A escolha dos pivôs (parte II)

Robert Simons, na revista HBR do próximo mês de Março, escreve um artigo intitulado "Choosing the right Customer - The First Step in a Winning Strategy".
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O artigo começa assim:

"All companies claim that their strategies are customer driven. But the term “customer” is among the most elastic in management theory. A working definition might be that your customers are the people or entities that buy your products and services and supply your revenue.
That includes any number of actors in a company’s value chain: consumers, whole salers, retailers, purchasing departments, and so forth."

Simons está a falar do ecossistema da procura e da identificação dos pivôs, aquilo a que ele chama "primary customer".

"Unsurprisingly, perhaps, many executives are reluctant to define their customers as narrowly as Merck has. (Moi ici: Para a Merck o pivô é o médico que prescreve o medicamento, tudo o resto são actores que têm de estar presentes mas quem faz girar o ecossistema é o médico, logo, ele é o pivô. Ele é o cliente e, no entanto, não compra. Recordar o "Não é armadilhar, é educar") By not singling out any group as the primary customer, executives can sidestep difficult choices that might turn out badly - a temptation that’s particularly strong in new, rapidly evolving markets. What’s more, many business leaders believe that treating all value chain partners as customers improves internal coordination and responsiveness.
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But by not identifying one primary customer, companies that consider themselves “customer focused” soon become anything but."

Uma grande verdade:

"The bottom line is this: The strategic choice of primary customer—with special emphasis on “primary”—defines the business."

Como identificar o pivô?

"your most important customers are not those that generate the most revenue but those that can unlock the most value in your business. For some businesses, the primary customer will be the end user or consumer of the product or service. For others, an intermediary (such as a reseller or a broker) will be the critical customer to which organizational resources should be devoted.
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Clearly, the choice of primary customer must reflect a company’s perspective; otherwise the company will be unable to leverage the energy and creativity of its people in service to the customer."

Quando na fase inicial da reflexão estratégica encaramos esta situação:

 Pergunto, qual o actor, e que tipo de actor, no ecossistema da procura, está alinhado com uma proposta de valor que resulta da intersecção onde podemos fazer a diferença?

Continua.