Ansoff-matrix.pdf

Team FME
Strategy Skills
Ansoff Matrix
www.free-management-ebooks.com
ISBN 978-1-62620-950-3

Copyright Notice
© www.free-management-ebooks.com 2013. All Rights Reserved
ISBN 978-1-62620-950-3
The material contained within this electronic publication is protected under International
and Federal Copyright Laws and treaties, and as such any unauthorized reprint or use of
this material is strictly prohibited.
You may not copy, forward, or transfer this publication or any part of it, whether in elec-
tronic or printed form, to another person, or entity.
Reproduction or translation of any part of this work without the permission of the copy-
right holder is against the law.
Your downloading and use of this eBook requires, and is an indication of, your complete
acceptance of these ‘Terms of Use.’
You do not have any right to resell or give away part,
or the whole, of this eBook.

ISBN 978-1-62620-950-3 © www.free-management-ebooks.com 1
Ansoff Matrix
Table of Contents
Preface 2
Visit Our Website 3
Introduction 4
Ansoff Matrix 6
Market Penetration Strategy 10
Market Development Strategy 13
Product Development Strategy 16
Diversification Strategy 21
Summary 24
Other Free Resources 25
References 26

Ansoff Matrix
Preface
This eBook describes the Ansoff Matrix, a strategic planning tool that links an organiza-
tion’s marketing strategy with its general strategic direction.
You will learn:
●
● How the Ansoff Matrix can help you to develop a strategy for improving your mar-
ket position
●
● The four ways that an increase in market penetration can be achieved
●
● The risks inherent in a market development strategy and how these can be mini-
mized
●
● The three approaches to brand extension that can maximize the opportunities for
success whilst minimizing the risks
●
● The three methods that organizations can use to diversify into new markets with
new products

Ansoff Matrix
Visit Our Website
More free management eBooks along with a series of essential templates and check-
lists for managers are all available to download free of charge to your computer, iPad, or
Amazon Kindle.
We are adding new titles every month, so don’t forget to check our website regularly for
the latest releases.
Visit http://www.free-management-ebooks.com

Ansoff Matrix
Introduction
Today’s organizations find themselves operating in an environment that is changing
faster than ever before. The process of analyzing the implications of these changes and
modifying the way that the organization reacts to them is known as business strategy.
‘Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term,
which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configura-
tion of resources and competences’ Johnson et al. (2008).
While your role as a manager is unlikely to require you to make decisions at the strategic
level, you may be asked to contribute your expertise to meetings where strategic con-
cerns are being discussed. You may also be asked to comment on pilot schemes, presen-
tations, reports, or statistics that will affect future strategy.
Meetings
Pilot Schemes
Presentations
How you
participate in
strategy
Statistics
Reports
Whether you work in a large multinational corporation or a small organization, a good
understanding of the appropriate business analysis techniques and terminology will help
you to contribute to the strategic decision-making processes.

Ansoff Matrix
• Defining the
strategy
• Internal
capability to
respond
• Implementation
of the strategy
• External
environment
Analyze Assess
Aid Assist
Typical scenarios where you could be asked to provide information and data for your
organization’s strategic decision making include:
●
● Analyzing the organization’s external environment.
●
● Assessing the organization’s internal capabilities and how well it can respond to
external forces.
●
● Assisting with the definition of the organization’s strategy.
●
● Aiding in the implementation of the organization’s strategy.
Strategic
Definition
Strategic
Analysis
Strategic
Planning
Internal
Capability
External
Environment
SWOT, Ansoff
PESTLE, Porters
5 Forces
Boston Box
The diagram above shows where five widely used business analysis tools fit into the stra-
tegic planning process. This series of eBooks will give you a solid understanding of how
these tools can be used, as well as an appreciation of their limitations.

Ansoff Matrix
This knowledge will enable you to take an active and productive role when asked to par-
ticipate in the strategic decision-making process.
Key Points
4
4 You may be asked to contribute your expertise to meetings where strategic
concerns are being discussed.
4
4 Typical scenarios where you could be asked to provide information for stra-
tegic decision making include: analyzing the organization’s external environ-
ment, assessing internal capabilities, assisting strategy definitions, and aiding
in the implementation.
Ansoff Matrix
The Ansoff Matrix, or Ansoff Box, is a business analysis technique that provides a frame-
work enabling growth opportunities to be identified. It can help you consider the impli-
cations of growing the business through existing or new products and in existing or new
markets. Each of these growth options draws on both internal and external influences,
investigations, and analysis that are then worked into alternative strategies.
Prior to using the Ansoff Matrix your organization should conduct a SWOT analysis. This
technique is described in detail in the ‘SWOT Analysis’ eBook, which can be downloaded
from www.free-management-ebooks.com.
The SWOT analysis serves to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your organiza-
tion, as well as the external threats to it and the opportunities available to it. Once these
have been identified you can use the Ansoff Matrix to investigate the implications of
your organization’s current strategy and those of any changes that are suggested by the
SWOT analysis.
The usefulness of both the SWOT analysis and Ansoff Matrix depends on the quality and
accuracy of the market intelligence they are based on. This information is best supplied
by working managers who can provide accurate and up-to-date information on every-
thing from customer feedback to competitor activities.

Ansoff Matrix
The need for this information means that you may find yourself in strategy meetings; a
familiarity with the underlying business analysis techniques and jargon can help you to
make a valuable contribution by bringing your own area of expertise into the discussion.
The Ansoff Matrix, created by the American planning expert Igor Ansoff, is a strategic
planning tool that links an organization’s marketing strategy with its general strategic di-
rection. It presents four alternative growth strategies in the form of a 2x2 table or matrix.
One dimension of the matrix considers ‘products’ (existing and new) and the other di-
mension considers ‘markets’ (existing and new).
Products
Existing New
Market
Penetration
Product
Development
Market
Development
Diversification
Markets
Existing
New
The resulting matrix offers a structured way to assess potential strategies for growth.
As part of this framework you will have to consider possible technological advances that
could affect your current and future products, as well as potentially new markets for both
sets of products during their life cycle.

Ansoff Matrix
The sequence of these strategies is:
1. Market Penetration—You focus on selling your existing products or services to
your existing markets to achieve growth in market share.
2. Market Development—You focus on developing new markets or market seg-
ments for your existing products or services.
3. Product Development—You focus on developing new products or services for
your existing markets.
4. Diversification—You focus on the development of new products to sell into new
markets.
The matrix does not present you with a final decision as to whether or not to develop
new products or enter new markets, but it does provide you with an outline of alternative
methods by which you can achieve your mission or growth targets.
Market
Penetration
Market
Development
Product
Development
Diversification
It is particularly useful in showing how you can develop a strategy for altering your mar-
ket position as well as increasing or improving your product range. The four different
options are not mutually exclusive and in certain circumstances your organization might
want to combine different elements.
The output from an Ansoff Matrix is a series of suggested growth strategies that serve
to set the direction for the business and provide marketing strategies to achieve them.

Ansoff Matrix
Each of these options carries a certain amount of risk and involves differing levels of
investment.
• 3. Product
Development
• 2. Market
Extension
• 4. Diversiﬁcation
• 1. Market
Penetration
Low
Risk
Moderate
Risk
High
Risk
Medium
Risk
To be able to take an active part in discussions regarding any one of these four strategies
requires you to have a general idea of the implications each strategy could have on your
organization.
Key Points
4
4 The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that links an organization’s mar-
keting strategy with its general strategic direction.
4
4 Prior to using the Ansoff Matrix your organization should conduct a SWOT
analysis.
4
4 One dimension of the matrix considers ‘products’ (existing and new) and the
other dimension considers ‘markets’ (existing and new).
4
4 This suggests four possible strategies: Market Penetration, Market Develop-
ment, Product Development, and Diversification.

Ansoff Matrix
Market Penetration Strategy
This strategy involves focusing on selling your existing products or services into your ex-
isting markets to gain a higher market share. This is the first strategy most organizations
will consider because it carries the lowest amount of risk.
• Market
Penetration
Strategy
• Sell more of
current product
to existing
market
Growth
• Gain market
share
Low Risk
This strategy involves selling more to current customers and to new customers who can
be thought of as being in the same marketplace. For example, if your current customer
base consists of men aged between 16 and 25 then this strategy would involve attempt-
ing to sell more of your existing products or services to this same group.
One key constraint is that you cannot allow anything in your drive to grow market share
to compromise your existing success. You need to be aware of what has made the prod-
uct a success so far and ensure that nothing you do will undermine it.
You should give this strategy careful consideration if you are not in a position to invest
heavily or are not comfortable with taking risks, as the amount of risk associated with
this strategy is relatively low.
There are four approaches you can adopt when implementing this strategy:
Market Penetration Strategy:
Retain or increase your product’s market share
Dominate growth markets
Drive out your competitors
Increase existing customer usage

Ansoff Matrix
Maintain or increase the market share of current products
You can achieve this by adopting a strategy that is made up of a combination of competi-
tive pricing strategies, advertising, and sales promotion. This would involve focusing on
the areas of sales and marketing responsible for managing the pricing and promotion of
the product.
Secure dominance of growth markets
Another approach you could take is identify a new demographic for your product, for
example another age group. An excellent example of such a strategy would be for you to
identify a change in the age distribution of your product users and to then aggressively
market your product to this age group.
This was exactly what happened in the cell phone market when it was realized that teen-
agers were emerging as a key demographic. Previously it had been users in their 20s who
were seen as the biggest group of first-time users. Substantial growth in market share
and dominance in this sector was achieved by ensuring cell phone companies’ promo-
tions met the needs of this younger group.
Your role in the discussion senior executives will have in defining their strategy is that of
providing the market intelligence or customer feedback that helps to inform the execu-
tive team of the current dynamics of the market. The data you provide will help the team
decide whether a growth market is an extension of the current market or is truly a ‘new’
market. This decision is likely to be based on how your organization is going to approach
this growth market.
If the team’s chosen approach defines the growth market as a ‘new’ one then a market
penetration strategy will be replaced with one of market development, which is covered
in the next section.
Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors
Many organizations find themselves in a mature or saturated market and to achieve fur-
ther market share requires a different approach. This strategy requires an aggressive
promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market
unattractive for smaller competitors.
With a mature market there are no more demographic sectors to exploit and the only
way to attain market share is to take it from competitors. Examples of this strategy can

Ansoff Matrix
be seen in the newspaper, telecoms, and cable TV industries, where the larger players now
dominate.Anothergoodexampleistherapidgrowthofthesupermarketchains,whichhave
taken market share from small high street grocers who are unable to compete on price and
product range. More recently there has been the introduction of loyalty campaigns, where
the supermarkets compete for market share through customer loyalty programs.
Increase usage by existing customers
Another approach to market penetration is to persuade your existing customers to use
your product or service more frequently. There are several tactics you could use to do
this, including loyalty schemes, adding value to the current product, or making altera-
tions to the product that encourage greater use.
Increase
usage
Loyalty
schemes
Add
value
Technology
changes
The tactics of this approach all aim to ‘tie in’ your customers to your product or service
by making it more difficult for them to move to another supplier. The ability of your or-
ganization to achieve higher usage by customers can be greatly enhanced by rapidly
changing technologies that encourage users to upgrade or that offer more reasons to
use the product or service. A good example of this would be cell phones: models are now
upgraded every six to 12 months with the addition of new features and capabilities.
A successful market penetration strategy relies on detailed knowledge of the market and
competitor activities. It relies on you having successful products in a market that you
already know well.
requires detailed market &
competitor intelligence
Market
Penetration
Strategy
The key role you are likely to be asked to perform is capturing the intelligence that is
required to make informed decisions. Understanding why this information is being asked
for should help you to capture and pass on the most relevant and significant information.

Ansoff Matrix
Key Points
4
4 Market penetration involves focusing on selling your existing products or ser-
vices into your existing markets to gain a higher market share.
4
4 This can be achieved in four ways: maintaining or increasing the market share
of current products; securing dominance of growth markets; restructuring a
mature market by driving out competitors; or increasing usage by existing
customers.
Market Development Strategy
A market development strategy involves selling your existing products into new markets.
There are a variety of ways that this strategy can be achieved.
Market Development Strategy:
New geographical markets
New product dimensions or packaging
New distribution channels
New market segment created by different pricing
New geographical markets
This could involve expanding outside of your region or selling to a new country or a new
continent. The element of risk in adopting this strategy will depend on whether or not
you can use your established sales channels in the new market.
New product dimensions or packaging
Your organization may simply want to repackage your product so that it can open up
a whole new market. For example, a company that sold industrial cleaning products
in 20-liter containers could break into the domestic market by repackaging in smaller
quantities and developing a suitable brand image.

Ansoff Matrix
If you are responsible for packaging or production of the product you will be required to
look at the new costs involved with these changes and new markets requirements and
alter the marketing messages so that they are appropriate to that country’s culture.
New distribution channels
Many companies have transformed themselves from high street retailers into Internet
retailers. As a manager you could be expected to outline the internal and financial im-
plications of such a change. Senior management would be looking for you to provide the
details of how to make this approach a success.
This could include the training needs of employees so that they have the skills to fulfill
Internet orders, whether they are taking incoming calls or processing online orders. You
would need to demonstrate an understanding of the operational changes your organiza-
tion would face, such as a centralized warehouse rather than local depots.
One example of this type of market development is the sale of high-end sports equip-
ment, which is now almost exclusively sold online rather than through sports equipment
retailers. Another example is the sale of DVDs in retail outlets like supermarkets and
gas stations rather than specialist entertainment stores selling predominantly music and
video products.
Different pricing policies to create a new market segment
The important aspect of this approach is whether or not current users can easily alter
their purchases to take advantage of the new market pricing. A good example of how to
protect your existing market whilst developing a new one is Adobe Photoshop. It pro-
tected its price difference of hundreds of dollars of its original professional product by
offering a reduced ‘home’ version that had a restricted set of functions.
Market Development Strategy requires:
detailed market & competitor intelligence
well-researched market, financial & operational data

Ansoff Matrix
Whilst there are similarities between the first two strategies, market development in-
volves a greater degree of uncertainty, risk, and financial commitment.
One of the biggest dangers of this strategy is the risk of alienating your current custom-
ers. For example, the tools made by US company Snap-on are widely regarded as the
best in the world and are used by almost all professional automotive racing teams.
Snap-on tools are only available through a tightly controlled network of franchisees and
the company has resisted the temptation to develop any markets outside of professional
mechanics. This strategy has allowed Snap-on to maintain its position as the number
one supplier in this highly competitive market.
One way around this problem is to sell a cheaper product under a different sub-brand.
This is something that has been done successfully by the US musical instrument com-
pany Fender, which created the ‘Squier’ sub-brand in order to market budget instruments
without alienating its core market of musicians who want to own a recognizably high-
end instrument.
Key Points
4
4 A market development strategy involves selling your existing products into
new markets.
4
4 There are four strategies that can achieve this: new geographical markets;
new product dimensions or packaging; new distribution channels; or the cre-
ation of a new market segment by means of different pricing.
4
4 One of the biggest dangers of this strategy is the risk of alienating your cur-
rent customers.

Ansoff Matrix
Product Development Strategy
This growth strategy requires changes in business operations, including a research and
development (R&D) function that is needed to introduce new products to your existing
customer base.
Product Development Strategy:
Requires research & development
Requires assessment of customer needs
Requires a clear path for brand extension
As part of a successful product development strategy your role will require you to have
a greater appreciation of a new emphasis placed on marketing. This would result in you
supplying data for and assessing the implications of change in the following key areas:
Research and development
You may find yourself having to investigate and assess the use of new technologies, pro-
cesses, and materials that would be needed to pursue this strategy.
In the cell phone market, for example, phone models are being replaced every six months
or so. Your organization may find that the lifespan of its products are longer, but few can
ignore the necessity of continuous R&D.
Assessing customer needs
This is something that can be done by the marketing department in the form of customer
questionnaires and user groups. However, customer needs can also be become appar-
ent to people who are in customer-facing roles, as they often are the first to hear about
problems or concerns with the product or service.
If you are managing a team in a customer-facing role you will have the opportunity to
gather data that may initially appear negative but which can offer your organization the
opportunity to meet customers’ needs more fully. Understanding what a customer’s real
needs are and how these can be interpreted in product development is essential to suc-
cess when using this strategy.

Ansoff Matrix
For example, complaints about oil spilling over the customer’s car engine when having to
replace lost oil led to the addition of an integral funnel being added to engine oil packaging.
Brand extension
This is a common method of launching a new product by using an existing brand name
on a new product in a different category. A company using brand extension hopes to le-
verage its existing customer base and brand loyalty. However, this is a high-risk strategy
as success is impossible to predict and if a brand extension is unsuccessful, it can harm
the parent brand. Common sense would suggest that for brand extension to be success-
ful there should be some logical association between the original product and the new
one, but there have been many exceptions to this.
Brand
Extension:
is hard to
predict
often defies
logic
must avoid
confusing the
customer
It is extremely difficult to predict what will work and what will not, and even with the
benefit of hindsight it is sometimes hard to see why some attempts at brand extension
succeed whilst others fail. For example:
A well-known success is the launch of a clothing range by Caterpillar, a com-
pany that makes earth-moving equipment. This brand extension is totally
unrelated to its main business.
A well-known failure is that of the car manufacturer Volvo, whose launch of
its 850 GLT sports sedan was a high-profile failure. This seemed on the sur-
face to be a logical brand extension, but it did not work for Volvo because the
public could not be persuaded to buy a sports car from a manufacturer whose
principal brand value is safety.
Whatever course of action is decided upon it must not create confusion amongst your
customers. It must also avoid having a detrimental effect on your current market share.

Ansoff Matrix
Matches
purchasing
habits
Association
with current
product
Revamp
or refresh
product
Approaches to
Brand Extension
There are three broad approaches to new product development:
1. The new product is closely associated with current products.
2. The new product matches current customers’ purchasing habits.
3. The new product reinvents or refreshes the existing product.
Within the fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) market the majority of product devel-
opment follows the first approach of creating new products that are easily and closely
associated with the existing product. These new products usually have strong brand
awareness within the market and use this as their main vehicle to gain visibility in this
highly competitive market.
For example:
MarsiswellknownforitsfamousMarssnackbar.Itsbrandextensionremained
in the snack arena and started with different sizes, such as bite size and king
size. Then it created a branded ice cream before moving into beverages.
Kit Kat’s product development has been similar to that of Mars, but it has
tried offering customers different flavors as part of this strategy. This has
met with varying degrees of success. The United Kingdom has shown little
preference for the new flavors, whereas in Japan flavors such as Wasabi,
pumpkin, and toasted soy flour have become very popular.

Ansoff Matrix
Kit Kat’s variable success with creating new flavors for their chocolate bars reflects how
different cultural tastes can influence success or failure when using this strategy. If your
organization operates internationally then part of your research and development should
take account of cultural differences.
The second brand extension approach requires your organization to have a thorough
knowledge of the purchasing habits of your existing customers. Using this expertise you
would then develop your products in such a way that they match these habits.
You may even exploit your organization’s or your brand’s image and reputation to achieve
this by promoting and mirroring your existing brand image and its purchasing habits onto
your new product.
For example:
Marks & Spencer used their image of quality to expand their product range
into food, encouraging their existing customers to buy from them rather than
a supermarket. They have also extended their brand into financial services.
Virgin exploited their image of quality and offering something more excit-
ing to persuade teenagers and young adults who bought music from them to
buy soft drinks (Virgin cola), travel with them, and later to use their banking
services and other financial products.
The third approach to brand extension is to continuously offer a refreshed or revamped
product. This new product must convert your competitor’s customers rather than simply
cannibalizing your own sales. You want to avoid diverting your existing sales to the new
product as this will simply maintain revenues rather than increase your market share.
Razors, washing detergent, and cars are all examples of products that are continually ‘re-
freshed’ in this way, especially to stay distinct from the competition and gain market share.
For example:
The washing detergents market has seen extensive product development.
Companies started offering just one type of washing powder; this then pro-
gressed to one for whites and another for colors, then to liquid versions, and
now to tabs or pouches.

Ansoff Matrix
The consumer will buy a variety of these products to satisfy the different
washing requirements of their clothes. This contrasts with previous genera-
tions who just used one powder to wash everything!
Each of these product development approaches involves investment and an element of
risk. One key aspect of this strategy is that you as a manager are likely to have to de-
velop new skills and specializations within your team or department to meet these new
requirements.
These new skills, especially in the initial stages, could be met by using outside skills and
resources to control the cost and risk of such a venture. Many organizations outsource
this aspect of product development and simply add their name to the packaging.
Product development, especially brand extension, is a popular strategy because it is
more easily accomplished within the organization than creating totally new products.
Key Points
4
4 A product development strategy involves developing new products or ser-
vices for your existing markets.
4
4 This strategy requires continuous research & development as well as the on-
going assessment of customer needs.
4
4 There are three broad approaches: the new product is closely associated with
current products; it matches current customers’ purchasing habits; or it rein-
vents or refreshes the existing product.
4
4 Many organizations outsource product development by simply buying in an
existing product from another manufacturer and putting their own name on
the packaging.

Ansoff Matrix
Diversification Strategy
A diversification strategy achieves growth by developing new products for completely
new markets. As such, it is inherently more risky than product development because by
definition the organization has little or no experience of the new market. In addition, the
new skills needed both in terms of marketing and operations often require substantial
investment. This is usually achieved by acquiring an organization already operating in
the new market.
For an organization to adopt such a strategy it must have a clear idea of what it expects
to gain in terms of its growth. It also needs to make an honest assessment of the risks
involved. Diversification often fails because organizations that attempt it are doing so
because they have uncompetitive products in shrinking markets and a diversification
strategy represents a desperate attempt to reinvent themselves. However, for those or-
ganizations that find the right balance between risk and reward, a marketing strategy of
diversification can be highly rewarding.
Diversification Strategy:
Honest assessment of risks
Access to capital & willingness to invest
Clear expectations of potential gains
Right balance of risk versus reward
This strategy is unlikely to come as a surprise to you, as it will have been intimated in
many executive discussions and communications as a way the organization can achieve
its ambitious or aggressive growth targets.
By regularly reading press articles on your organization and its annual report you will be
able to ascertain if this type of strategy is one under consideration. If you are aware of
the accumulation of investment funds or substantial pressures from your competitors
on your market share or product range, then these are the type of pre-conditions that
forewarn of a diversification strategy.

Ansoff Matrix
If you are involved in defining or implementing a diversification strategy you will be
aware of the discomfort or risk that occurs when working outside your existing knowl-
edge base. Not all such strategies are successful, and even those that are in the short
term may falter in the long run if they are unable to match the R&D of their competitors.
These two examples illustrate the risks involved:
In the UK, Virgin’s move into trains has not been as successful as was initially
hoped, even though they had some experience in the transport market. This
poor performance might have had an impact on the overall strength of the
brand due to the criticisms of the rail service. But Richard Branson’s image
has done much to minimize the impact and enhance the corporation’s ability
to truly segment its services.
Nokia were extremely successful when they diversified into cell phone manu-
facturing from their original focus as a producer of paper products. They be-
came the European market leader, but they have recently suffered a setback
with the introduction of Smartphones. It will take them time to respond to
this setback and restore their market position.
Diversification can occur at two levels: either at the business unit level or at an organi-
zational level. When it happens at the business unit level, you will most likely see your
organization expanding into a new segment of its current market. At the organizational
level, you will most likely find you are involved in integrating a new organization into your
existing one.
As with each of the other growth strategies there are three broad approaches to how
your organization implements a policy of diversification:
●
● Full Diversification
●
● Backward Diversification
●
● Forward Diversification
Some organizations refer to these types of diversification as different ‘integration’ ap-
proaches because this is actually what happens. The new product or service and its mar-
ket must be ‘integrated’ into the organizational structure to be successful.

Ansoff Matrix
Types of
Diversification
Full Backward
Forward
Full Diversification—this approach is the most risky as you are offering a totally new
product or service to an unknown market. It will also take considerable time to accom-
plish. An example of this strategy would be:
A fresh trout distributor decides to diversify into selling insurance.
Backward diversification—this is where your organization decides to diversify by of-
fering a product or service that relates to the preceding stage of your current product or
service. For example:
The distributor decides to invest in a Scottish trout farm, thereby encroach-
ing on the role of his or her supplier.
Forward diversification—this is the situation where your organization diversifies into
the products or services that relate to a later stage that follows your current offering. For
example:
The distributor negotiates contracts directly with the supermarkets and oth-
er end users by selling online, negating the need to work with wholesalers.
In each of these examples the distributor would need to learn new skills and methods of
operation. In the examples of forward and backward diversification those skills are not
so alien to the distributor because the product is essentially the same. But the expertise
in running a trout farm, in negotiating contracts, and setting up a reliable online shop to
the public will require new skills to be successful.
In this example, the option of full diversification is obviously very risky indeed. The dis-
tributor is not involved in the insurance business and few of the skills that exist within his
or her existing business will be transferable to the new one. This type of radical diversifi-

Ansoff Matrix
cation can work if the company is cash rich and feels as though they would benefit from
investing in a completely different type of business, perhaps one that they believe has a
better long-term future than their current enterprise.
Key Points
4
4 A diversification strategy achieves growth by developing new products for
completely new markets.
4
4 Diversification can occur at two levels: either at the business unit level or at
an organizational level.
4
4 The three approaches to diversification or integration are: full diversification,
backward diversification, and forward diversification.
Summary
The Ansoff Matrix can be used to explore the different directions for strategic growth
that a company might take. The output from the matrix is a series of suggested growth
strategies that serve to set the direction for the business strategy. Each of these options
carries a certain amount of risk and involves some investment.
The matrix was designed for use by established organizations that have the financial se-
curity to pursue the chosen strategy. It is not designed to be used by failing organizations
that are trying to reinvent themselves just to survive.
Other business strategy eBooks available from www.free-management-ebooks.com in-
clude:
●
● SWOT Analysis
●
● Boston Box
●
● PESTLE Analysis
●
● Porter’s Five Forces

Ansoff Matrix
Other Free Resources
The Free Management eBooks website offers you over 100 free resources for your own
professional development. Our eBooks, Checklists, and Templates are designed to help
you with the management issues you face every day. They can be downloaded in PDF,
Kindle, ePub, or Doc formats for use on your iPhone, iPad, laptop or desktop.
eBooks—Our free management eBooks cover everything from accounting principles to
business strategy. Each one has been written to provide you with the practical skills you
need to succeed as a management professional.
Templates—Most of the day-to-day management tasks you need to do have already
been done by others many times in the past. Our management templates will save you
from wasting your valuable time re-inventing the wheel.
Checklists—When you are working under pressure or doing a task for the first time,
it is easy to overlook something or forget to ask a key question. These management
checklists will help you to break down complex management tasks into small control-
lable steps.
FME Newsletter—Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter and stay up to date with the
latest professional development resources we add every month.
Social Media—Share our free management resources with your friends and colleagues
by following us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and RSS.
Visit www.free-management-ebooks.com

Ansoff Matrix
References
Cadle, J., Paul, D. and Turner, P. (2010), Business Analysis Techniques, 72 Essential Tools for
Success, BCS The Chartered Institute for IT.
Johnson, G., Whittington, R. and Scholes, K. (2009), Exploring Corporate Strategy with
MyStrategyLab, Financial Times/Prentice Hall.
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Brady, M., Goodman, M., and Hansen, T. (2009), Marketing Man-
agement, Pearson Education.
McDonald, M. and Wilson, H. (2011), Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use
Them, 7th
Edition, John Wiley.

Ansoff-matrix.pdf

More Related Content

Similar to Ansoff-matrix.pdf (20)

More from Abo Bakr El Omda (8)

Recently uploaded (20)

Ansoff-matrix.pdf