7 - Overview of External Vectors
We have defined 12 different meso-economic vectors, splitting these into external vectors, internal vectors, and composite vectors.
Each of these vectors can be given a score for relative importance and execution performance to help you to estimate the impact of that particular vector.
Companies typically have little influence over external vectors, but they can exploit the opportunities or constraints to shape their own commercial strategies. The first of these is the market space. This vector is based on defining current and new players in the market space and the relationships between them, including an explicit connection with customers.
We look at how to build a market-space centric value chain. The next vector is proposition framing, competition, and regulation. This is where we look at how your proposition maps against your markets-based centric value chain, the impact it will have, the competitive advantage, and any collaborators or partners you might have. This can help us to assess partners, suppliers, and collaborators and understand competitive differentiation.
Next, we look at customer definition, a critical part of any proposition. We look at how to categorise your customers, be they consumers, business customers, or affinity and knowledge centric groups. In particular, we will be looking at affinity and knowledge centric groups, which is an important new customer group we have identified. For example, clinicians in a hospital environment will buy in completely different ways to conventional consumers.
Finally, we can look at the distribution, marketing, and sales vector, which covers channels to market and the modified seven P's, which describe product, positioning, price, place, promotion, process, and partners.
By thinking through these factors, you will have a better understanding of the external vectors that can influence the trajectory of your business.