Welcome back to the fray,
A number of authors including Yoffie & Kwak (2001), have used the metaphor of judo to describe business strategy. As a judo player this appeals to me and as a service business owner I think it the metaphor is generally a good one.
In order to win a judo match you can use a range of techniques to 'deliver' a win that signifies a knockout blow. This could be a throw, pin, joint lock or strangulation technique. The key word today is 'deliver'. As a provider primarily of services as opposed to products, consider how you 'deliver' a service that meets the needs of your consumers.
How do you determine your opening hours to ensure that your customers have access to your service? Where is your service factory located and can your clients easily get to it (whether it is a physical, virtual or combined operation, this needs to be considered)? If you have a shop, is there enough parking or nearby public transport that is easy to access and safe? How does your delivery system make your customer feel (i.e. what effect do symbols, stories, attitudes, the service environment etc have on your client and how can this be used to increase the reputation and quality of your service in your customers eyes?)? Can people read and understand your marketing material and service information? How do can your customers access you to provide feedback on your service offering, especially when they actually become a part of the service?
We each deliver our own service in our own way but we must also take the time to consider how these services are actually delivered to our consumers, whether this meets their needs and desires and if there is anything we can do to improve the access to our service in a way that is realistic from a resourcing point of view.
Speak to you soon!
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