Customer Value Orientation, Personification, and Hypercompetition

• October 4, 2019

Customer value Orientation

With increased competition, easily accessible information about products, services, and supplier choices including reviews and rankings, the customers are much more educated than in the past. Sales methodologies focusing on uncovering pain and needs, and come up with a solution based on a product or a service, are no longer enough.

Values beyond the products and services have to be created. This could be in the form of a consultative relationship, which supports the customers’ image, future strategy, and evolving operational needs. To have a relevant product with future proof features, high productivity, competitive price, and a good Total Cost of Ownership, only gives you the right to compete. They are mere “hygiene factors”.

To win the business, and create a long-term relationship with the customer, the company needs true Customer Value Orientation with full focus on making the customer successful. Not only today, but with the promise that you can deliver future business values, and a vision of continuous development and support.

Personification

As the evolution of digitalization is becoming more and more sophisticated, B2C has been changed forever. We leave our digital footprints everywhere and it doesn’t matter if you are on Facebook, Netflix, Google, or LinkedIn. Information and customized offerings are delivered to you like magic. Suggestions for which movies to watch, or products to buy based on your earlier searches or articles that you have read. It is very convenient, but also a bit scary. The “Big brother” is watching you and knows exactly who you are, what you are doing, your preferences, and habits.

This trend does not stop here, however. In B2B, segmentation of relevant customers based on previous behaviors and choices, customized marketing targeting specific decision-makers within a company based on the digital marks they have left behind, is becoming more common. The question is, will this be the new normal, or will it be regulated somehow, due to integrity conflicts? Time will tell.

Hyper competition

The competitive advantages of leading companies are constantly under threat and do not last as long as in the past. The average life span of fortune 500 companies today is approximately 30% of what it used to be 50 years ago. Today’s global leaders in areas such as taxi, hotels, retail, movies, media, and advertisement did not even exist 25 years ago. You probably know which ones I am referring to, right? New companies that completely disrupt established business models are popping up all the time. No company can relax and feel secure on the top. If I am not mistaken, it was Bill Gates who once said: ”Microsoft is always two, or three years away from failure”. Another quote from Bill Gates: “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.”

The North European countries and North America, who traditionally were the innovation leaders, are now challenged by countries like China, India, Japan, and South Korea. And soon other new countries, before focusing on low-cost production will be added to the mix. It is also more common that what appears to be niche companies, are now moving into and competing in new areas. Companies constantly reinvent themselves at an increased speed, and many of them moves up in the value chain and absorb the business of their traditional customers.

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