Business Portfolio Analysis
A business portfolio analysis is a framework used by companies to identify areas of investment, reorganization, cost-cutting, and improvement. This analysis helps to bridge the gap between strategy development and its execution by connecting the two processes. Moreover, it also assists in budget allocation for strategies and goals as well as provides an overview of a company's current investments. Through this process, companies can improve their efficiency and productivity while creating a meaningful and effective business portfolio.
A meaningful business portfolio analysis is an important tool for any company that wants to effectively manage its resources and develop a successful strategy. It helps the company identify where it should allocate resources, reorganize, and reduce costs in order to achieve its desired outcomes. By conducting a portfolio analysis, a business can better connect its strategy with actual execution. This means that their efforts are more likely to result in tangible progress toward their goals. Additionally, this type of analysis provides examples of best practices and how they could be implemented within the organization's existing framework. Finally, by providing an overall picture of how the various parts of the organization interact with each other, a meaningful business portfolio analysis makes it easier to prioritize activities and ensure they are aligned with strategic objectives.
Dr. Ian MacMillan developed the model for portfolio analysis at Wharton School, which is the most commonly used approach to business portfolio analysis. This methodology includes categorizing a company's products and services and assessing their efficiency, profitability, and resource allocation in order to prioritize growth opportunities. Other approaches include SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) or PESTLE Analysis (political factors, economic factors, social/cultural factors, technology considerations, legal environment, and environmental impact). Each of these analyses can provide insights into potential strategies that could be incorporated into a company's portfolio in order to increase profits.
What are the benefits of making a business portfolio analysis?
- Better understanding of the current market conditions: It is important to understand the current market conditions when making a business portfolio analysis in order to accurately assess the attractiveness of different industries. By examining, factors such as market size, growth rate, profitability, and competition, businesses can determine whether or not an industry provides them with ample opportunities for success. Knowing the level and type of competition present in a specific sector also helps companies set realistic prices for their products and services.
- Improved strategic decision-making: Improved strategic decision-making can be beneficial to businesses in many ways. It helps reduce risk while maximizing returns and value, communicates and aligns business leaders with Information Systems (IS), enhances team spirit, and encourages leaders to think of the team as a whole. Additionally, proper planning can help identify redundant projects and make it easier to kill such projects. Furthermore, improved strategic decision-making leads to the production of hybrid decision support models that combine internal finances with external market focus, which in turn helps businesses make more informed decisions through graphical portfolios that assess and optimize product market strategies.
- Increased efficiency in resource allocation: Making a business portfolio analysis increases efficiency in resource allocation, which can lead to numerous benefits. By allocating resources competitively, companies can focus on programs that are more likely to be successful and leave those that are weaker to the competition. The Program Evaluation Matrix is a tool used to visualize how resources are allocated across products and services so analysts can quickly identify areas for improvement or areas that need additional investments. With proper planning, teams have better visibility of their projects and become more responsible towards them while minimizing risk while maximizing the return on investment.
- Improved customer segmentation: Improved customer segmentation can lead to numerous advantages for a business, including increased profits and better customer retention. To maximize the potential benefits, businesses should carry out regular portfolio analyses of their customers to identify individual needs and preferences. This analysis involves looking at each customer's individual importance to the business in order to tailor services accordingly. By doing this, businesses can more effectively serve their customers and retain them over time.
- Ability to identify and target new market opportunities: The ability to identify and target new market opportunities is important in a business portfolio analysis because it enables a company to capitalize on potential growth opportunities, leverage cost advantages, and reduce risk through diversification. By taking advantage of new market opportunities, companies can increase their economic scale, disrupt competition in the industry, and maximize sales volume using existing capacity effectively. Additionally, identifying new markets allows businesses to launch products that serve previously untapped audiences or offer innovative solutions to existing markets. Finally, diversifying investments into different types of businesses can help reduce risk by allowing for more potential returns.
- Ability to develop and implement growth strategies: The ability to develop and implement growth strategies is important in business portfolio analysis because it allows businesses to make data-driven decisions that can lead to increased conversions. Through strategic planning, companies can assess their portfolio of businesses and decide which ones should be built, maintained, scaled down or phased out based on their respective strategic profit potential. Growth strategies are essential in this process as they allow companies to capitalize on their strengths and opportunities.
- Improved financial forecasting and long-term planning
- Ability to identify and assess competitors: The ability to identify and assess competitors is essential for successful business portfolio analysis. Competitor evaluation provides valuable insight into market share, quality, delivery, and synchronization with members and customers. This data enables businesses to develop strategies that are tailored to the unique strengths of the company, positioning them for success in a competitive marketplace. Additionally, competitor assessment helps companies access financial and other investment resources necessary for success.
- Increased market share: Making a business portfolio analysis can be a benefit to companies because increased market share can be achieved. A larger-share brand can benefit from economies of scale, increased advertising and marketing efforts, as well as less saturated markets which are easier to sell to. This in turn may lead to higher sales and profitability for the company.
- Improved customer loyalty and retention: Improved customer loyalty and retention can bring many benefits to a business. These benefits include increased sales and profitability, a better understanding of customers' needs and wants, as well as improved market strategies. Additionally, businesses will be able to better serve existing and potential customers by treating each one individually. Graphical portfolios can also help in developing alternate product market strategies that are tailored to the client's individual needs. Ultimately, businesses that invest in improving customer loyalty and retention will have a competitive edge over those that do not focus on this aspect of their operations.