| To pursue a strategy of "product leadership" | | | | have not only the sales force, but also as many |
| entails delivering value through offering leading | | | | other departments as they can, in their clients' |
| edge products and services, providing a stream | | | | planning meetings. The firm's personnel take on an |
| of new products and services, and creatively | | | | advisory and consultative role, putting them in the |
| adapting to new and changing marketing | | | | position of informing their clients' strategic thinking |
| conditions while constantly pursuing new solutions | | | | and anticipating their needs. |
| on behalf of its clients and customers. | | | | An advertising and PR firm continually scans the |
| This strategy depends on an organizational | | | | marketing environment for new approaches to |
| structure that, among other things, is very | | | | offer their clients and for creative talent with |
| research and development centered (if a | | | | whom to partner either temporarily or long term. |
| manufacturing company) or extremely | | | | They are continually meeting with their clients to |
| knowledgeable about the products and services | | | | review these new approaches and the |
| currently being developed and considered in the | | | | opportunities their newly discovered talent opens |
| market place. In addition, the firm's Sales & | | | | up. |
| Marketing Departments must be part and parcel | | | | In order to achieve this level of "service |
| of their customer's business planning process so | | | | leadership", personnel are teamed into matrices, |
| as to be able to anticipate future needs, to supply | | | | with each team having the responsibility to bring |
| that need, to teach their customers new | | | | fresh ideas and directions to their clients. They |
| approaches and solutions to their problems, and | | | | joke about having offices at their clients because |
| particularly to be able to direct their customers | | | | they are rarely seen in their home offices. |
| into avenues they hadn't entertained on their own | | | | Communication between team members is so |
| as being profitable directions. | | | | crucial that each team has a designated person |
| In contrast to (but overlapping in certain respects | | | | whose primary responsibility is to ensure that |
| with) the organizational structure demanded by a | | | | everyone knows what everyone else on the |
| "customer intimacy" strategy, "product leadership" | | | | team is doing and to serve as a liaison to senior |
| requires an organization that is not bureaucratic | | | | management. In addition, the teams convene |
| but rather quick to action and opportunistic in | | | | regularly to review not only the latest |
| intent. Personnel tend to be organized into matrix | | | | presentations and their impact, but also what is |
| teams that cross departmental lines since this | | | | out there in the market place, who is doing what, |
| type of structure provides the fastest response | | | | etc., and how can they partner or ally themselves |
| time. At the same time, since decision making | | | | with the talent that is out there. |
| authority is spread throughout the firm, risk | | | | Because the cost of this kind of process is high |
| management is carefully monitored. | | | | (e.g., voluntarily preparing project ideas with |
| In addition, in order to stay current with clients' | | | | accompanying support material clients hadn't even |
| long range plans to which their input could be | | | | initiated or requested), Finance is regularly |
| invaluable, "relation selling" is essential. These firms | | | | consulted about each team's ROIs. |