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Anyone who lives in a business environment, whether as an entrepreneur or as an employee, must have heard the term “core business”. However, even though this term is quite deep-rooted and frequently used, can you answer what your company’s core business is? Or, before that, can you answer what this term means?
What is?
Core business refers to something like the company’s main business, business core, its focus of activity, or also, the reason that made this enterprise start in the first place. In other words, what its purpose is. It is common for the business core to be confused with the company’s competitive strategies, however, they are different things. The strategies and ways of acting are subsequent to the definition of the business focus since for the same core business we can create different performance, sales, or communication criteria, for example. To get a better picture, imagine the automobile industry. Within the same area of operation, there are different core businesses: for an automaker, its core business will be the production of popular cars, while for another one it will be traction cars, and yet another may have its focus on luxury cars. Despite being all in the same segment, each one has a different focus to meet the demands of its niche. Their strategies and actions will be different and consistent to communicate to the public what is its core business and what makes it different from its competitors.
The importance of defining my core business
The more detailed this definition is the better the company’s chances of staying healthy since this concept is the basis for defining in which market the company will operate, who its customers will be, and especially what demands must be met or what customer problems must be solved.
Your core business is not always just about your product or service, but also relates to what the organization does best, what makes it stand out in the market, so it can be more connected to the customer, the forms of service, the price, and even the technology or innovations.
Defining your core business in a detailed way will make your company take advantage of the right opportunities, as well as helping in the choice of priorities to become a reference in your area of activity. This facilitates assertive strategic decision-making, goal and team alignment, and also answers questions such as where to make investments, which activities can be outsourced, which customers it wants to reach, what is the strategic plan for growth, and to face the competitors.
In short, defining the business core allows the company to be much more coherent with its purposes and have healthy, organic growth.
I don’t know my core business, what now?
The more transparent and detailed the focus of your business is, the easier it is to identify the strengths and advantages that your company is able to offer your target audience.
The most practical way to identify is to clearly answer a few simple questions:
- What am I selling? What do I do best?
At this point, it is important to think not only about the product itself, but about the experience generated. For example, photographers record moments, but for one, their core business is fast deliveries in digital format, while for another, it is the production of printed albums.
- What makes my company different from my competitors?
Knowing what the market is doing or what kind of product and service is being delivered is key to building your core business. If your niche is the same as your competitor’s, think about where your differential lies: in the price? Quality? Innovation? What opportunities has your competitor not taken advantage of?
- Who is my persona?
Answering this question is of paramount importance to win customers and have the desired reach. Your persona is the characteristics that make up your ideal target audience. It is by understanding your customer that you will know how to create products and services capable of satisfying demands or solving problems. It is by defining your target audience that research to get to know their consumption habits will be made easier.
It is important to note that as a company grows or implements innovations, its core business may change, so it is important to routinely review these issues.
Focus on your core business
With a well-defined core business, your company will be able to focus on its reason for being, which avoids wasting too much time dedicating to a middle activity that can corrupt its competitive potential. For assertive decisions, identify and communicate it to your collaborators and to the entire market. Make a survey of the activities performed within your company and list which activities can be outsourced, or those repetitive and routine activities that could be performed more quickly with management software capable of managing processes and documents.
Neomind believes your time must be used to elaborate strategic plans to reach your core business. That is why we offer the Fusion Platform, a platform capable of digitally transforming your business, making your tasks digital, reducing your costs, making activities and consultations much faster, through a friendly interface with process and document management modules, and, finally, offering fundamental indicators so you understand and analyze how and where your business can improve.
With Fusion Platform, you speed up and standardize your processes, control the circulation and organize your document repository, obtain fast, accurate information in the palm of your hand, improve communication among your collaborators. It also assists in the creation of teams focused on your company’s core business.
Want to learn more about the features of Fusion Platform? Try it for 15 days or talk to one of our consultants. Keep your focus on your business and we will help you manage it.
