Choosing a Strategy: Toyota or Rolls Royce

Have you ever sat back and asked your self whether the product or service at your organization or business is a Toyota type or Rolls Royce type?

Why Toyota vs Rolls Royce?

On average, it takes 14 hours to make a Toyota car versus a Rolls Royce that takes six months to make.

Knowing this matters because your Strategy and how you execute that Strategy is different based on whether the primary goal of your product or service is in the space of offering a Toyota model of reaching the masses (quantity) or in the space of a Rolls Royce model of reaching a specific niche (quality).

The actions, marketing, Strategy and efforts of a Toyota type product or service is very different from a Rolls Royce type of product or service. What I have found is that individuals, departments and organizations have a mismatch of Strategy and actions because they don't have clarity of whether their product or service is a Toyota or Rolls Royce.

World of a Toyota

When your product or service is focused on reaching the masses, to be successful you need to operate in the world of a Toyota.

The world of a Toyota is focused on: customer acquisition, speed, price, exposure, making alot of noise, awareness

Words associated in a Toyota world: savings, sale, affordable, bulk, volume, templates, basic systems

Quote: "Always low prices." -Walmart

Company, Examples: Walmart, Alibaba, Forever 21, Dollar General, Big Conferences, Cruises, Hostels, Visa

Career, Examples: Generalist (Human Resources, Accounting, Clerk), Sales Generalist, Insurance Generalist, General Painter, Receptionist, Assembly Line Worker, Manufacturer, Customer Service

Best tools to win: social media, massive action, hustle, saying "yes" to every opportunity or invitation, blogging, paid media in publications purchased by masses (especially if celebrity or gossip focused)

World of a Rolls Royce

When your product or service is focused on reaching a specific individual or group, to be successful you need to operate in the world of a Rolls Royce.

The world of a Rolls Royce is focused on: customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, exclusivity, referrals, couture, closed invitation or invite only, service, limited edition

Words associated in a Rolls Royce world: quality, value, bespoke, craftsmanship, specialization, niche, individualization, targeted systems, unique, elite

Quote: "We aim for a quiet luxury, one rooted in exceptional materials and artisanal craftsmanship. It's about a whisper, not a shout." -Tomas Maier, Bottega Veneta

Company, Examples: Whole Foods, Neiman Marcus, Country Clubs, Private Jet Companies, Davos, Ritz-Carlton, American Express Black Card

Career, Examples: Artisans, Artists, Creatives, Developers, Specialists, Elite Athletes, Presidents (not all), Connectors, Content Specialists (not all), Concierges

Best tools to win: targeted newsletters, limited social media, thoughtful action, sponsoring exclusive events, saying "no" to non-targeted opportunity or invitation, blogging without expectation of high viewership, paid media in publications targeting exclusive clientele

Exceptions and Considerations

Let me be clear, to illustrate my point, I chose to treat a Toyota and Rolls Royce as mutually exclusive. The examples I use above aren't necessarily always present because there are exceptions, outliers and considerations that need to be made:

1. First Adopters: when there is a news product, service or technology, first adopters dictate the platform and whether the product or service will evolve as a Toyota or Rolls Royce. For example, the app Periscope is being dictated to care more about volume (Toyota) than quality (Rolls Royce). However, as the platform matures, I predict it will become more focused on the best, exclusive content (Rolls Royce) unlike YouTube (Toyota) that's filled with a ton of non-valuable content (alongside valuable content you have to search in order to find).

2. Mulitiple Product Lines: these days it's not unusual for a company to offer multiple product lines targeted at both the masses (Toyota) and the exclusive (Rolls Royce). When a company reaches a point where it can take advantage of economies of scale, it can diversify and make multiple offerings. For example, Neiman Marcus knows its core niche is the shopper with high disposable income or existing wealth where exclusivity, couture and uniqueness is important (Rolls Royce). However, Neiman's also knows there are many aspirational shoppers who are more than happy to purchase Neiman's overstocked or un-sold inventory at one of their outlets (Toyota).

3. Authenticity: I've observed this word taking on greater importance as we live in a culture that is inundated with information that can be Googled in micro-seconds. The rich, poor, middle class and and geographically diverse has access to the same information about products, services and technology. Because of this, I believe consumers, employers, and organizations are raising their awareness of quality (Rolls Royce) and the speed in which they want to get it (Toyota). The challenge is going to be how companies meet this growing demand for quality, affordability and speed. For example, the dominance of Amazon is what I think of when considering this growing expectation. I also think of Costco.

4. Economies of Scale/Scaling: there are only two ways to experience growth...development or acquisition. No matter what the core offering is of a company (Toyota or Rolls Royce), when it needs to experience growth, it either develops or acquires a product/service appealing to the masses (Toyota) or a niche (Rolls Royce). Scaling can be complex and difficult, especially if it's global (company) or new skills (individual), so what I've observed is the decision point for this consideration boils down to ease...is it easier to develop (due to excess, unused resources or competitive advantages) or is it easier to acquire (due to excess, available cash or acquisition costs lower than development costs). The decision point of greatest ease will dictate whether the new or acquired product or service ends up being a Toyota or Rolls Royce.
5. Time: in prior generations, time used to be a clear separator between low cost (Toyota) and luxury (Rolls Royce). Now, with the normalcy of technological innovations, time is no longer a clear separator or an indication of low cost or quality. For example, the private jet industry (Rolls Royce) not only has rentable time shares (Toyota model) that's more affordable to the wealthy but also, a flight can get scheduled in as little as two hours notice (Toyota speed)! I also think of high-end online retailer Net-a-Porter (Rolls Royce) who just announced a same-day delivery service for clients (Toyota speed) in the Hamptons/New York area. That's amazing!

Regardless of your product or service's primary or core offering, let these examples and considerations guide how you strategize and execute...it will save you lots of money and time in the end!

Let me know if you have any thoughts: thesupagroup@gmail.com