Business Model Review

Picture source: vesuvius.annualreport2012.com

BY: PAUL ENGLE

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER – VOLUME 41 NUMBER 7

Value Begins with Attractive Pricing but Goes beyond a Low Price

A friend is selling the family business to an employee, and she isn’t sue what to do next. Old business rules that had worked so well for her in the past just don’t seem appropriate in today’s economy.

Many readers are facing confusing situations in their career as well. Managers and executives scrutinized expenses, slashed inventories, downsized their cash. Despite their best efforts, many companies have experienced historic reductions in revenue over a compressed period of time. Its very tough for management to plan for a future that holds so many unknowns. A few business fundamentals seem to continue to hold though, and every manager should consider them when plotting their company’s future.

The first step in building a successful business model for the future includes knowing your current and future customers. While this may seem to be a simplistic notion, your customers may be feeling very different about themselves and their suppliers than they did just a few months ago. While market research techniques are powerful tools used to understand a market, dialogues directly with your customers may also provide insights that don’t show up in a continuously interview current, future and even previous customers in an effort to understand their wants and needs and find ways to serve them better.

Your customer’s desires should paint the picture that describe your company’s mission statement and business model. Great rewards and fulfill their customers’ needs in the most appropriate manner.