Ron Mallis writes, in part:
> ... Pine suggests that "in
> learning relationships, individual customers teach the company more and
> more about their preferences and needs, giving the company an immense
> competitive advantage. The more customers teach the company, the better
> it becomes at providing exactly what they want -- exactly how they want it
> -- and the more difficult it will be for a competitor to entice them
> away." (This quote is from Pine's (and others') collaboration in HBR
> (March-April 1995) titled "Do You Want To Keep Your Customers Forever?")
However, this strategy *also* means the company is ill-suited to create
*new* market niches, or follow changing market trends. Some follow those
customers and their needs right down the rat-hole (IBM comes to mind as an
example).
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Carol Anne Ogdin "Great minds discuss ideas,
Deep Woods Technology average minds discuss events,
CAOgdin@deepwoods.com small minds discuss people."
--Adm. Hyman G. Rickover