Other Models

In our adviser consultancy work we will regularly use the following simple models to help the professional practice to build their advice proposition.

Our Retirement Partners will have worked with us to go through these models.

If you would like to work with us, or just come along to one of our events, please contact us here

Some useful business models:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Resources & Capabilities
Competitive Advantage
Key Success Factors
Differentiation Strategies
Proposition Components

Strengths & Weaknesses

Many people will know about SWOT analysis, however, here we are only interested in the first two letters, that represent Strengths & Weaknesses. These two elements are internal factors to a business. They are the things that you will have control over. The other factors, Opportunities & Threats are external to the business and you will have less ability to affect these.

So the task is simple – just list your business Strengths & Weaknesses

Resources & Capabilities

This is a simple model that is difficult to complete. It is best to consider this with a facilitator. What are the Resources that you have within your business and then what are their capabilities?

Competitive Advantage

The secret of success perhaps is knowing exactly what your competitive advantage is over others in the market. In other words being able to clearly and precisely answer the question – Why me? Or Why this firm?

Identifying the true competitive advantage for a firm can take some time, and often identifies an aspect of the firm that individuals within it have taken for granted. Finding your competitive advantage can be easier and quicker with an outsider involved.

Key Success Factors

This is a model that is very useful for any business. To test whether you are on track or not, or perhaps to help set your objectives, think about these three factors: 

• The Customer requirements
• The Competitive factors
• The financial metrics

This model was created and documented by Robert M Grant in his book Contemporary Strategy Analysis published by Blackwell Publishing.

Differentiation Strategies

The model suggests that there are six principle ways to differentiate your business, which are by: Price; Image; Support; Design; Quality, and something called ‘Undifferentiated’ - which in some worlds may be called copying what the others do.

Thinking through how your retirement business will be different in the market will have a big impact on future success. 

This is a very robust model designed by a group of Brains called: Mintzberg; Quinn; and Ghoshal, and published in The Strategy Process, from Prentice Hall.

Proposition Components

The marketing mix is a old, and well established model that you may have come across in school, or on a business course of some kind.  Some regard the basic marketing mix to now be out of date as there are so many issues that need to be taken into account.  However for the small business this is still a simple model that can be very effective. 

Originally there were four ‘P’s – and now I present to you 7.

The First four are: 
Price: - how much do you charge?
Place: - Where do you conduct business?
Product: - What exactly are you selling?
Promotion: - How are you letting potential customers know about your business?

The next three are more for a service based industry and are very appropriate for the Regional IFA firm.
People: - Who is involved in delivering the service?
Process: - What is your process of delivering the service?
Physical Experience: - What does it feel like to do business with you?