Characteristics of Renewable Differentiation
Often companies address the cycle of commoditization with functional or uncoordinated initiatives, focusing on the sales model or the marketing message for example. Greater benefits are realized by addressing the challenge more holistically – rethinking your business model to create Renewable Differentiation. When addressed as a business model challenge, results can be significantly improved and the cycle of commoditization can be arrested. A successful program provides the following benefits:
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Growth – True Intimacy will provide a larger share of wallet at key customers, ability to acquire customers from competitors, provide entry into new markets, and provide more effective new product/service decisions.
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Margin – Fewer deals are sold through RFPs and price differentiation, which means margins improve. Customer journeys are designed to contain a better margin mix of products and services, leading to better, larger deals that close faster.
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Return on R&D – The intimacy and growing understanding of your key customers’ needs and markets allows customer participation in the creation of new products/services. R&D spend can be much more focused on serving these needs better.
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Sales Cost Reduced – The model creates “paid for sales time” – creating value that forms the beginning of a customer journey or Service Chain.
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Intimacy with Key Customers – They see you as an extension of their leadership team, a key advisor that brings new ideas and responds to their unanticipated problems.
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Work above the Line of Safety – You provide solutions that reach higher in customer’s organization, becoming a different kind of partner instead of vendor.
