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1、The Myth of ExcellenceWhy Great Companies Never Try to Be Best At EverythingFred Crawford & Ryan Mathews (2001)There is a growing gap between the content of a business transaction (the value of a product or service) and the context (the values surrounding doing business). We found business after bus
2、iness simply missing the point and believing that value was an effective commercial substitute for values and that transactions were an acceptable alternative to the relationships customers want.1. Field notes from the commercial wildernessBasic assumption: every business transaction can be broken d
3、own to five attributes: Price Service Access Experience Product.Major lessons from the book: 1. It is impossible for one company to be great at everything.2. Even assuming a company could excel in all five areas, it would have difficulty communicating a clear value proposition to consumers. The most
4、 successful consumer business hone the one that their target customers value the most.3. Even the most successful companies tended to be right for the wrong reasons: they werent paying enough attention to what we came to recognize as a desperate cry for basic human values.The answer: Consumer Releva
5、ncy framework = a way of appropriately framing an offering that enhances its value to a customer. It is a way for businesses to answer consumers demand for values on terms that the customers could recognize, a way of speaking to customers in their own language.The perpetual scavenger hunt for values
6、: human values trust, respect, honesty, dignity, courtesy, etc. are the building blocks of any free, advanced society. Yet those very things are gradually but systematically being stripped away from our daily lives. Why? Societal devolution: all human beings look to put themselves in situations wher
7、e they recognize and relate to the values being portrayed around them. Everyone wants to be respected, to be treated well, not be taken advantage of, to be recognized and valued: in short, to be validated as an individual. Historically, this responsibility hasnt fallen very heavily on goods and serv
8、ices providers. People were able to find such reinforcement in many places: family, government, their marriages, school, social-club membership, church. Each made a contribution, some more than others, to validating and reinforcing the value of the individual, the worth of their society, and the san
9、ctity of their place in it. But today, much of this is changing. One by one, the institutions that have historically safeguarded our values have begun to fail us. The upshot of all this is that traditional institutions have become less able to adequately reflect fundamental human values. As individu
10、als, we unconsciously seek out reinforcement and ratification of our personal values and consciously reward those commercial institutions smart enough to build values into their offerings. Increased inability to keep pace with daily life. Expectations are rising, and we are falling further behind. P
11、roliferation of increasingly intrusive information and communication technologies. There is an explosion in the amount and availability of information in our lives. It may not be good or accurate information, but that is largely left to for each of us to decipher. Result is that we are simultaneousl
12、y better informed but less aware. We are becoming both cynical and confused. But what do consumers want in this environment of information overload? Clarity, ease, certainty and trust. We need someone we can trust and rely on to clarify our options, to simplify our choices, to allow us to feel satis
13、faction with our decisions.All this has led to the birth of a new consumer: the “instavidual”. They define value in direct relationship to a moment of personal need. Their need sets vary from day to day and even from hour to hour. Instaviduals demand that business be relevant to them, but their attr
14、ibute preferences change as frequently as the weather. The convergence of these myriad forces has also created a new market in its wake, a market characterized by the emergence of a new consumer need set one never seen by business and therefore consistently not addressed.Societal situationHuman cond
15、itionHuman needSocietal devolutionInability of traditional institutions to adequately reflect fundamental human values“Fortify, reinforce, ratify my personal values”Increasing inability to keep pace with daily lifeIncrease in stress, guilt, anxiety“Help me to survive psychologically and emotionally”
16、Proliferation of information and communication technologiesInformed and aware, but cynical and confused consumers“Clarify my options, allow me to feel satisfied with my choices”Success of Yahoo!, A, eBay, and Dell can be explained by these issues. They created a business model more in tune with what
17、 customers want and need: “Make it easy for me to find what I want, save me time, provide reasonable price value, deliver it where I ask, give me the opportunity to interact if (and only if) I want to, allow me to shop exactly when I want to, show me that you pay attention, and learn more and more a
18、bout my tastes and preferences as you do business with me.”The Consumer Relevancy construct is a solution meeting the new need set of todays consumers, and is based upon three foundations: Human values are the contemporary currency of commerce: businesses that address those fundamental human needs a
19、re well-positioned to take shares from their competitors. Human values determine commercial value: today, it is human values that are displayed during the provision of goods and services that provide the opportunity for extreme differentiation, branding, and building loyalty. Values are more importa
20、nt than value in the eyes of todays consumer. Today, differentiation is found in the manner in which the product or service is rendered, viewed through the lens of human values. (Context has overtaken content as the primary driver of consumer value. It is within the context of any commercial transac
21、tion that the representation of human values can be found. Consumer Relevancy defines the new competitive battleground and offers a blueprint for future success.)2. The new model for consumer relevancy“Well, from the sellers point of view, the relationships between consumers and business havent chan
22、ged all that radically from the days of the nineteenth-century country store and its urban equivalent to the twenty-first century cybersouk.” So, if things havent changed that much, why do consumers seem to upset? While the essential transactional infrastructure (the five basic attributes of commerc
23、e access, experience, price, product, and service) appears the same over time, the covering of that infrastructure (the specific meaning of those attributes at any given point) has been radically transformed. The mythology of price: business brags about cheap, but people value honest. Consumers said
24、 were less concerned with getting the lowest price, but rather with a fair and honest price. It means that consumers want a price that is consistent and that doesnt appear to have been artificially increased or decreased at the expense of other things they want to buy. Setting the service: walk your
25、 talk. Many companies provide “value-added” services for consumers in one area, but fail to provide basic service in others. Options dont mean much if you cant find the basic service you want. Access: it aint just location anymore, but is about the customers ability to actually locate and buy. Today
26、, consumers care more about navigation physical and psychological than mere geographic location. They dont want to be confused or slowed down by clever and elaborate layouts or trapped by forced traffic patterns into a human imitation of sheep in a slaughter chute. Getting to a business is far less
27、important than getting what they want once theyve arrived. The real meaning of experience: intimacy matters. It is not about entertainment, but about respect, to be treated like a human being (rather than human purchase orders), and to be offered unique products or services. Product: your best is go
28、od enough. The vast majority of consumers indicated that consistently good product was more desirable than a single best offering.A hierarchy of interactionConsumers are sending a clear message: “if you give me what I need (honesty, respect, and trust), I will give you what you desire from me (my lo
29、yal patronage)”.A consumers interaction with sellers operates at one of three potential levels: accept, prefer, and seek. There is also a negative level one below ground an area of deep distrust and loss of credibility, a space in which no company wants to operate. Where a company falls in this hier
30、archy of interaction depends on how well it listens to its customers, truly understands what they are looking for, and, satisfies their needs.How to solidify a relationship with the customer and work your way up the hierarchy of interaction?Most of all, it requires a new way of thinking, a new conce
31、pt of Consumer Relevancy, one that allows for differentiation, without attempting to do everything at world-class levels. Understanding Consumer Relevancy begins with an understanding of the interaction that exists among consumer behavior, business strategy, and the resulting relationship at each of
32、 the three levels. Level I is the threshold at which the customer says, “I accept you, I trust you enough to buy your products and services and to consider coming back again.” You create a basic level of acceptance if customers find hones pricing, credible products, accommodating service, easy acces
33、s, and the respect they believe they deserve. In a Level I relationship, consumers are willing to make their routine purchases from the company. At this level, the relationship is transactional: the consumer needs something, the company carries an acceptable offering, and the exchange of cash for go
34、ods and services is made. This level conveys little sense of loyalty either way. (The consumers may never buy from that company again, and the company doesnt necessarily care.) At Level II the customer says, “I prefer your store, products, and services, and all things being equal I will probably mak
35、e my purchases there.” Here consumers prefer one store or brand over another. This happens when the company makes access to its facilities, product, or website convenient, shows respect on a personal level, clearly presents consistent prices, offers reliable, good-quality products, and is able to ed
36、ucate the consumer on how a product or service works. Here, you differentiate yourself from the competition. Level II companies have built a degree of trust sufficient to cause consumers to prefer doing business with them. There is an affinity between consumer and company that causes the consumer to
37、 recall the companys name or products at his moment of need. At Level III, the consumer says to the company: “I trust you so completely that I will not only seek you out among all the other options, but I will also give you the authority to edit my options for me.” This is the ideal state, in which
38、the consumer not only prefers one company over another but also will actively seek out the company of choice. Consumers will gladly wait six months for delivery of the new-model BMW, or wont drink coffee not brewed by Starbucks. The most successful companies dont stop at just differentiating themsel
39、ves. They find ways to dominate, to further separate themselves from the pack, causing them to be the one choice that pops into the consumers mind at the moment of need. Examples are: Amazon, The Home Depot, Wal-Mart, America Online, Southwest Airlines, Lexus, Citibank, Nokia, Dell It is at this lev
40、el that a company has the opportunity to move consumers to lifestyle relationships. Level III companies capture consumers imagination so completely that those shoppers no longer even think about other options. In Level III relationships, the company becomes the source that customers appoint to make
41、all the right decisions in light of their unique lifestyles. How to get there? Companies achieve this degree of authority only through constant monitoring of consumer interactions at a level of detail that other companies find to granular.LEVELACCESSEXPERIENCEPRICEPRODUCTSERVICEIII: Consumer seeks t
42、he company (Dominate)Give me a solution; help me out in a bind.Establish intimacy with me by doing something no one else can.Be my agent; let me trust you to make my purchases.Inspire me with an assortment of great products I didnt know about.Customize the product or service to fit my needs.II: Cons
43、umer prefers the company (Differentiate)Make the interaction convenient for me.Care about my needs and me.Be fair and consistent in your pricing (this does not necessarily mean lowest price).Be dependable in your selection and stock position, so I can rely on you when Im in a bind.Educate me when I
44、encounter a product or a situation I dont understand.I: Consumer accepts the company (Operate at par)Make it easy for me to find what I need, get in and out in a hurry.Respect me, treat me like a human being.Keep the prices honest; dont jack them up or offer big savings when are none.Be credible in
45、your product and service offerings.Accommodate me; bend over backward sometimes to show me you care.Consumer underworldBlock my way, hassle me, keep me waiting, make it hard for me to get in and out.Dehumanize me; disrespect me; ignore my needs.Be inconsistent, unclear, or misleading in your pricing
46、.Offer me poor-quality merchandise and services that I cant use.Give me an experience Id just as soon forget; give me a reason to tell my friends and relatives to stay away.Creating a consumer-relevant companyConsumer-relevant companies focus! Great companies learn to overcome the constant temptatio
47、n to strive for universal excellence. You must decide on which attribute you want to compete. In addition to choosing a primary attribute, companies that are highly relevant to consumers select a second attribute that serves a strong complement and helps them further differentiate themselves from co
48、mpetitors. Finally, the most successful consumer businesses recognize that regardless of how well they perform on their primary and secondary attributes, they cannot fall below industry par on the other three.The overriding message is that successful companies understand that value, in consumers minds, is the intangible sum total of a business performance on all five attributes. There is an aggregate minimum threshold that every company must meet across the board to be successful. This threshold, though, is not the same for all companies. In mature markets or industries, the value
