Creating a Clear Strategic Position for Clip

Recently I came across an article called 'What is Strategy?' by Michael E. Porter (http://hbr.org/product/what-is-strategy/an/96608-PDF-ENG), which made me step back and think about Clip, and what is really the core vision of the venture. The article gave a clear distinction between Operative Effectiveness, which it defines as means of performing activities better, versus Strategy, which is doing different activities or doing activities differently than competitors.

It speaks about how a lot of companies focus on Operational Effectiveness and fail to create a coherent Strategic Vision for the company. I feel this is mainly because a focus on improving efficiency will ensure results in the short run, whereas an overall strategic vision is more about returns in the long run.

The article talks about the strategic positioning of Ikea, and how it is difficult for competitors to emulate them as all their activities are coherent with each other, and an application of just one activity by it self cannot create a viable business. 

"What is Strategy?' Michael E Porter

Here are a few key activities of Ikea, and I feel studying them will help us form a clear, coherent strategy for Clip which is not only well differentiated, but also difficult for competitors to emulate.

A lot our activities overlap with Ikea; like having a 'Modular Furniture Design, Limiting Sales Staff ( online purchase platform), In-house design focus on the cost of manufacturing, Self-Selection by Customers, etc. The next step for us would be to create a  similar activity map for Clip, but with certain key differentiation from Ikea. 

Some activities we feel would fit in our position, as well as be hard to imitate would be:

- Personalization and Customization

Contrary to Ikea where a piece of furniture in Dubai looks exactly the same in Milan and Pittsburgh. The ability to personalize and add character will add a benefit that aligns well with our target group, ie college students. 

- Focused target group

We have a much more focused target group, that is college students who need temporary furniture. Ikea on the other hand serves young professionals, students and basically a wider set of audience. Concentrating and fulfilling the needs of a small target group might be a key differentiator, and might open channels of distribution such as college bookstores, etc.

Our next steps would be to create a refined activity map, and develop more differentiating activities that will make us stand out.

Update: First Draft of an Activity Map: