Clientes não como entidades estatísticas mas como gente de carne e osso

Primeiro a descrição da situação de partida:
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"Developing a winning go-to-market model isn't easy for incumbent suppliers, because few are well positioned to provide what demanding customers want: simple, low-cost support for some needs and deep knowledge and collaboration for others. The basic transaction costs of suppliers are too high for them to compete with the no-frills specialists ... And they don't have enough industry-specific "solutions" expertise to compete with businesses that are setting new standards for value-added sales and service.
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This "stuck-in-the-middle" scenario is playing out across a wide range of industries, from advanced materials and chemicals to information technology and telecommunications. It can leave companies vulnerable to attack from both sides. More than one global supplier has recently lost a substantial share of its revenue both to Asian attackers with far lower costs and to genuine solutions specialists offering faster, more sophisticated service."
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Depois, uma proposta de abordagem:
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"Rethinking the approach
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More specifically, to cut costs and enhance the customer experience, companies should take three steps:

• Identify the company's full range of sales and service situations, from simple transactions to complex consulting arrangements
• Build a high-quality, low-cost platform of sales support and service processes for interactions that cut across all customers; this "lean backbone" typically encompasses efforts to supply customers with information as well as order entry, fulfillment, training, and after-sales service
• Develop affordable standard modules (or high-touch overlays) for situations where customers value additional sales or service support enough to cover its cost; these modules might include teams of industry experts, application-development teams, and "hunting" teams to focus on acquiring new customers"

Por exemplo:

Recordo o exemplo da Xiameter.

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"Companies should thus begin rethinking their approach by deciding exactly what type and quality of sales and service interaction they must provide to their various customers." (Moi ici: Claro que os autores escrevem para a realidade americana, com corporações, com empresas com multi-sítios capazes de produções dedicadas por unidade fabril, por divisão. Para a PME portuguesa há que fazer algum esforço de tradução... estou a imaginar a aplicação a uma empresa prestadora de serviços... a relação pode começar pela compra de hardware, pode evoluir para a prestação de serviços de manutenção e culminar em vendas consultivas que resultam em projectos de co-criação)
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Gosto muito da figura que se segue, mais uma vez, evitar abordagens iguais para todos... é impressionante a quantidade de negócios que vejo as multinacionais perderem em Portugal, por terem políticas tão rígidas e independentes do tipo de clientes:

Como encontrei há dias nos escritos de Byrnes, é preciso ter mais do que uma cadeia logística, em função do tipo de clientes-alvo.
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"Incumbents needn't remain stuck in the middle. To escape from it, they should rethink their customers' requirements, build a lean backbone to meet shared sales and service needs, and establish standard, high-touch overlays to satisfy more exacting demands cost effectively."
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Trechos de "Transforming sales and services"