Igor Ansoff created the Ansoff Matrix, first published in the Harvard Business Review. It is a fundamental business strategy tool that is taught to MBA students in business schools and is used in businesses all over the world. Ansoff proposed that there were only two ways to develop a growth strategy: by changing what is sold (product growth) and who it is sold to (market growth). Combined with the Ansoff Matrix, it yields four strategic options, each with a varying level of risk. A company's lowest risk strategy is to sell its existing products into existing markets because it knows its customers and has established channels.
