Key Areas for Thought

● Is the service you supply essential or desired in relation to the experience of the London Olympics?
It is important to consider whether your product or service will be needed or simply desired by people visiting London for the Olympics. This is different to whether or not you will be chosen as the service or product provider (it is likely that you will have competitors) but it will affect the way you build a relationship with your Olympic consumers and the expectations you should have of the games. It may be that your business has no real relationship with the Olympics and will not be needed or desired by the guests of the games and you should, in this instance, consider if your business could, in anyway, enhance the Olympic experience for those who will be visiting London during this unique period.

● How will your product or service impact someone’s experience of The Olympic Games?
It is important to consider how your product or service may make someone feel, think or appear in front of their peers during their Olympic trip to London. You should consider how they will perceive your product or service when they look back on their memories of the games, how your product or service changed or enhanced their experience and what impact this will have on them and those who attend the games with them.

● What relationship does your business currently have with tourism and hospitality?
It is important for you to understand the relationship your business currently has with tourism and hospitality and is also important to consider the relationship tourists will already have with your business in terms of familiarity and expectation. If your business doesn’t have a relationship with travel and hospitality, you need to consider how you can create this link quickly by either enhancing or supporting the tourist experience of London and the games.

● How many people are likely to engage with your business as a direct result of the Olympic Games?
Although many businesses will benefit from the London Olympics being based in London, fewer will attract consumers directly because of them. It is important for you to understand whether your business will benefit from the additional consumers in London or the games directly. It is important for you to understand exactly why your business will benefit from the Olympics or if it will be simply benefiting from the increased London population.

Determining your Business Position
Y Axis - Profit potential the Olympics will present to your business
If the Olympics provides the opportunity for you to significantly increase your profits, your business should be positioned towards the top of the Y axis. If it is unlikely that the Olympics will provide the opportunity for your business to make more profit it should be positioned towards the bottom of the Y axis.

X Axis - Impact the Olympics is likely to have on your business
It is important for you to consider the impact the Olympics will have on your business. If it is likely to have a huge impact, you should position your business to the right of the X axis and towards the left of the axis if the impact is likely to be minimal.

Olympic Optimisation Advice
Grid position 1 - High profit, Low impact:
If you are in an industry that is likely to generate significant profit from the London Olympic Games without them having a significant impact on your business, it is likely that you are working in the luxury goods and services space. Your business is likely to benefit from the significant increase of high net worth people in London. Your offering is unlikely to appeal to the mass market with a high value coming from each consumer you attract. It is likely that your business will benefit from the increased pool of people visiting London but is unlikely that your conversion rates (the percentage of people from that pool who want to buy your product or service) will change.

It is likely that your product or service will already be desired but out of reach for many consumers in the mass market. To maximise the Olympics, it will be important for you to help consumers justify this additional expense. It may be that, as the Olympics is a one off experience, people should do whatever it takes to get maximum enjoyment from their stay. You should consider linking your product or service to the enjoyment of the games, making consumers feel that your product or service will give them a premium Olympic experience.

Grid Position 2 - High Profit, High Impact
It is likely that your product or service will be both necessary for and intrinsically linked to the Olympic Games. It will be important for you to make the scalability and profitability of your business as easy as possible during the games to ensure you deliver a high quality of customer service to both your consumers and talent.

It is likely that the leaders of your industry will raise awareness of your product or service and should create a significant level of consumer demand for you. It will be important for you to have a thorough understanding of your competitor landscape and ensure you have a unique selling point which will allow you to build a strong relationship with your consumers.

Grid Position 3 - Low Profit, Low Impact
If the games are unlikely to have an impact on your business or the profit you are able to make during the games, it will be important for you to, as much as possible, keep business as usual. It will be important for you to minimise the impact the games will have on your staff and their ability to fulfil their usual duties. It will be important for you to consider the impact the games will have on your clients, their needs, expectations and ability to meet any financial commitments they have to your business.

Grid Position 4 - Low Profit, High Impact
Whilst your business is likely to be highly affected by the games, it is likely that you will struggle to make this period a profitable one. You will need to carefully consider how you scale and continue to offer high standards of customer service without running the business at a loss. It will be important for you to fully understand the impact the games will have on your business and model the financial assumptions and expectations. It will be important for you to consider how you can most effectively convert additional footfall into income where possible, understand your buyers decision making process and tailor marketing activity and messages to try and maximise buying. It will be important for you to be sales focused in all your activity and have full control of your expenditure during the games.