Hundreds of entrepreneurs are thriving
Sunflower® consulting services uses the Sunflower Model® to advise entrepreneurs, start-ups, and business managers on how to build and scale their companies through business feasibility studies, advice related to business acquisitions and planning, and leadership development. The Sunflower Model® is a collaborative process for innovation that consists of three stages: Ideation, Walkabout, and King Of. Each stage builds upon each other and in the end gives you a clear plan and strategy for your company.
Core Competency
What do you do better than any other company in your industry? What sets you apart from your competition? What is genuinely unique about your company?
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Core Competency is not a product or feature but an understanding of a market and the ability to create products which will drive it. It is something your company is able to do better than anybody else. Core Competency is the underlying foundation that will drive the success of your company. All products and services should be built around your Core Competency.
Let’s consider a high level example. Netflix started as a DVD delivery service competing with Blockbuster and other video stores. One could argument Netflix’s Core Competency is delivering entertainment / media content conveniently, initially via DVDs by mail then as a streaming service. However, its real Core Competency is in customer viewing experience. While DVD delivery by mail and streaming content provide customer viewing experience convenience, Netflix’s Core Competency of understanding the customer viewing experience drove them to branch out into original content creation, media distribution and more to become one of the largest entertainment / media companies in the world based on market capitalization. Netflix’s Core Competency of the customer viewing experience has won them numerous awards for their original content which they stream on virtually every popular electronic platform. Had Netflix failed to fully understand the viewing desires of their customers, their delivery platform would never have become the industry leader.
What is your company’s Core Competency? Ponder this question deeply. Look beyond what you think you do well or what you are capable of delivering. Avoid focusing solely on a product or market. Identify what you do or understand better than anyone else.
Without the proper foundation, a building can crumble. Likewise, without proper focus on your Core Competency, your company could also collapse.
Ideation
Now that you have reviewed the Team and identified its Core Competency, how do you put that knowledge to best use? What types of products or services are best addressed by the Core Competency? Which of those products or services is your Team most capable of delivering?
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In the Sunflower Model®, the Team and Core Competency are the center of the flower while the products and services are the petals. The Core Competency and the Team are the foundation for moving forward in ideating product or service development. Compile a list of the existing or planned products or services then organize the list by those which align with the Core Competency and the Team is best qualified to deliver then those which could be delivered with additional Team members or supporting staff / providers. Anything which does not meet either criteria should be excluded.
When Ideating which are the best products or services to offer, it is more vital first to make sure your offering aligns with the Team and Core Competency than to confirm there is a viable market for it. Mediocrity breeds failure while excellence promotes success. Select the product or service you can provide as the “Best in Class” in an un- or under-served market then consider which offer the best prospects for future market expansion. Products that can be applied to other markets or applied in different ways with minimal additional effort have the best prospects. But be wary of products or services which appear to be low hanging fruit or easier points of entry as it is likely you are not alone in that realization.
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Exceptional products or services do not just happen. They are the result of a combination of expertise and hard work. If taking ideated products or services to market success were easy and simple, everyone would be entrepreneurs.
Decision Matrix
What problem does your product or service solve? How much money or time does it save by solving the problem? Does it offer additional benefits beyond solving this problem? What is the estimated payback period? How does the price / return ratio compare to the competition? What drives the decision making process, cost or features?
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The Decision Matrix is used to calculate the value proposition of the product or service which emerged from the Ideation process and helps determine the likelihood of its success. The best products or services solve problems in an efficient and cost effective manner. Products or services which excel at solving problems can own a market. People make Xerox copies, not xerographic copies. They ask for a Band-Aid rather than a bandage. It is more common to Google something than to search online for it.
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The Decision Matrix is essentially a grid which outlines the cost associated with the problem being solved before and after adoption of the product or service. The savings can be in direct dollars, time or both. While initial savings may help generate market interest, the ability to demonstration additional benefits and long term savings, especially the Return On Investment (ROI – when the product or service pays has paid for itself and starts saving the company money in a recurring manner), will close sales.
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Preparing and reviewing the Decision Matrix is a full Team project as it must include design / development, marketing, sales and customer service / support. The more detailed the Decision Matrix is in presenting a complete picture of the value proposition, the easier the buying decision will be for customers. Likewise, if you cannot demonstrate a convincing value proposition for the product or service, it is probably not worth pursuing. Create a Decision Matrix for each product or service offered then focus on the strongest and discontinue any which are difficult to justify.
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To build your SunFlower® Matrix your entire team scores all the product ideas they have against criteria. There should be a Matrix for each product idea Every Matrix should have the criteria of Leverage, Uniqueness and Value (To your customers) The team should put up every other criteria they think is relevant to the product idea they are assessing. No criteria should be rejected but comb through all the criteria to eliminate those that are just duplicates stated using other words. Then each member of the team scores each criteria for each product idea 1-10. After scoring the team should discuss any scores where one team member differs considerably from the others. E.g. if all but one person scored a criteria 7-8 and that one scores it a 2, that team member is asked what they know that caused them to score it differently. After that discussion the team should be asked if anyone wants to change their score based on the information provided by that team member. After scoring all criteria for all the product ideas, The scores are added up for each iidea and divided by the number of team members. The winning iidea will be the one to pursue. This exercise gets your team on the same page. Everyone has input and everyone will understand why the decision was made.
Walkabout
Does the market need your product or service? Is the problem being solved critical enough to justify changing the way it is currently managed? Are you solving the problem in the best manner? Have you overlooked any issues which negatively impact the value proposition offered?
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The team should decide together what questions to ask potential customers and come up with a list. Each team member should be sure to ask the same questions. This way when the team re-assembles they will be comparing apples to apples regarding customer feedback. After the team meets and listens to all the customer feedback, the matrix for that product idea should be rescored by each team member. This will confirm whether the idea the team initially chose is the right one to go forward
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Once you have assembled your Team, identified its Core Competencies, Ideated the best products or services to develop and used the Decision Matrix to document the value proposition, now it is time to go on Walkabout to test your hypothesis. Just as Australian Aborigines consider a Walkabouts to be a ritual of discovery, it is time to explore the market to discover if the assumptions you have made are indeed accurate and whether there truly is a market for the products or services you offer. The key is to identify and reach out to industry leaders in your target customer market to present your solution and get their feedback, as well as gauge their interest in becoming an early adopter. In many cases, they may have a different perspective of the problem or whether it even is a problem in their mind. And they are likely to find issues with how you address the problem, feedback which can help you provide a better solution.
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The key is to connect with as many target customers as possible and to listen to them. Walkabout is for discovery, not sales or evangelizing your position. Let them tell you what their problems are, how they would like to see them fixed and what it would be worth to them to have such a solution. If you listen well and use the information gathered to develop the product or services, you should be able to present them to those who provided the feedback and anticipate their interest in evaluating it or even placing the first order.
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This is a crucial step in the Sunflower Model® as everything leading up to this point has all been based upon supposition and speculation.
King Of
How do you capture or increase market share such that you become the King Of a market? What is the market you can become King Of? Is there currently a King Of that market? How does your offering compare? What will it take to dethrone the current King Of the market?
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It is easy to argue that ESPN is the King Of the customer viewing experience in the field of Live Sports and Sports Information. While ESPN entered the streaming market well after Netflix, it focused on its Core Competency in the field of Sports to become the King Of that market segment.
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The King Of goal for your company does not need to be as ambitious as becoming another Netflix, Disney+ or even ESPN and it is not something which will happen overnight. It can initially be in a small market or regional market and grow from there increasing the kingdom as the mastery of ruling is learned. Becoming King Of anything requires not only the ability to aspire to such heights but also the expertise to grow with the role and retain the crown. King Of is not a marketing target as much as an overall operational focus.