Small Businesses have to work especially hard to distinguish their offerings and delight their customers. As the only firm licensed to consult using the concepts articulated in the best selling book, The Discipline of Market Leaders, Case Strategy is uniquely positioned to help Small Businesses stand out as leaders in their respective markets. We help companies answer three critical questions:

• Why should our chosen customers do business with us? Many companies say they offer the best “value”, but that means little in and of itself. Businesses must know their target set of customers and understand the specific dimensions of value about which their target customers care most. Their decision of the dimension (cost, quality, service), along which to lead is also a function of where they can credibly play and where competitors can be beaten.
• How must we operate to deliver that value? After a company has identified its target customers and chosen its Value Discipline, it must develop an operating model that is dedicated to supporting that Value Discipline. An operating model is the combination of operating processes, management systems, business structure, and culture that enables a company to deliver leadership value to its chosen customers.
• What are the levers to earning disproportionately positive returns? With its Value Discipline chosen, and its operating model in place, a company is poised to deliver unmatched customer value, but that is not enough. The company must translate this into superior financial returns. Depending on the Value Discipline a company pursues, it can achieve these superior gains through:
  • Scale and winning the low cost position in its market
  • R&D and product life cycle management, thereby commanding a price premium for its superior product
  • Skills and knowledge that will help solve its clients’ broader problems and sharing in the clients’ resulting financial gains.