Creating value is the work of leaders. After multiple years of adapting to relentless economic disruption, considering questions like these can help assess the qualitative aspect of your efforts, your value creation posture? • What do we own in the marketplace? What is our most sustainable competitive advantage and how do we preserve it? • How can we more quickly and accurately interpret and adapt to changing customer or market needs? Do customers value what …
Rising inflation is driving a greater emphasis on price over value creation in negotiations. It’s not just the dramatic, unpredictable cost increases that are impacting your customers’ decisions, but also the sense of higher risk related to uncertainty, that cause the short-term, price-first perspective to prevail over the longer, strategic view in your customers’ buying process. Focusing on price as the primary decision factor has the advantage of being clear, direct and easy to evaluate. Everything is …
Leaders own culture. As organizations continue to emerge from a disorienting, multi-year disruption, many leaders are discovering that their company culture has eroded, and they need to rebuild it. Pre-covid work communities are fractured, challenging you to define new working norms and expectations that enable team trust and collaboration to grow in accordance with core values. Teams need some in-person time together, and with you, to share stories and ideas, exchange perspectives and rekindle relationships. A distinctive energy …
In this dynamic market, the most agile, growing businesses compete more against themselves than against any competitor. Competing companies, offering comparable solutions, struggle to differentiate themselves over time, resulting in declining prices and margins which impede sustainable growth. Your customers care only about the value you produce for them, and however you accomplished this last time, they will expect more next time. Producing more value than last time, without just reacting to what your competition is …
Offering your product or service as the lowest priced alternative is a simple, efficient strategy. Price is obvious to all buyers. It’s clear, direct and easy to evaluate. It’s often the same for everyone. Offering the lowest price is seductive. But doing so makes your offering a commodity – discounting your expertise, diminishing your brand, and setting you up for a one-way journey down in revenue and profit. A purchase becomes just another transaction, producing no enduring value for the …
In every customer relationship, there is the moment of truth – the moment when something goes wrong. It’s in that moment, when your promise has been broken, that your customer experiences the real nature of your business. What your company truly values is exposed. When a business is young, every customer relationship is precious. Promises made to customers reflect a personal commitment and depth of caring that adds value to an offering and cultivates a customer’s trust. As …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Price is obvious to all buyers. It’s clear, direct and easy to evaluate. In a retail environment, it’s the same for everyone. Value is different for every buyer. It is derived from the benefits or experience generated by the product or service purchased. Selling on the basis of price is easier than selling the value your product or service produces. But doing so makes you a commodity – discounting your expertise, diminishing your …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet When you introduce a new offering, the market ultimately determines its value. How you position the new product or service when it’s launched influences that decision, providing the opportunity to maximize your profitability and ROI, and avoid the label of commodity. There are really two positioning options. Your introduction of the new offering can explain why it’s the best option available at the moment. Its value is based on being …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet The fundamental premise for business acquisitions is that the merged organizations will be more valuable together than they would be if they continued as separate entities; an acquisition is expected to create value. Yet, a multitude of research studies cite a high failure rate for mergers. One KPMG study indicates that 83% of acquisitions fail to boost value, and another by A.T. Kearney concludes that total return on many M&A deals is often negative. These studies consistently …
Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet In a commoditized market, why do customers choose to build enduring relationships with some suppliers? It’s all about the strategic value you produce for them. Customers cite 3 attributes that increase your value: 1. Reliability Customers expect you to keep your promises—it’s the price of admission into the relationship. If your team makes it easy to do business, perhaps delivering exceptional service as well, then your value is increased. What …
