How to diagnose your company's downturn in 10 minutes.

“It’s just economics,” Miguel said. “The math is complicated, but the principles are simple. We’re showing them where there’s opportunity in attractive markets and making sure they know how to win in them.”

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I was chatting with PivotXY CEO Miguel Maal about a recent client meeting. He had presented findings unearthed by our Competitive Benchmarking module, and honed to a razor’s edge by our team’s economic experts, to make the case for a significant strategic course correction.

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His comment popped like Vegas neon because it was a clear statement of what differentiates our data-sifting strategy platform. The internet is full of sites that will throw data at you by the terabyte, but how many can make sense of it to really tell you what’s important?

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Extracting difference-making economic data from a profusion of sources

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The global company Miguel was referring to needed to understand what to do about its share price trajectory, which was dropping as demand headwinds hit across its entire portfolio of brands. Its corporate leadership team needed strategic clarity on which moves they should prioritize to turn things around.

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There is, of course, an ocean of data you could surf to diagnose the problem. But there’s much skill, experience and training behind those who know which waves offer the best ride.

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“Our clients at PivotXY just see the simple stuff,” Miguel said. “They don't have to see all of the data, which tends to make things convoluted. You don't have to open the hood of the engine to look at it and explore it. We just make it deliver the strategic insights that people want.”

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Software infused with economic expertise

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We’ve built PivotXY from Day One with guidance from a team of economists who are educated and experienced in sorting through a wealth of data to sort out what matters. Our intent all along has been to not only provide in-depth data in real time, but to make sure it’s always relevant. In doing so, we ensure the tool is also flexible to be applied in specific, real-life scenarios seamlessly.

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For the company mentioned above, Miguel used PivotXY’s Competitive Benchmarking software to run a series of analyses, which Miguel called a “successive adjacencies” approach that gradually broadened the markets he was analyzing. In minutes, he found that:

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• The company’s closest peers in alcoholic beverages, their direct competitors, were all down. All were dealing with falling share prices — this was an industry issue, not one specific to the client
• Peers with similar products  — namely beer and wine — but not direct competitors, were also headed downward across the board.
• When we explored a further layer, analyzing carbonated soft drink companies, their share price performance was flat. As we broadened our circle of analysis farther from our client’s core market, share prices started to improve.
• We took a look one layer further from the core and found companies that are soaring. Share prices are rocketing into the stratosphere. Examples here include non-alcoholic beverages and perfumes, among others

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Miguel said the goal of the analysis was to determine, “Is my problem only mine? Or is it a consistent problem within my sector? If it is, how far from my core do I have to go until I find something that’s growing? Which capabilities can they rely on to win in these new markets, potentially?”

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The analyses were enough to convince our client that they couldn’t just tweak their portfolio to get more out of it because too many brands were losing ground. They needed to quit betting in bad markets and think about broadening what they do. It was time to experiment with other brands that might be outside of their comfort zone.

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Company-changing strategic analyses done in minutes

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I asked Miguel, in his 20+ years of corporate finance consulting, how much time it would have taken him to do these analyses. “It would have taken me a while to do the analyses right,” he said. As in weeks.

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“But with our Competitive Benchmarking tool, it was a 10-minute effort,” he said. “The logic came from our tool, and it can be used like that. Even if you have to find other information to complement it, it’s already offering up some insights into what the heck is going on.”

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Just one use case of many for corporate leadership teams

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So many corporate C-suites are in a quandary: The speed of the market is ever faster, and the speed of analysis isn’t keeping pace.

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PivotXY is changing that. Our corporate strategy platform delivers strategic insights in minutes that will inform every meeting, talent acquisition interview, board vote or other C-suite interaction.

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Do you need real-time strategic data that will give your leadership a decisive advantage? Contact us to discuss your needs or schedule a demo.

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