Module 3 Final Draft

Business Strategy: The Key to Success
A business cannot be successful with only money. In order for a business to be successful, the business owner must have a great business strategy. Although I am a biology major, I chose the topic of business strategy because it really interests me. I am not really educated about this topic, but I would love to learn the tools that are needed to have a successful business. I thought that having money to open up businesses was the only thing needed to bring your business to the top. Well, I thought wrong. The three articles I picked out will provide us with a few strategies to operate a flourishing business.
The first article I read was called, “Taking by storm: a breakout strategy” by Thomas Lawton. This article talks about how a business can come from nowhere and emerge into a household name. In order for this to happen, a business should use a breakout strategy. A breakout strategy is a strategy that gives companies recognition by using an unexpected and smart approach to bring in costumers. Some key factors of this strategy are: understanding what customers want, developing new and useful products and services, combining good prices with good quality, and coming through with what you promise the customer. Some examples of businesses that used this breakout strategy are Wal-Mart and Netflix. Wal-Mart was a small business that flourished with the advertising of its low pricing that satisfies all customers. Netflix came up with a new idea of an online DVD rental agency. Customers loved this new idea because they can have their favorite movies delivered right to their door. I learned a lot from this article. You cannot have a popular business with just selling normal things at normal prices. You have to do something different to impress the customers.
A breakout strategy works in a big market, but how can a business be successful in an underserved market? In his article, “Untapped: strategies for success in underserved markets,” John Weiser talks about how a business can be successful in an underserved market. Weiser gives five key strategies to accomplish this task: “mine and translate local market information; adapt business model to community realities; change internal incentives and challenge cultural assumptions; create partnerships and strategic alliances; and improve the enabling environment.” To explain one of the strategies, Weiser says that a business has to adapt to customer needs. A customer will most likely prefer a business that has single-packaged products for low prices than a whole package for a higher price. For example, a business that sells cups of coffee for a low price will have more success than a business that sells a case of unmade coffee. More customers will come in, and more profit will be made. From this article, I learned that in an underserved market, the business’s success is dependent on the customers. If a business gives the customers what they need for a low price, then business will most likely boom and profits will go off the scale.
Once a store gets running, the main goal of the owner is to maximize profits. As Ram Herstein explains in his article, “Launching store brands in emerging markets: resistance crumbles,” the strategy of selling store brand items can increase the profits of a store. Store brand items can compare to national brands in style but their price is much lower. According to the article, five factors of having a successful time selling store brand items are, “number of store brand categories available, the quality of store brands, type of products, the manufacturers of the products and the number of product lines sold by retailers.” If a business puts a store brand shirt next to a Nike shirt on the shelf, according to Herstein, the person would more likely choose the store brand shirt because it provides the same style at a cheaper rate. By reading this article, I have learned that although store brand products aren’t as recognized as national brand products, they will sell better because they cost less.
Starting up a business is extremely hard and may need more work than you might think. Having money, buying a lot, and building a store are not the only things needed to run a business. The most important thing is having good business strategies. There is no point of opening up a business if you don’t have a clue on how to run it. Before you run to open up a business, think hard about how you can make it work.


















Works Cited
Herstein, Ram, Eugene D. Jaffe. "Launching store brands in emerging markets: resistance crumbles." The Journal of Business Strategy 28.5 (2007): 13-19. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 7 Nov. 2008. .
Lawton, Thomas, Sydney Finkelstein, Charles Harvey. "Taking by storm: a breakout strategy." The Journal of Business Strategy. 28.2 (2007): 22-29. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 7 Nov. 2008. .
Weiser, John. "Untapped: strategies for success in underserved markets." The Journal of Business Strategy 28.2 (2007): 30. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI. 7 Nov. 2008. .