Why should a potential customer buy from you? If you want to be an HR Renegade, you need to be able to answer that question. Today, we’re going to talk about how to analyze your company’s strategy and use it to build a better team.

Conducting a Business Strategy Analysis

To start the analysis, you need to determine who your target customers are, and what you do for them. Southwest Airlines, for example, targets non-business travelers, and gets them from point A to point B. That’s the easy part.

Your unique value proposition (UVP) is what sets your company apart from all of the other widget makers doing the same thing. There are six major strategies companies use to stand out from the crowd:

• Quality: “We make the best product on the market.”
• Cost: “Spend less so you can save more.”
• Customer Service: “You will be satisfied.”
• Speed/Availability: “Eat great, even late.” “We’ll have what you’re looking for, guaranteed.”
• Unique Experience: “An experience like no other.”
• Status: I couldn’t think of a witty catch-phrase for this one. Think Mercedes or Rolex.

Bet You Can’t Have Just One!

There was a time when most companies competed on one UVP. Then the internet showed up, and brought globalization to the party. Now, most companies compete on at least two, largely because you can get what you need from so many more places than you could before. You can’t just be the cheapest and give crappy service. I can get great prices and better service elsewhere.

Let’s look at Southwest Airlines again. How have they been the only airline post-9/11 to turn a profit?

Cost is the first thing that jumps into my mind. They provide inexpensive, no-frills flights from one point to another. But Southwest also trumps other airlines in customer service. They don’t offer the most pampered trips (that would be quality), but their flight attendants are among the nicest in the skies! Southwest actually competes on third strategy: Unique Experience. They actively encourage their employees to have fun and engage their customers in the antics.

These three UVPs work together to set Southwest apart from other airlines.

It’s All About the People

Once you’ve figured out what your company’s strategies are, you need to determine what you’re doing to meet them. How do you keep costs low? What is your customer service model?

Done? Good. The last step is to understand how your people (in HR, it’s always about the people) support the strategies. This is the “people strategy,” and is where companies who do it well really gain their advantage.

The best people strategies involve systems that aren’t easily copied. Going back to Southwest, several other airlines have tried to duplicate their low-cost, high-fun model, but none have been that good at it. Through creative job structures, team-based work environments, and an ongoing effort to create a culture that emphasizes fun, the people practices at Southwest are what allow their business strategies to succeed.

What’s your company’s UVP? Do you have more than one? More than two?