A 4 Action Framework To Guide You As We Escape The Pandemic!
Hey!
I usually bury the lede on this or just flick the share button at the end once you’ve read through the whole thing and are tired.
I’ve set a goal to add 1,000 new subscribers before the 4th of July and I need your help.
If you enjoy ‘The Business of Value’, or find value from it, please help me meet my goal of 1,000 new subscribers by the 4th of July by doing any of the following:
Forward this email to friends or colleagues and tell them to subscribe
Share on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook with a short note
Share with your existing community or in your company Slack
The business end of this out of the way!
How’s everyone holding up?
I’ve been trying to think through some strategy frameworks the last few weeks as a tool to share with people to help set their businesses up for success when the pandemic finally moves behind us.
As I’m writing this, we were able to put over 4.5 million shots in people’s arms across America. So we are getting there, but we still have a little bit further to go.
Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been pretty clear on thinking that the pandemic would change the way we live in ways that won’t be obvious. A last not immediately.
Certain trends will be accelerated. Things that were essential won’t be any longer.
I guess I’m winding up to point you towards the idea that the assumptions we were operating under may not be correct for the future of our businesses.
Earlier this week, I was working through an online lecture when we got to talking about frameworks for strategies going through Porter’s Five Forces and the Blue Ocean Strategy Framework, among others.
The framework I want to share with you this morning is pretty simple and it will help you make sure whatever you are offering is tight for when things get back to normal.
It was taught to me as the 4 Action Framework, but I think there are other names for this, but the key things you want to look at are:
Creation
Reduction
Raise
Elimination
Let’s cut through them really quickly.
Creation:
This one simply means that what can you create in your market by combining ideas from across industries or taking an idea from one location and applying it in another.
What would be new in your industry that has never been seen before?
Here’s an example.
During the pandemic, a lot of industries have had to adjust their operations to survive. None more than the hospitality industry.
In DC, one of the ways that restaurants and bars have survived is by creating new to-go beverages that were common in non-alcoholic beverages, but never for beer or spirits.
This change occurred out of necessity, but it introduced something that had never been available before.
Reduction:
This is pretty simple, how can you make the process or the product less complex?
The example that was used in the video I was watching was pretty funny because it was Yellow Tail Wines.
If you don’t know, I worked with Yellow Tail’s advertising partner on a campaign to introduce the product to American football tailgaters.
I would put my part in this into the creation category, but the video was talking about how one of the key ideas that Yellow Tail won on was reducing the complexity of wine for folks that were put off by wine’s complexity.
In that regard, I guess we now have an explanation for Gary V.
As you move beyond the pandemic, I do think it makes sense to figure out what you can do to declutter your offering, to simplify what you are doing, or reduce complexity.
In my view, there will be no end to the amount of competition that we will see over the next few months. And, I think the easier it is to win people over, the better.
Raise:
What can you elevate?
What can you improve upon?
A good way to think about this comes from the world of sports.
I wasn’t a huge hockey fan until I moved to DC and the boy started getting into “bamming down” and checking me.
One of the most amazing things that the NHL does is host outdoor games, they just did one on Lake Tahoe, they’ve been to Nats Park, Dodger Stadium, and Michigan Stadium.
Really great concept and it raises the experience of the game to see it outside in the cold.
Though I don’t know how cold it was in LA!
Elimination!
Knowing I’m a marketer from the school of thought that to have a well-balanced business, you have to create and kill products…this one speaks to me.
Let’s dump some stuff!
As we re-emerge back into some sense of normalcy, things will have changed. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
And, one thing I hear folks say far too much is that they “can’t wait to get back to normal”.
My only question is whether or not that is what you should be striving for.
In a lot of places, we should be looking to get rid of things that no longer serve us.
I used the example of the to-go drinks in DC and that couldn’t have been accomplished without the help of the DC government.
Why?
They had to pass emergency laws to allow folks to sell and consume drinks in that manner.
Another example that is likely to be a big selling point for folks looking into electric cars, eliminating trips to the gas station!
The big idea is what can you do to remove things from your product or service that will make it easier to consume? Buy? Use?
As we come through the pandemic, thinking through this stuff will help you give your business a competitive advantage. Because as I saw earlier this week, there are a lot of businesses and people that didn’t spend their time rethinking their business.
And, spending time thinking about yours will give you a competitive advantage.
Dave
P.S. I got my second Moderna shot last week! If you are eligible, make sure you get your shot ASAP!