Outsell Growth Framework — Step 1
We’ve just come out with the second edition of the Outsell Growth Framework, a how-to guide to growth for CEOs and their teams operating in the data, information and analytics industry. A proven methodology, it’s designed for growth and is a methodology steeped in agile and focused on three key steps: placing the business in an Outsell Value Chain, strategic business planning, and product execution — what we call building and monetizing data, information, and analytic solutions.
This approach is a tool we’ve used with clients over the last two decades. We’ve modernized it as technology advances and agile becomes the standard.
Get started by plotting your business in a value chain, something every CEO needs to do as a first step to growth. Enterprises of all kinds are now data, information, and analytics providers looking to capitalize on the digital transformation of almost every industry. This is opening up a “land grab” to establish relevance in the new-era ecosystem.
Companies must start by plotting their location and course in an Outsell Value Chain. Just as GPS longitude and latitude coordinates help us move from one physical location to another, business leaders need to identify their current company coordinates in the ecosystem and plot a course to their long-term competitiveness.
Each Outsell Value Chain has two components: a view of the vertical industry itself and a view of the data, information, and analytics providers and foundational providers that serve the industry and compete in the ecosystem. These providers are plotted in the center area of the Value Chain, showing where each falls in the Industry Value Chain (X-axis) and Information Value Chain (Y-axis). The example below shows an Outsell Value Chain for the Energy, Utilities & Renewables sector.
Note that companies may operate in different parts of an Outsell Value Chain. They may span multiple segments of a vertical industry in question (in this case, energy) along the X-axis, or span the continuum of the Information Value Chain along the Y-axis, which indicates the aptitudes of each business.
Next week, I’ll define the layers of the information value chain. It’s essential to know where your business rests before plotting a strategic course and continuing to advance your M&A or product strategy. More on that to follow, too.
Outsell routinely creates and updates Value Chains for clients: Several are available on our website. If your organization needs a Value Chain we have not created yet, please let us know. As trusted advisors to CEOs and their executive teams, we’re here to ensure that your business grows, providing best-in-class benchmarks, analyses of operating practices, and intelligence about key competitive and market opportunities.
Don’t hesitate to reach out.