Creating a robust portfolio of new business opportunities

Media company

Media is one of the driving forces of change globally, and early adopters of new trends are often younger customer segments. For example, new social media platforms, generation of 'Creators' and their self-developed content and the rise of new ecosystems are shifting customer preferences and industry's value creation logic. Our client wanted to create foresight to the alternative directions the industry might take, illustrate the foresight through scenarios and use the scenarios as a frame for developing new business opportunities.

The gained foresight was utilised to develop the future-preparedness of current business and identify utterly new business opportunities. The value of different opportunities was evaluated in the light of different future conditions and long-term business objectives. The highest value opportunities were categorized into a business portfolio. The portfolio helps our client to commit to developing their strategic advantage in the long term in a way that maintains their strategic flexibility to react quickly to upcoming changes in the fast-pace media industry.

Success criteria

Understand the needs and changes in behaviour of selected customer segment
Identify their unmet needs, now and in future scenarios
Create a portfolio of new business opportunities and actions to drive superior customer experience and loyalty.

Understanding shifts in customer behaviour is tricky since consumers behave in specific patterns just as long as they decide to start acting differently.

Foreseeing shifts in consumer behaviour can be difficult and requires a lot of different viewpoints. Therefore, we included a diverse set of experts to gather customer insight and spot weak signals that had the potential to affect consumer preferences and the industry's future. As a result, we identified 14 significant changing forces affecting consumer preferences and industry future and illustrated those using scenarios based on the crowd-sourced analysis.

We utilised the scenarios to create new business opportunities future-back; what growth opportunities scenarios A, B, C or D would meet customer needs and foster loyalty?

Evaluating the business potential of different opportunities is complex as done in the light of several business objectives and several possible future conditions. Therefore we utilised mathematical decision support to evaluate different opportunities value in different scenarios.

Using a mathematical decision model, we identified 5 robust opportunities that represented strategic choices in the portfolio. These are opportunities that perform well in all scenarios and therefore have a low risk of a failed investment.

As a result of the co-created process, we identified 62 new business opportunities and validated their value and impact in different operating conditions (scenarios) and the light of given business objectives.

Business opportunities were categorised into a business portfolio. Then, using a mathematical decision model, we identified 5 robust opportunities that represented strategic choices in the portfolio. These are opportunities that perform well in all scenarios and therefore have a low risk of a failed investment. In addition, we identified strategic options that perform well in scenario-specific conditions. These are valuable if specific scenarios seem to realise, creating an ability to react quickly to the changes.

On the other hand, we also identified opportunities that did not create value in any scenarios. These opportunities were categorised as 'No go' from the beginning. As part of the portfolio evaluation, we also considered limitations, such as budget and the client's risk-taking attitude.

As a result, we concluded the different opportunities into a business portfolio, which helps our client commit to developing opportunities, creating long-term strategic advantage while keeping their strategic flexibility.

What customers say

"I warmly recommend Swanlake. You listen to your clients and customize your approach to meet their needs in a way that utilizes your extensive experience."

— The client feedback