Episode C.004 Customer Intimate or Service

Customer Intimate or Service
The company value proposition or value discipline is how it provides superior value to gain competitive advantage. It provides a framework that segments the market into three value disciplines

• operational excellence or price
• product leadership or quality
• customer intimate or service

While companies pursuing operational excellence concentrate on making their operations lean and efficient, those pursuing a strategy of customer intimacy continually tailor and shape products and services to fit an increasingly fine definition of the customer. This can be expensive, but customer-intimate companies are willing to spend now to build customer loyalty for the long term. They typically look at the customer’s lifetime value to the company, not the value of any single transaction. This is why employees in these companies will do almost anything—with little regard for initial cost—to make sure that each customer gets exactly what he or she really wants. 

Is Customer Intimacy Right for You?
Changing a company's nature or culture isn't cheap or easy. But customer intimacy can create a more sustainable and profitable model for some. Ask yourself the following five questions to decide whether it is for you:

• Is your company finding that delivering a high-quality product and good customer service aren't enough to create a strong brand any more?
• Is the profit margin on your product already so small that you can't reduce prices any further? Does that create a situation in which you want to offer more value  to your customers, but you don't know how?
• Do your customers tell you that they'd like an all-in-one solution to a problem, instead of the product that you currently offer?
• Are you frustrated that you have access to plenty of data, but your organization doesn't use it to create meaningful change?
• Are you trying to use social media  to get your brand's message out there, but finding it difficult to get your voice heard and to build relationships?

​Four Steps to Customer Intimacy
Customer intimacy is more than just aiming for customer satisfaction. It goes beyond that and requires buy-in at every level of an organization to be successful. Here are four steps that you can take to encourage such a transformation within your organization:

1. Empower Your Team Members. Give your people the tools, training  and resources that they need to give the customer exactly what he or she needs or wants. You need to inspire and encourage them to deliver an outstanding experience at every point of contact with your customers. 
2. Use Data Effectively. Learn as much as you can about your customers. Talk to them, visit them, and analyze their activity on your website. Encourage your people to help you to monitor trends in your industry. Once you have all the relevant information that you can find, you need to make sense of it and interpret it effectively.
3. Narrow Your Customer Focus. It might seem harsh to say it, but not all customers are equal. You need to be pragmatic and focus on those customers who you believe will provide a return on an intimate relationship.

What does the value discipline of Customer Intimacy look like?
Core Competence

• Solve the Customers Bigger Problem

Core Processes

• Business Development
• Solution Development

Unique Selling Proposition

• Problem Solving Expertise
• Offer Customization

Challenges

• Improvement solution impacts the entire organization