Page 129 - MYM 2016

organizational role to create and retain current and future customers pro tably, and also as a function that is engaged in assessing and acting on current and future customer needs.
Research has identi ed ve types of exter- nally-oriented work disciplines and two enabling disciplines that are controllable market alignment risk drivers.
Managing Market alignment risk
Step 1: risk identi cation: identify controllable Market alignment risks
ere are seven critical cultural disciplines or traits of market alignment (Brown & Brown, 2015). ese are controllable by management and sta and are important drivers of market alignment risk. ey expose the risks that a company’s capa- bilities will not support its strategy. ey also have a decisive impact on sales growth, pro t growth, pro tability and innovation. (For the links between these seven disciplines and various business per- formance outcomes, see the article “ e Customer Culture Imperative” in last year’s edition of this journal.) Marketers and other leaders might ask the following questions posed for each of the seven behavioral disciplines below. Our research sup- ported by many independent studies have shown them to be the following:
1. customer insight: Does the company understand its customers’ needs? Does it know how satis ed or dissatis ed they are with its products or services? Does it act on this knowledge?
is identi es a business’s ability to improve customer satisfaction and retention. It highlights the risks of losing existing customers and impacts customer satisfaction and sales growth.
2. customer foresight: Does the company gather information on potential customers? How much does it know about future customers’ needs? Does it target them based on its opportunity for competitive advantage?
is identi es a business’s ability to acquire new customers and meet future customer needs. It highlights the risks of not being able to pro tably gain new customers and impacts its capability of
innovation.
3. competitor insight: Does the company
monitor, understand, and respond to its competi- tors’ strengths and weaknesses?
is identi es a business’s ability to factor in current competitors’ strategies and create dif- ferentiated value propositions. It highlights the risks of market share loss to existing competi- tors and impacts sales growth, pro t growth and pro tability.
4. competitor foresight: Does the company consider potential competitors when making deci- sions? Does it identify industry trends in order to identify potential competitors?
is identi es a business’s ability to account for future competitors and their strategies and create new products and value propositions. It highlights the risks of customer and market share loss to new and future competitors and impacts its capability of innovation and new product success.
5. Peripheral vision: Does the company monitor, understand, and respond to the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal trends emerging on the periphery which could a ect its business?
is identi es a business’s ability to scan, sense and act on threats and opportunities emerging in its external environment. It highlights the risks of customer and market loss related to environmental changes and impacts its capability of innovation.
6. Strategic alignment: Is the rm’s strategic direction discussed regularly with all employees? How quickly are work group priorities changed when the rm’s strategic plans change?
is identi es a business’s ability to align
its people to its vision, mission and strategy. It highlights the risks of lower pro t margins and customer loss due to mistakes in strategy imple- mentation resulting from lack of understanding
of a business’s strategy. ese risks impact cus- tomer satisfaction, sales growth, pro t growth and pro tability.
7. cross-function collaboration: Do colleagues from di erent work groups share infor- mation and work together? Are “silos” tolerated or even encouraged? Here marketing can take the lead by sharing customer insights and engage other parts
MarketiNg strategY
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