Trust matters. This one word – so loaded with meaning and impact – drives competitive market share and pricing in industry after industry where outputs are hard to assess or delivered as a service. Moreover, if a customer doesn’t trust a company, loyalty will be fickle.
With both inflation and recession fears high, many companies are embarking on cost-reduction initiatives. Moreover, the dislocations of the pandemic have changed many customer needs and buying patterns. So much flux may be unnerving but actually creates opportunity for firms to alter business models in ways that both reduce expenses and keep customers delighted. This is a time to look beyond the typical business reaction and use the uncertainty as an advantage.
About twenty-five years ago, Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen coined the term “disruptive innovation.” I worked with Clay for many years building his consulting practice, and I can tell you that he had no idea the concept would take off as it did. Nor did he suspect that interpretations of the concept would become so mangled. It was one of his regrets that he didn’t call disruptive innovation by a more precise name that...
Jobs to be Done is a way to understand why customers behave the way they do. It lays the groundwork for on-target innovation by digging deep to uncover what people are really seeking in a purchase occasion and what vectors exist for new ways to perform. Done right, this approach is both expansive and precise, uncovering a landscape of opportunity and exactly what must be done to meet customer needs. It is used across many...
I once managed a Zambian subsidiary of the pan-African cellular network Celtel. Even in our most challenging environments, such as DR Congo, the company won consistent praise for its honest dealings and abstention from corrupt practices. Celtel and other firms that succeed in these settings offer four moves:
