About the Ansoff matrix

1. ANSOFF MATRIX
T H E A N S O F F M A T R I X W A S F I R S T P U B L I S H E D I N T H E H A R V A R D
B U S I N E S S R E V I E W I N 1 9 5 7 , I N A N A R T I C L E T I T L E D " S T R A T E G I E S
F O R D I V E R S I F I C A T I O N . " I T H A S G I V E N G E N E R A T I O N S O F
M A R K E T E R S A N D B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S A Q U I C K A N D S I M P L E W A Y
T O T H I N K A B O U T T H E R I S K S O F G R O W T H .

2. ABOUT IGOR ANSOFF
• The model was invented by H. Igor Ansoff. He was primarily a mathematician with an expert insight into
business management. It is believed that the concept of strategic management is widely attributed to the
great man.
• Ansoff was born in Vladivostok, Russia on December 12, 1918. In 1937 Ansoff emigrated to the USA and
graduated at Stuyvesant High School, New York City. Following graduation Ansoff studied General
Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology where he received a Master of Science degree in the
Dynamics of Rigid Bodies. Ansoff then went on to study at Brown University, receiving his Doctorate in
applied mathematics.
• Ansoff then joined UCLA, California where he participated in the Senior Executive Program. For the next 17
years he was professor at the USA International University (now called Alliant International University). He
served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and as a liaison with the Russian Navy during the second World War.
• To his honour, the Igor Ansoff Award was launched in 1981 in Holland. The prestigious award is given for
management research in the study of Strategic Planning and Management. Two other awards have been
established in his name; The Japan Strategic Management Society annual award and the Ansoff MBA
scholarship at Vanderbilt University, USA.
• Igor Ansoff died following complications of pneumonia in San Diego, California, July 14, 2002.

3. The Ansoff Matrix has four
alternatives of marketing strategies;
Market Penetration, product
development, market development
and diversification. The Matrix shows
four strategies you can use to grow. It
also helps you analyse the risks
associated with each one. The idea is
that, each time you move into a new
quadrant (horizontally or vertically),
risk increases.

4. MARKETING STRATEGIES
1. Market penetration – This involves increasing market share within existing market
segments. This can be achieved by selling more products/services to established
customers or by finding new customers within existing markets.
2. Product development – This involves developing new products for existing markets.
Product development involves thinking about how new products can meet customer
needs more closely and outperform the products of competitors.
3. Market development – This strategy entails finding new markets for existing products.
Market research and further segmentation of markets helps to identify new groups of
customers.
4. Diversification – This involves moving new products into new markets at the same time. It
is the most risky strategy. The more an organisation moves away from what it has done in
the past the more uncertainties are created. However, if existing activities are threatened,
diversification helps to spread risk.

6. COCA COLA