Two Ways to Operationalize Your Portfolio Strategy for Market Growth 

As competition intensifies and consumers grow increasingly fragmented, brands today must find ways to identify a precise pathway for growth.  A successful growth strategy relies on a meticulously crafted portfolio strategy that acknowledges growth sources from layered perspectives. It shouldn’t merely react to present market dynamics but also anticipate future shifts in demand. 

To accomplish this, it’s critical to construct the demand-to-growth landscape, which serves as a pivotal initial step for companies to reach their growth ambitions. 

Define the Portfolio Strategy with a Demand-to-Growth Landscape 

In a previous article, we introduced the demand-to-growth landscape (hereinafter referred to as demand landscape), a systematic study that decodes category opportunities, and how it is best used to shape portfolio strategy, inform brand positioning and refine product portfolio. 

Operationalize the Portfolio Strategy to Accelerate Growth  

After developing a robust portfolio strategy using the demand landscape, leaders must then pinpoint the strategic anchor points within their categories for execution. Bill Gates once aptly stated, “The most brilliant strategy won’t lead to success unless it’s executed effectively.” This rings especially true in today’s business landscape, where marketers are required to show measurable results with every investment.  

Depending on the business and industry, the best way to operationalize and execute the portfolio strategy might look different. Here, we highlight two key applications: 

Application 1: Managing Consumer Segments Through the CRM  

The approach below offers an effective solution to companies aiming to utilize CRM effectively to manage strategic consumer segments from end to end.  

Leveraging the CRM: For companies heavily involved in digital and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels, particularly in the apparel and beauty sectors where customer loyalty and retention plays a vital role, the CRM system is an indispensable tool. However, marketers often struggle with the vast amount of unorganized customer data, unable to capitalize on the valuable assets to drive meaningful engagements. Incorporating the portfolio strategy could offer a unique solution. 

Evaluating the Portfolio Strategy: A portfolio strategy enabled by the demand landscape analysis unveils how different brands under a business portfolio should capture different consumer segments. It’s crucial to strengthen the value exchange between these brands and their designated consumer segments, in order to guide consumers toward purchasing the brands and products designed for them. Throughout this process, brands must take an agile and iterative approach to ensure investments yield the desired outcomes by establishing effective methods for measuring progress and learning from efforts. But how? 

This is where the CRM system and the portfolio strategy come together. To effectively achieve the aforementioned goals, it is imperative to map the strategic consumer segments of the demand landscape against existing CRM data, i.e., tagging each individual consumer with the corresponding segment.  

Once each customer profile is categorized into its respective strategic consumer segment, brands are able to monitor segment growth by analyzing CRM data, thus indicating the effectiveness of the portfolio strategy and its execution.  

Advanced organizations may also synchronize digital and e-commerce efforts to customize product recommendations and content marketing to each customer based on the portfolio strategy (i.e., brand, product, and proposition relevant to each individual), thus accelerating strategy execution. 

Approach 2: Landing Portfolio Strategy at Retail Channels Through OBPPC 

This approach is particularly critical for companies in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector, where navigating diverse consumer needs and a complex retail environment is paramount. With the demand landscape approach, companies can formulate a portfolio strategy aimed at capturing distinct consumer segments and consumption occasions. However, they must also differentiate themselves at the moment of truth to meet the unique preferences of diverse shoppers within each channel. 

Hence, there is an opportunity to bridge the demand landscape and the Occasion Brand Price Pack Channel (OBPPC) models. The OBPPC framework was initially introduced by Coca-Cola to enhance on-channel execution. In essence, this model ensures that companies cater to varying shopper needs by offering the appropriate brands, packages, and price points within target channels. By providing a tailored assortment, more consumers can find satisfaction, and the company can strategically shift the demand curve for those who are less price-sensitive. 

All shoppers are different. They have different values and different preferences which lead to different price elasticities. We can create value by recognizing the differences in purchase occasions, and by offering a unique assortment of brands, packages and price points for each channel they are served by.

The Coca-Cola Company

Bridging the demand landscape with the OBPPC model offers a robust approach to operationalizing the portfolio strategy.  

By systematically following these steps, companies can effectively align their portfolio strategy with consumer demand and channel dynamics, maximizing opportunities for success in the marketplace. 

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Contributors: John Wu, Associate; Yang Yu, Associate

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