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Most strategy frameworks collect dust in slide decks. Here are seven that digital businesses actually use to make real decisions, with examples of how they've driven success.
1. Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) Framework
Customers don't buy products – they "hire" them to do jobs. When Intercom applied JTBD, they discovered customers weren't hiring their tool for "customer support" but to "reduce time spent answering repetitive questions." This insight led to their chatbot pivot, driving 3x growth.
How to use it: Map the functional, emotional, and social jobs your product does. Interview churned customers about what they "hired" to replace you. Intercom's JTBD Guide explains their methodology. The Rewired Group offers certification in JTBD interviewing.
2. Blue Ocean Strategy
Stop competing in bloody "red oceans" – create uncontested "blue ocean" market space instead. Cirque du Soleil eliminated animals and star performers (circus industry norms) while adding theatrical storylines and upscale venues, creating an entirely new entertainment category worth $1B+.
How to apply it: Use the Strategy Canvas tool to map your industry's competing factors. Identify which to eliminate, reduce, raise, and create. Look for non-customers – why aren't they buying from anyone? Blue Ocean Strategy Online Course walks through the process.
3. Wardley Mapping
This visual strategy tool maps your business components by evolution (genesis → custom → product → commodity) and value chain position. Amazon used similar thinking to identify which components to build versus buy, leading to AWS – they realized server infrastructure was becoming commoditized, creating a massive opportunity.
Getting started: LearnWardleyMapping.com offers free courses. Map your value chain from user needs down to components. Identify what's evolving from product to commodity – that's where disruption or opportunity lives. The Wardley Maps Community shares real examples.
4. Lean Canvas
Ash Maurya's one-page business model focuses on problems, solutions, and key metrics instead of the traditional business plan. Buffer used Lean Canvas in their early days, validating their social media scheduling problem before building features, helping them reach $20M ARR.
Implementation: Download the free Lean Canvas template and fill it out in under 20 minutes. Update it weekly as you learn. Focus on the riskiest assumptions first. Ash Maurya's Running Lean provides the complete methodology.
5. Porter's Five Forces
Michael Porter's framework analyzes industry competition through five forces: competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitution, and threat of new entry. Shopify understood that in e-commerce, platform dependency (supplier power) was crushing merchants, so they built an open platform that reduced switching costs.
Analysis approach: Score each force as high, medium, or low for your industry. Identify which force is most threatening and build your strategy to neutralize it. CFI's Guide to Porter's Five Forces includes templates. The Strategy Tools Podcast covers real applications.
6. Value Proposition Canvas
Another Strategyzer tool that maps customer jobs, pains, and gains against your products, pain relievers, and gain creators. Slack used this thinking to position their tool not as "team chat" but as a way to "reduce email overload" and "make work more transparent" – directly addressing customer pains.
Using it effectively: Download the Value Proposition Canvas and start with customer pains – these are more urgent than gains. Interview 10 customers to validate. Adjust your messaging to emphasize pain relievers. Strategyzer's Masterclass goes deep.
7. Ansoff Matrix
This growth strategy framework maps four paths: market *********** (existing products/existing markets), market development (existing products/new markets), product development (new products/existing markets), and diversification (new products/new markets). Netflix moved through all four: penetrating DVD rentals, developing streaming, creating original content, then diversifying into gaming.
Strategic application: Start with market *********** (lowest risk). Map your growth options in each quadrant with expected ROI and risk. Ansoff Matrix Guide by Corporate Finance Institute explains when to use each strategy.
Making Frameworks Work:
Don't use frameworks as academic exercises. Pick one that addresses your current strategic question. Use it to facilitate team discussions – the conversation is more valuable than the output. Revisit quarterly as markets evolve. Combine frameworks: use Wardley Mapping to identify where you compete, then Blue Ocean to redefine the game.
Additional Learning:
7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer identifies the only seven ways to achieve persistent competitive advantage. Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley shows how P&G applies strategy frameworks at scale. Strategy Tools podcast features operators explaining frameworks they've used successfully.
Which frameworks have driven real decisions in your business? What strategic questions are you wrestling with?
1. Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) Framework
Customers don't buy products – they "hire" them to do jobs. When Intercom applied JTBD, they discovered customers weren't hiring their tool for "customer support" but to "reduce time spent answering repetitive questions." This insight led to their chatbot pivot, driving 3x growth.
How to use it: Map the functional, emotional, and social jobs your product does. Interview churned customers about what they "hired" to replace you. Intercom's JTBD Guide explains their methodology. The Rewired Group offers certification in JTBD interviewing.
2. Blue Ocean Strategy
Stop competing in bloody "red oceans" – create uncontested "blue ocean" market space instead. Cirque du Soleil eliminated animals and star performers (circus industry norms) while adding theatrical storylines and upscale venues, creating an entirely new entertainment category worth $1B+.
How to apply it: Use the Strategy Canvas tool to map your industry's competing factors. Identify which to eliminate, reduce, raise, and create. Look for non-customers – why aren't they buying from anyone? Blue Ocean Strategy Online Course walks through the process.
3. Wardley Mapping
This visual strategy tool maps your business components by evolution (genesis → custom → product → commodity) and value chain position. Amazon used similar thinking to identify which components to build versus buy, leading to AWS – they realized server infrastructure was becoming commoditized, creating a massive opportunity.
Getting started: LearnWardleyMapping.com offers free courses. Map your value chain from user needs down to components. Identify what's evolving from product to commodity – that's where disruption or opportunity lives. The Wardley Maps Community shares real examples.
4. Lean Canvas
Ash Maurya's one-page business model focuses on problems, solutions, and key metrics instead of the traditional business plan. Buffer used Lean Canvas in their early days, validating their social media scheduling problem before building features, helping them reach $20M ARR.
Implementation: Download the free Lean Canvas template and fill it out in under 20 minutes. Update it weekly as you learn. Focus on the riskiest assumptions first. Ash Maurya's Running Lean provides the complete methodology.
5. Porter's Five Forces
Michael Porter's framework analyzes industry competition through five forces: competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, threat of substitution, and threat of new entry. Shopify understood that in e-commerce, platform dependency (supplier power) was crushing merchants, so they built an open platform that reduced switching costs.
Analysis approach: Score each force as high, medium, or low for your industry. Identify which force is most threatening and build your strategy to neutralize it. CFI's Guide to Porter's Five Forces includes templates. The Strategy Tools Podcast covers real applications.
6. Value Proposition Canvas
Another Strategyzer tool that maps customer jobs, pains, and gains against your products, pain relievers, and gain creators. Slack used this thinking to position their tool not as "team chat" but as a way to "reduce email overload" and "make work more transparent" – directly addressing customer pains.
Using it effectively: Download the Value Proposition Canvas and start with customer pains – these are more urgent than gains. Interview 10 customers to validate. Adjust your messaging to emphasize pain relievers. Strategyzer's Masterclass goes deep.
7. Ansoff Matrix
This growth strategy framework maps four paths: market *********** (existing products/existing markets), market development (existing products/new markets), product development (new products/existing markets), and diversification (new products/new markets). Netflix moved through all four: penetrating DVD rentals, developing streaming, creating original content, then diversifying into gaming.
Strategic application: Start with market *********** (lowest risk). Map your growth options in each quadrant with expected ROI and risk. Ansoff Matrix Guide by Corporate Finance Institute explains when to use each strategy.
Making Frameworks Work:
Don't use frameworks as academic exercises. Pick one that addresses your current strategic question. Use it to facilitate team discussions – the conversation is more valuable than the output. Revisit quarterly as markets evolve. Combine frameworks: use Wardley Mapping to identify where you compete, then Blue Ocean to redefine the game.
Additional Learning:
7 Powers by Hamilton Helmer identifies the only seven ways to achieve persistent competitive advantage. Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley shows how P&G applies strategy frameworks at scale. Strategy Tools podcast features operators explaining frameworks they've used successfully.
Which frameworks have driven real decisions in your business? What strategic questions are you wrestling with?