Defeating Your Arch Rivals€¦ · JMBA ‐Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ) $400M System sales 773 Stores 70...

Alliance of Chief Executives 10/25/2012

© 2012 Robert Sher 1

Robert Sher

Defeating Your Arch Rivals• Define the issue

• Meet Bruce Schroder

• Five critical questions in competitive strategy

• Interview Bruce—Jamba’s battles, blow by blow

• Some audience polling as we go

• Roundtable discussions



We are not alone…..

• Carefully executed campaigns don’t produce...• Steady sellers start declining…• Good customers start churning…• Price pressure arrives and grows intense…

Mysterious events…..

• We feel the effects on our sales, then try to respond.• Cause and effect seem disconnected.• What is going on ‘out there’?

It’s not just an execution issue.

• We don’t study the competitors enough.

• We don’t question our assumptions about our customers often enough.

• We don’t lay clear enough plans about where to fight, and how to best defeat our competition.

• We pick battles that we cannot win.

In the middle market, we often fall short in strategy.



How intense is competition in your industry versus 2007?

1 2 3 4 5

47%

53%

0%0%0%

1. Far more intense

2. Somewhat more intense

3. About the same

4. Somewhat less intense

5. Much less intense

How often are you beating the competition versus 2007?

1 2 3 4 5

18%

24%

6%

41%

12%

1. Much more frequently

2. Somewhat more frequently

3. About the same

4. Somewhat less frequently

5. Much less frequently



Jamba Inc.Three Alliance members (CEO, COO, CAO/CFO)

JMBA ‐ Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ)$400M System sales773 Stores70 Franchise organizations150 HQ team members10,000 System team membersPrimary Businesses:

Wholly owned storesFranchised storesInternational

Bruce Schroder, Alliance MemberCOO and President of Stores, Jamba Juice

Food & Beverage Resume:Jamba 2010‐presentAdina ‘08‐’10Peet’s ‘02‐’06 VP/GMStarbucks 2000‐’01 VP/GMPepsi ’97‐’01 SVP SalesTaco Bell ’91‐’96 VP/GM TB ExpressPepsi Bottling ’84‐’91 VP Ops

Job Description:‐Company operations, people and P&L‐Franchise operations, development & relationships‐Operating platform, innovation & support systems‐Supply chain & distribution; $100MM in COG’s sourced from 22 countries



Five Key Questions1. With what level of rigor do we analyze competitors,

market, positioning?

2. What are the customers’ perceptions of us and of the competition? Are we sure?

3. Precisely what are the boundaries of each competitive engagement?

4. What are the competitors’ weaknesses, our strengths, and the weapons that leverage both?

5. Do we have the right to win?

1. With what level of rigor do we analyze competitors, market, positioning?

Three common practices:

1. Competitor Array

2. Competitor Profiling

3. Media Scanning



1. Rigorous Analysis?Competitor Array1. Define your industry ‐ scope and nature.2. Determine who your competitors are.3. Determine who your customers are and what benefits

they expect.4. Determine what the key success factors are in your

industry.5. Rank the key success factors by giving each one a

weighting. 6. Rate each competitor on each of the key success factors.7. Multiply each cell in the matrix by the factor weighting.

1. Rigorous Analysis?Competitor Array

Key Industry Success Factors Weighting Competitor

#1 Rating

Competitor#1

Weighted

Competitor #2 Rating

Competitor #2

Weighted

1 ‐ Extensive Distribution .4 6 2.4 3 1.2

2 ‐ Customer Focus .3 4 1.2 5 1.5

3 ‐ Economies of Scale .2 3 .6 3 .6

4 ‐ Product Innovation .1 7 .7 4 .4

Totals 1.0 20 4.9 15 3.7



1. Rigorous Analysis?Competitor ProfilingA common technique is to create detailed profiles on each of your major competitors. Each profile gives an in‐depth description of the competitor's:1. Background (locations, history, ownership, org structure)2. Financials3. Products4. Marketing5. Facilities6. Personnel7. Corporate and marketing strategies

1. Rigorous Analysis?Media ScanningScanning competitor's ads/media can reveal much about what that competitor believes about marketing and their target market. This can reveal:

1. New product offerings2. New branding strategy3. New positioning strategy4. New segmentation strategy5. Line extensions 6. Insights from recent marketing

or product research

7. New strategic direction 8. Value migrations 9. New pricing strategy 10. New promotion strategy 11. New unique selling proposition 12. New distribution strategy



How rigorously and regularly do you perform formal competitive analysis?

1 2 3 4 5

36%

29%

7%

21%

7%

1. Almost never2. A smidgeon here and

there3. Every few years,

moderately rigorous4. Annually, with high rigor5. Quarterly with high rigor

How much do you think you should increase the time and effort you put into competitive analysis?

1 2 3 4

6%

17%17%

61%

1. None

2. 50% more

3. Double

4. Triple



2. What are the customers’ perceptions of us and of the competition? Are we sure?

1. Focus groups

2. Surveys

3. Data collection by sales team

4. Asking the customers for feedback

5. Buying trends/analysis

Do you truly understand your prospects’ opinion of your product or service as well as their opinion of your competition’s product or service?

1 2 3 4

12%

6%

35%

47%

1. I have my gut feeling only2. Somewhat3. I feel like I do4. Without doubt



3. Precisely what are the boundaries of each competitive engagement?

1. An event

2. A season

3. A product

4. A competitor

5. A business unit

6. The entire company

7. A geography

8. A customer segment

Why did you create boundaries to your competitive battle? Choose up to 3.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

50%

63%

38%

6%

19%

0%

31%

0%

1. Affordability

2. Focus

3. Window of opportunity

4. Vulnerability of target

5. Recognition of target

6. Minimize retaliation

7. Maintain some margin

8. Other



4. What are the competitors’ weaknesses, our strengths, and the weapons that leverage both?

Our Strength Their Weakness Weapon

Low Costs High Costs Price

Features Features MarCom and Sales

Engineering Capitalization New Product Releases

What are the biggest weapons you use most often? Choose up to 3.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

23%

41%

45%

5%

9%

27%

64%

36%

1. Price

2. Quality

3. Customization

4. Innovation

5. Service

6. Speed

7. Capacity

8. Other



5. Do you have the right to win?

1. Financial wherewithal

2. Winning/differentiated product/service

3. Know‐how in the marketplace

4. Shooting distance at being #1 or #2

5. Cost structure and ability to scale

6. Strategic clarity

7. A strong, dedicated team

Do you have the right to win?

1 2 3 4 5

45%

30%

0%

5%

20%

1. YES! And we’re in shooting distance

2. Almost‐when a few last things click into place

3. I can see the stars aligning down the road a bit

4. If we are really lucky

5. No, but we can survive



Thank you Bruce!

1. Bruce was awesome!

Put your table‐mates to work:• How could you get better competitive intelligence?• What have you tried recently? How did that work?• How can you fight back more effectively against an aggressor?

• How can you get prospects to change their perceptions?• What obstacles do you know you have and how can you overcome them?

Leverage the collective wisdom of your peers!



Robert Sherwww.ceotoceo.biz

Defeating Your Arch Rivals€¦ · JMBA ‐Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ) $400M System sales 773 Stores 70...

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