Saturday, November 25, 2006
Go to the Customer Voice
It is a truism to say that we must always create value in the customer's eyes. We must always seek new insights and ways of understanding the marketplace that can deliver value to their business and their stakeholders - whether that be engagement, insights, analytics, quality, being the n01 or no2 in each market (thanks Jack) or even creating the 'Blue Ocean' - whatever that actually is...
Well have we ever thought about what our customer's (the client's themselves) get from our competition? Ok, maybe they get lower prices, faster service and so on. But do these things do what research is there for? Research doesn't exist to be fast per se, or provide a lower cost per se. That is part of the basis of our competition. No, it exists to enable people to have better insights which deliver better decisions. Read profitability or revenue - whatever the financial indicator at stake is.
So do client's really care about our competitive sector? That there are competitive panels? Competitive ideas? Competitive quality claims? They just want that stated above. Perhaps it is time for us to acknowledge this and find new ways to work together to serve our clients? That is not about a monopoly or a cartel - no. It is about finding ways to work together to serve our client's interets AND achieve mutual gains. I am not talking about industry bodies or accreditations.
I am going to keep playing with this idea. I believe in it...
Well have we ever thought about what our customer's (the client's themselves) get from our competition? Ok, maybe they get lower prices, faster service and so on. But do these things do what research is there for? Research doesn't exist to be fast per se, or provide a lower cost per se. That is part of the basis of our competition. No, it exists to enable people to have better insights which deliver better decisions. Read profitability or revenue - whatever the financial indicator at stake is.
So do client's really care about our competitive sector? That there are competitive panels? Competitive ideas? Competitive quality claims? They just want that stated above. Perhaps it is time for us to acknowledge this and find new ways to work together to serve our clients? That is not about a monopoly or a cartel - no. It is about finding ways to work together to serve our client's interets AND achieve mutual gains. I am not talking about industry bodies or accreditations.
I am going to keep playing with this idea. I believe in it...
