Basic Strategy Frameworks

A picture is worth a thousand words. To hang a picture, you need a frame. To craft strategy, you need frameworks. This section and the next discuss business strategy frameworks in further detail.

Whereas 2 x2 matrices like SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and the Ansoff Matrix are good starting points for crafting competitive strategy and product strategy respectively, marketing 4 P's (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) and 5 C's (Company, Cost, Customer, Competition, and Channels) are great frameworks to start a meaningful comversation in any business or job interview situation.

Other popular tools such as Porter's Five Force Analysis of any industry and consulting firm BCG's Product Portfolio matrix are also frequently used tools by today's marketing and strategy professionals.

STP marketing forms the foundation for any marketing campaign; but frequently the marketing professionals are not aware of the concept.

Finally, McKinsey's Seven S's framework and the Product Life Cycle are seldom used now-a-days, but have been provided for the sake of completeness.  Please click on the appropriate link to the left to find out more about each of these business frameworks.