This article derives from ongoing research spanning nearly 20 years on customer-focused transformation in industries such as airlines; automotive; banking and financial services; building and construction; chemicals; children’s toys and entertainment; computers and IT services; consumer electronics; consulting; energy and oil; engineering; fashion and footwear; fast-moving consumer goods; health care and medical supplies; packaging; paints; pharmaceuticals; public sector and not-for-profits; publishing; retail; telecommunications; and utilities.
The research uses an action-based methodology, founded on inquiry, analysis and testing. It aims to articulate best practices as companies deal with situations that are still evolving and don’t yet have solutions. From the literature, case writing and hands-on experience with corporations, models and tools are developed and refined in a reiterative process of application, testing and adaptation. Then through feedback from classroom discussions, executive forums and interviews with senior executives involved in the applications, common denominators are identified and used to build theory and make the concepts, tools and successful methods generic enough so they can be transferred to practicing managers.
The research has progressed in three overlapping stages:
STAGE 1
From 1986 to 1995 at IMD Switzerland, the market-space construct and customer-activity-cycle tool were developed to enable executives to identify and articulate the value they need to offer to become customer-focused. To date, this tool has been activated in more than 100 public and private enterprises worldwide.
STAGE 2
In the four years... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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