Connected CRM: Implementing a Data-Driven, Customer-Centric Business Strategy

Chapter 3 Industry Perspective

Business Model Matters

The magnified emphasis on customers, coupled with ongoing advancements in technology and the digitization of media, have enabled the evolution of traditional distribution paradigms. This new reality is creating pressure on firms with traditional business models to become more customer engaged, when in the past they were focused primarily on the intermediary. These companies are evolving in favor of direct-to-consumer business models, enhancing the customer experience and fostering durable relationships.

At the same time, companies that have been historically organized around product or channel and media are breaking down silos and rebalancing the decisioning process to begin building customer strategy as a business strategy. Enterprise needs, behaviors, and values must be considered. How much information does the company have about its customers? The customer base of a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company may contain more unidentified consumers, whereas a bank will boast a customer base full of identified consumers along with other robust information. This has a bearing on messaging, media, and channel decisions.

FIGURE 3.1 Business Model Matters

Consider the business model diagram in Figure 3.1. The horizontal axis is a continuum that represents the degree to which an organization's customers are identified, with the leftmost ...