Blue Dots Partners

Companies lose their alignment along two different scenarios: unforced and forced.

Internal decisions can create misalignment along any of the four axes. I call this unforced misalignment. It can be as a result of poor decisions the company made along the way. For example, a lack of focus and losing sight of what matters most for the customer along any of the four axes. It could also be because the company extended its business into adjacent products or services and missed the fact that the same customers they have been successfully serving might not have the pain or the same pain level for the new product as for their core product.

Here are some examples of unforced misalignment for each of the four axes of our A4 Precision Alignment™ methodology:

• A1 misalignment – In 1999, Cosmopolitan, known for its colorful magazine on well-being and sex tips decided to launch a Greek yogurt cleverly called “Cosmopolitan Yogurt.” The idea was that based on surveys they conducted where they found that 65% of their readers consumed edibles in their bedrooms. Needless to say, it was a total flop. It left customers baffled and the price of the “special” yogurt was significantly higher than other similar products. Within 18 months, the brand was discontinued. This reminds me of Colgate getting in the frozen food business with its Colgate Kitchen Entrees delicious lasagna and Swedish meatballs. These are good example of a total A1 misalignment where the company imagined a Pain that their customers did not really have and actually offered a less attractive Claim compared to other established companies.
• A2 misalignment – In May 2002, PricewaterhouseCoopers (doing business as PwC) decided to spin out its technology consulting business and gave it the name “Monday”, which happens to be the least popular day of the week! It was confusing and did not carry the professionalism, differentiation and trust of the PwC brand. According to Gartner the firm had planned to invest $110 million to establish the new brand. The name was profusely ridiculed and was abandoned a year later. This example will remain in the annals as a wild A2 misalignment.
• A3 misalignment – In July 2006, Dell decided to go into the retail business with over one hundred mall kiosks called Dell Direct Store. It also launched two 3,000-square mall stores: one in Dallas and the other in New York. Dell wanted to emulate Apple, but there was a catch: you could not buy a computer there! The stores were designed to test-drive equipment and then place an online order. In January 2008, the company announced the closure of its 140 U.S. kiosk outlets and focus on what Dell is great about: selling over the phone and online. The notion of a customer going into a retail store without being able to buy is a prime example of an A3 grossly missed alignment.
• A4 misalignment – In 1992, the Coca-Cola Company introduced a new formulation for his iconic brand called New Coke (unofficial name). It was actually called Coke II. Consumers expected a similar experience, if not better than the original Coke drink. They did not like it and within three months, Coca-Cola returned to its original product and re-branded it “Coca-Cola Classic,” resulting in a significant uptick in sales.

The other case of loss of alignment can be triggered by external forces. I call it forced misalignment. This is when innovation disrupts the status quo and can become the engine of insane growth as I described in one of my blogs titled “What role does innovation play on growth?” Innovation can materialize itself along any of the four axes.