Cookie Preference Centre

Your Privacy
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Performance Cookies
Functional Cookies
Targeting Cookies

Your Privacy

When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences, your device or used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually identify you directly, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. You can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, you should know that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site may not work then.

Cookies used

ContactCenterWorld.com

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site.

Cookies used

Google Analytics

Functional Cookies

These cookies allow the provision of enhance functionality and personalization, such as videos and live chats. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then some or all of these functionalities may not function properly.

Cookies used

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads on other sites. They work by uniquely identifying your browser and device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will not experience our targeted advertising across different websites.

Cookies used

LinkedIn

This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation and your ability to provide feedback, analyse your use of our products and services, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts, and provide content from third parties

OK
[HIDE]

Here are some suggested Connections for you! - Log in to start networking.

EXECUTIVE MEMBER
Ikhwal Sidiq
Assistant Manager Trade and Remittance Services
408
MEMBER
Richard Roberts
Adviser and Consultant
18
EXECUTIVE MEMBER
Selin İcer
Quality - Training & Academy Director
29
MEMBER
Thamer Noori
Director of Industrial Security and Safety Dept.
13

Article : The Seven Steps to Competitive Value

Competitive Value is the cornerstone of a company's revenues and profits. The identification and implementation of a company's Competitive Value Assets are the result of company management, individual contributors, and other stakeholders performing tasks prescribed by the following Seven Steps.

These steps are defined in sequential order, which means that if a change is made to one or more steps in the process then it becomes necessary to assess for possible impact and change to any step that follows.

For example, if a company hires new management it must assess how their experiences and knowledge will affect existing and new strategic initiatives. Will they bring with them new ways to manage customers?


Jonathan Narducci
Narducci Enterprises

Will that change affect process and tool development, as well as resource/time management initiatives? Hiring new management could result in dramatically changed Competitive Value Assets.

These steps are also useful to assess your business' ability to create Competitive Value (see definition at end of paper). Assessment starts with any step in the sequence, understanding that sufficient compliance with preceding steps meets requirements.

The work necessary to complete any step is challenging and requires openness, honesty, patience, communication, and time. In other words, involve everyone, don't hurry, and don't loose focus of what's important – getting the right competitive value and subsequent assets for a successful business.

The Seven Steps are:

  • Step 1 – Define Business' Vision, Mission, and High Level Strategic Objectives.

  • Step 2 – Define the Core Competencies needed to implement Vision, Mission and anticipated Competitive Value.

  • Step 3 – Select the Business' management and supporting teams members.

  • Step 4 – Define what Customer Centricity means to the Business' success.

  • Step 5 – Identify the possible opportunities for Competitive Value Assets.

  • Step 6 – "Brainstorm" for new value initiatives (or strategic initiatives).

  • Step 7 – Add details to the strategic initiatives.

Each step builds on the previous one to meet the end goal of developing a robust collection of Competitive Value Assets needed for success. The following is a brief description of each step and a short list of questions to help determine whether there's a need to start the Competitive Value creation process with that step.

Step 1 – Define Business' Vision, Mission, and High Level Strategic Objectives.
A business' Vision, Mission, and Strategic Objectives define the basis for its Competitive Value. Do they describe what has to be accomplished? Are the benefits described unique to the marketplace? Who receives the benefits? Are the statements actionable, helping company individuals understand what they must do to make the Vision a reality?

Step 2 – Define the Core Competencies needed to implement Vision, Mission and anticipated Competitive Value.
Core Competencies are those capabilities that enable a company to identify, create, and deliver the Competitive Value necessary to make the Vision a reality. Examples of Core Competencies are a camera, copier, and camcorder maker's optics technology, and a car maker's manufacturing process.

Are the defined Core Competencies unique to the industry? Are they hard to duplicate by competitors? Have the different skills, processes, tools, and technologies that make up each Competency been identified? Have essential non-core capabilities been identified? Are today's Core Competencies going to be sufficient for the target markets of tomorrow?

Step 3 – Select the Business' management and supporting teams members.
As Jim Collins, noted strategy guru, states (paraphrased), "It's important to get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats." People are the core of any business' Competitive Value. Their experience, capabilities, motivation, knowledge, and passion will help define strategic initiatives and drive the business' direction.

Do all team members understand and share a passion for achieving the business' Vision? Do the capabilities for successful core competencies exist? How about the non-core capabilities? Are the team members adaptable to a changing competitive landscape? Are the team members self-motivated? What could happen to de-motivate them?

Step 4 – Define what Customer Centricity means to the Business' success.
A business' Vision and Mission drives its definition of Customer Centricity, as well as the extent to which it wants to create loyal customers and develop new ones. Each company has to decide who receives the benefits of its Competitive Value and then decide how to deliver that Value to ensure expected, if not beyond the expected, success. This is a very strategic step and will help drive the identification of Competitive Value Assets.

What's stopping your worst customer from being your best customer? What's the definition of a successful customer? What about a loyal customer? What characterizes the business' most valuable customer? What makes each customer segment satisfied with the business and keeps them that way? Think in terms of "at a minimum," optimally," and "beyond expectations."

Step 5 – Identify the possible opportunities for Competitive Value Assets.
Competitive Value Assets are encapsulated in a business' Total Value Proposition, TVP, (products, services, those expected by customers and those that go beyond their expectations), its ability to create value, and its ability to deliver value. Assessing for the business' Competitive Value Index (see definition at end of paper) identifies what value opportunities may exist.

What makes customers successful, aside from what the business provides? What's causing them to fail? What "actionable knowledge" exists that can be used to help the business improve its ability to create and deliver value? How does the business outperform competitors who have more resources? Does a Competitive Value Index baseline exist?

Step 6 – "Brainstorm" for new value initiatives (or strategic initiatives).
Sort through the identified, probable, Competitive Value opportunities by determining which have the best chance for success, prioritizing the resultant list, and transforming the items on the list into strategic initiatives. These initiatives describe what the business will do to add Competitive Value Assets.

What does the business need to improve in order to better serve the customer? What does the business need to do in order to better compete? Does the business recognize that skills, process, tools, and resource/time management activities are, indeed, value assets? What initiatives will eliminate burdensome bureaucracies?

Step 7 – Add details to the strategic initiatives.
Each initiative needs detailed implementation planning in order for it to become a Competitive Value Asset. Questions will come up during the previous steps whose answers need to be researched and verified. The questions, which need precise answers, are grouped as follows:

Why does the business need this initiative, to compete better, improve a weakness, or satisfy a customer requirement? What are the "features" of the initiative, costs to implement, and needed sales channels? How will the initiative be implemented, resources assigned, and funding procured? Who are the beneficiaries, business "champions," and who comprises potential markets? Where does the business need the initiative implemented? When can the initiative be implemented, from the business' and the customer's perspective?

Definitions

  • Competitive Value - Competitive Value is the company's competitive products and services, the "Total Value Proposition," that customers buy in order to solve their business problems and enhance their ability to succeed! Competitive Value is also encompassed in the company's ability to create and deliver the required value for their customers' success.  It's not a company's "financial" value. It's the value the company offers for sale to its market, which, when purchased, results in financial value.

  • Competitive Value Index - A measure that represents a company's ability to understand customer business objectives (needs and wants) and their ability to create and deliver the products and services that customers buy to successfully solve their business problems. It represents the "amount" of competitive value, in the form of assets, a company has and also indicates how much more value it can (or needs) to develop.


About the Author
Jonathan Narducci, principal of Narducci Enterprises, uses his 30 years of experience in business, management, and quality systems to lead companies, using his powerful CornerStone/3 value creation methodology, to evaluate and measure the "Competitive Value Index," a benchmark of a company's "Total Value Proposition," resulting in the creation of robust new value initiatives that are strategically aligned with business goals.

Today's Tip of the Day - Keep Cost In Perspective

Read today's tip or listen to it on podcast.

Published: Wednesday, October 8, 2003

Printer Friendly Version Printer friendly version

About us - in 60 seconds!

Join Our Team

Industry Champion Award Leaderboard

Most active award (top 10) entrants in the past 48 hours! - Vote for Others / About Program
Submit Event

Upcoming Events

The 19th AMERICAS Annual Best Practices Conferences are here! Meeting Point for the World's Best Contact Center & CX Companies Read More...
 31813 
Showing 1 - 1 of 3 items

Newsletter Registration

Please check to agree to be placed on the eNewsletter mailing list.
both ids empty
session userid =
session UserTempID =
session adminlevel =
session blnTempHelpChatShow =
CMS =
session cookie set = True
session page-view-total = 1
session page-view-total = 1
applicaiton blnAwardsClosed =
session blnCompletedAwardInterestPopup =
session blnCheckNewsletterInterestPopup =
session blnCompletedNewsletterInterestPopup =