Article
Strategy in a world of overlapping disruptions
How leaders can make sharper choices on where to compete, where to invest and what to stop when multiple structural shifts hit at once.
Make sharper choices about where and how to compete when customers, buying processes and value creation are structurally complex
We develop B2B business strategies that connect market choices, customer economics, differentiation and routes to sustainable growth.
B2B markets rarely behave like simplified versions of consumer markets. Demand can be concentrated among relatively few customers, purchasing decisions involve multiple stakeholders and the economic value of an offering may depend on integration, implementation and long-term operational outcomes. Revenue can also conceal significant differences in account quality, cost to serve and bargaining power. As products become services, ecosystems expand and buying processes professionalise, established segmentation and value propositions can lose relevance. B2B strategy requires explicit choices about which customers to serve, what value to create and how the business can defend its position.
Focus
Which customers are actually worth winning?
Revenue potential alone says little about attractiveness when bargaining power, acquisition effort, implementation and cost to serve vary materially.
Read nowStrategic Challenges
The buyer is rarely one person
Economic users, technical evaluators, procurement and executives can value different outcomes and exercise influence at different stages.
Read nowStrategic Impacts
Customer value and supplier value are not the same thing
A proposition can create substantial customer benefit while weak differentiation or bargaining power prevents the supplier from capturing much of it.
Read nowObserved Patterns
Large accounts can hide weak economics
We frequently see strategic importance assigned according to revenue while complexity, concessions and servicing requirements quietly erode value.
Read nowStrategic Challenges
The buyer is rarely one person
Economic users, technical evaluators, procurement and executives can value different outcomes and exercise influence at different stages.
Read nowStrategic Impacts
Customer value and supplier value are not the same thing
A proposition can create substantial customer benefit while weak differentiation or bargaining power prevents the supplier from capturing much of it.
Read nowObserved Patterns
Large accounts can hide weak economics
We frequently see strategic importance assigned according to revenue while complexity, concessions and servicing requirements quietly erode value.
Read nowPOV
Not every customer should want you
A B2B strategy becomes stronger when the value proposition is distinctive enough to be highly relevant to some customers and deliberately less relevant to others.
Read nowOur approach
Build strategy from customer economics and competitive advantage rather than treating every revenue opportunity as equally attractive
Our approach starts by examining market structure, customer segments, buying systems, competitive dynamics and the economics of serving different sources of demand. We identify where customer problems are strategically important, how value is created and captured, and which capabilities or positions could support meaningful differentiation. Segment attractiveness is considered alongside willingness to pay, bargaining power, cost to serve, switching dynamics and route-to-market requirements. We then develop coherent choices across target customers, value proposition, business model, competitive positioning and growth priorities, including the trade-offs required to sustain them.
The data and estimates presented are indicative and intended for illustrative purposes. Actual outcomes may vary based on each company’s specific context, market conditions, operating model, implementation choices, and the quality and consistency of execution, including actions undertaken by the client.
Keypillars
Explore the key pillars that define this capability and shape how we create focused, measurable business impact.
Market choices
Markets and segments are evaluated according to strategic attractiveness, customer economics and the ability to compete effectively.
Customer value
Customer problems, buying priorities and economic outcomes define where differentiated value can meaningfully be created.
Competitive advantage
Positioning, capabilities and business economics are connected to determine how value can be captured and defended over time.
If your largest customers disappeared, would you know which ones you should actually want back?
Get in touch with our B2B business strategy team to examine where to compete, how to differentiate and which customers create value.
Get in touchStrategic Framework
Explore our Strategic Framework
Explore our strategic framework applied to page_title and discover which model we apply to help you achieve your goals and objectives.
Discover our framework01. Strategic context
Define the market, business economics, competitive conditions and strategic questions shaping the B2B business.
06. Strategic roadmap
Translate strategic choices into priorities, capability requirements, sequencing and measures for strategic execution.
05. Competitive model
Align positioning, business model, routes to market and capabilities around a coherent basis for advantage.
02. Customer economics
Analyse segments, buying structures, value drivers, bargaining power and the economics of serving different customers.
03. Market choices
Determine which markets, segments and customer groups offer the strongest combination of attractiveness and strategic fit.
04. Value architecture
Define the customer outcomes, differentiation and economic logic underpinning the intended value proposition.
How we help
Define where to compete, which customers to prioritise and how the business can create differentiated value in B2B markets
We address strategic questions across B2B segmentation, customer economics, value propositions, competitive positioning, business models and growth. Work can include strategic market selection, segment prioritisation, customer-value architecture, route-to-market strategy, account economics and portfolio choices. We examine how buying structures, procurement, switching costs and ecosystem relationships influence competitive behaviour and value capture. Strategy can address an existing business, entry into a new B2B market, repositioning of an established offer or the development of a different growth model.
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B2B corporate and business strategy
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B2B market and segment strategy
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B2B customer strategy
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B2B value proposition strategy
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B2B competitive positioning
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B2B growth strategy
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B2B business model strategy
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B2B route-to-market strategy
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Strategic account portfolio strategy
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B2B strategy review and renewal
Explore our FAQs
Find answers to the most common questions about this service, including key features, processes, and practical considerations. Explore our FAQs for additional insights and guidance.
It defines where and how a business competes when customers are organisations with complex buying and value-creation systems.
Business strategy defines markets, customers and advantage; sales strategy determines how commercial teams pursue those choices.
Useful segments reflect meaningful differences in needs, economics, buying behaviour and competitive conditions.
Potential value depends on economics, growth, bargaining power, cost to serve and the strength of strategic fit.
It connects important customer outcomes with differentiated capabilities and a credible mechanism for creating economic value.
Yes. It can define target segments, positioning, business economics, routes to market and required capabilities.
Large accounts matter when their economics, strategic value and capability implications justify differentiated treatment.
Material changes in customers, economics, competition, technology or buying behaviour can invalidate established strategic choices.
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Editorial overview
Articles
Strategy in a world of overlapping disruptions
How leaders can make sharper choices on where to compete, where to invest and what to stop when multiple structural shifts hit at once.
Read articleDesigning the next business model before the current one plateaus
How companies can identify new value pools and build business models that combine differentiated customer value with scalable economics.
Read articleFocus
What has to be true for this business to work?
The most useful venture plan identifies the small number of assumptions whose failure would make the opportunity economically or strategically unattractive.
What have you actually proven?
Revenue, users and funding can all create confidence without demonstrating that demand, retention and economics are sufficiently repeatable to support scale.
Strategic challenges
A good idea is not yet a business
Customer enthusiasm can coexist with weak pricing, expensive acquisition or an operating model that becomes uneconomic at scale.
Stakeholders do not evaluate companies from the same starting point
A message that reassures investors may create concern among employees, regulators or communities if underlying interests are not understood.