their sales, distribution, and branding through targeted campaigns toward their desired audience, convert it into loyal customers which can potentially refer the brand to others. Usually, e-commerce businesses can kick off their digital marketing strategy by mastering a single channel then expand for a more integrated digital marketing strategy.

Buzz Marketing

Buzz marketing leverages the power of word-of-mouth advertising to create products or services with enough novelty that they go viral. In many cases, buzz marketing leverages on versatile content that can easily scale and be readapted to various contexts and fear of missing out (FOMO) to amplify the effect of word-of-mouth campaigns.

Shotgun Marketing

Shotgun marketing is a form of above-the-line (ATL) marketing, where popular mediums such as TV and radio are used to market to a mass audience. This technique of marketing targets as many consumers as possible. Also known as mass marketing, the technique attracts a large number of leads that, on average, might be of lower quality in nature.

Multichannel Marketing

Multichannel marketing executes a marketing strategy across multiple platforms to reach as many consumers as possible. Here, a platform may refer to product packaging, word-of-mouth advertising, mobile apps, email, websites, or promotional events, and all the other channels that can help amplify the brand to reach as many consumers as possible.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy designed to attract customers to a brand with content and experiences that they derive value from. Inbound marketing utilizes blogs, events, SEO, and social media to create brand awareness and attract targeted consumers. By attracting or “drawing in” a targeted audience, inbound marketing differs from outbound marketing which actively pushes a brand onto consumers who may have no interest in what is being offered.

Partnership Marketing

With partnership marketing, two or more companies team up to create marketing campaigns that help them grow organically with a mutual agreement, thus making it possible to reach shared business goals. Partnership marketing leverages time and resources of partners that help them expand their market.

Growth Marketing

Growth marketing is a process of rapid experimentation, which in a way has to be “scientific” by keeping in mind that it is used by startups to grow, quickly. Thus, the “scientific” here is not meant in the academic sense. Growth marketing is expected to unlock growth, quickly and with an often limited budget.

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy that seeks to utilize low-cost and sometimes unconventional tactics that are high impact. First coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book of the same title, guerrilla marketing works best on existing customers who are familiar with a brand or product and its particular characteristics.

Ambush Marketing

As the name suggests, ambush marketing raises awareness for brands at events in a covert and unexpected fashion. Ambush marketing takes many forms, one common element, the brand advertising their products or services has not paid for the right to do so. Thus, the business doing the ambushing attempts to capitalize on the efforts made by the business sponsoring the event.

Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing involves businesses and their brands forming long-term relationships with customers. The focus of relationship marketing is to increase customer loyalty and engagement through high-quality products and services. It differs from short-term processes focused solely on customer acquisition and individual sales.

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Vendor Lock-in

Vendor lock-in refers to any measure a company implements to dissuade customers from migrating away from its products or services.Real-world consumer examples of vendor lock-in include brands such as Apple, Lexmark, and Keurig. More generally speaking, DSLR and cordless tool manufacturers also lock their customers into proprietary systems.Avoiding vendor lock-in may involve evaluating the market and the vendor before doing business, reading the contractual fine print, and clarifying whether an exit plan or migration support is available.Understanding vendor lock-in

Vendor lock-in refers to any measure a company implements to dissuade customers from migrating away from its products or services.

For the customer, vendor lock-in occurs when the cost of switching to another service provider is prohibitively expensive. In addition to the financial cost, the customer may also be “locked in” because of an insufficient workforce, contractual restraints, or the need to avoid operational interruptions.

Consider the example of an office that hires a vendor to install 20 spring water stations, with each station only compatible with bottles the vendor sells. Now consider what would happen if employees found the spring water to be of poor quality. 

Switching to a new vendor (with different sized bottles) would require each station to be replaced. Since this is a cost that the company cannot absorb, it is effectively forced to endure the less palatable water or remove the stations entirely. Here, the deliberate measure by the water company is a station whose unique dimensions mean it cannot dispense water from a competitor’s product. 

Other examples of vendor lock-in

Here are some real-world consumer examples of vendor lock-in at work:

Apple iTunes – in the early days of iTunes, consumers who purchased music in the iTunes store could only play it on Apple brand products such as the iPod. Each file was encoded in a proprietary format to ensure the music was kept in the company’s ecosystem.Ink manufacturers – printer ink is a lucrative business, and many ink manufacturers warn customers that any use of a non-branded ink will void the printer’s warranty. Lexmark is one brand that asks its customers to enter a 12-digit code to verify the authenticity of each toner cartridge. Coffee pods – branded coffee pods, such as those offered by Keurig, are only compatible with Keurig coffee machines. The company has remained a source of vendor lock-in despite partnerships between other companies in the industry to standardize the size of different pods.DSLR lenses – while adapters are available in limited situations, a photographer with a Nikon DSLR camera will not be able to mount a Canon lens, and vice versa. This locks the customer into whatever branded lenses are available.Cordless tools – with cordless, battery-powered tools becoming increasingly popular, some brands manufacture batteries that will only fit their products. This includes battery recharger systems.How can vendor lock-in be avoided?

For consumers and business customers alike, there are several ways vendor lock-in can be avoided:

Evaluate the market and the provider – it’s important to perform some prior market research to understand the various solutions and how they compare. Choosing a vendor that does not have a history of vendor lock-in saves a lot of pain later. Customer reviews can be an effective way to scrutinize a company’s past behavior in this regard.Read the fine print – for subscription-based services like cloud computing, the client should search the fine print for the auto-renew clause. Many vendors will auto-renew a contract unless otherwise instructed, meaning the business misses an opportunity to move elsewhere at no cost.Ask questions – before entering into an agreement, it can also be helpful to ask the vendor questions. What would an exit plan look like? Does it provide migration tools, support, and other services to facilitate a smooth transition to another product?

Read also: Business Strategy, Examples, Case Studies, And Tools

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