Okay, even the best of us is guilty of reacting to a situation or acting on a gut feeling from time to time. Sometimes “instinct” works to our advantage, but more often than not the best results are achieved through research and good planning. LOB, or Line of Business, Strategy is a good example of this.
LOB Strategy falls within the complex domain of Marketing, and understanding it can help your operation achieve and maintain strategic differences from your competitors that are crucial to your success.
LOB begins with identifying, as you see it, the Primary, Secondary, Required and Ignored needs of your customers. If you can satisfy those needs better than can your competitors, it will ultimately be the reason why a customer selects your business over the others. In theory, it’s as simple as that… identify the four need levels of your target customers, then define the activities (Activity Fits) your company must do to meet those needs.
The biggies, of course, are Primary Needs. Generally customers of any kind will have two to four Primary Needs driving their purchase decisions. Primary Needs in this context should be viewed as “that which absolutely must be satisfied by what your company provides.” Does your customer need an assurance of security, specific performance standards, added customer service, solutions to specific problems, social status verification, a level of fashion, a specific degree of comfort, reliability, a guarantee of long-term performance, etc… Whatever your prospective customer must have, in terms of the product or service you offer, will be defined as the Primary Needs.
So that’s where you start, by figuring out the Primary Needs of your target customers. Remember that your company will have to have specific procedures and processes (Activity Fits) in place to meet each of those needs, so it’s a good idea that the list of Primary Needs does not get too extensive. Look at each Primary Need as a golden opportunity to dial your company in on its customers and put some distance between you and the competition.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say you determine that one of your customer’s Primary Needs is for superior customer service. Now, decide what activities you are doing daily to guarantee your employees are delivering superior customer service. We’re not talking about okay customer service or sometimes pretty good customer service here, we are saying superior customer service. This is a Primary Customer Need, so it must be extremely important. How many of your competitors deliver this to their customers? Understand that this single factor can be the key to the success (or failure) of your business, so you must focus on it daily.
Some indicators that you are truly working towards making this a Primary Customer Need might be; implementation of customer feedback mechanisms; a commitment to regular employee training focusing on delivering superior service; structuring incentives plans for employees and getting their “buy in;” or empowering your employees to make important decisions regarding service. If you are not doing these types of things, then you probably aren’t delivering superior customer service and you’re not meeting that Primary Customer Need. If not, get started working on a plan that does deliver the superior customer service if you expect to succeed.
A wonderful example of a company meeting a customer’s Primary Need by providing excellent customer service is Starbucks. Howard Schultz understood his customers and what they expected from his business and it exploded into one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
So get started. Sit down with some of your key folks in your organization and begin to identify your customer’s Primary Needs. And, don’t try to back into it by just figuring out what needs your company can meet and simply assigning that as a true Primary customer Need. Do your homework and get it right.
In the end, remember that if you are not dedicating the financial resource, time and commitment to what you believe are Primary Customer Needs then you better get at it before your competition does.
On deck: Secondary Needs.
