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Find your niche!

Of late, we have been racking our brains on Strategy (we are busy cooking something).  It is in this context that our strategic lenses are ON.

 Most of the time we think strategy is for the CXO suite and somewhere in an airy-fairy land. But, the fact is strategy is all around us. See this picture from Vasudev Adigas - a typical Bengaluru fast food eatery.


At one end of the spectrum is a Starbucks and Cafe Coffee Day. Add a few other brands and local cafes - and there is solid competition at every 'road' or 'street'.

On the other hand are the numerous 'sagars' that dot Bengaluru. Some of them have gone upmarket like Vasudev Adigas. Sure, they are not as upmarket as the Starbucks or coffee houses, but they are a level up over the rest of their ilk. Again, there is competition at every half street in this range. 

And mostly, the clientele is interchangeable - few exclusively go to coffee shops. 

And VA knows this. Their USP is fresh food - not frozen food reheated. Their USP is traditional South Indian food (give or take a few). They have innovated quite well - both in terms of upgrading their service levels, decor, food, range while maintaining an amazing level of taste and quality. 

And there is where this poster comes in. VA knows its strengths and uses it well. They serve one type of coffee - no cold, hot, latte, frappuchino, this that...and are proud of it - and know that their customers want 'That' coffee when they come there. 

So, thats a strategy lesson there. For every strategy, there is an equal and opposite strategy that might work as well. More importantly - one cannot be everything to everybody. Find your niche!

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