Insights

We have written extensively on the strategic challenge of identifying and taking advantage of new growth…

For decades, U.S. companies—like those Blue Canyon advises—have lamented the fact that China’s B2B customers don’t…

As the U.S. economy continues to expand, and with acquisition multiples hovering at an all-time high,…

Atlee Valentine Pope, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Partners, recently chaired a panel discussion among…

Atlee Valentine Pope, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Partners, recently chaired a panel discussion among…

Atlee Valentine Pope, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Partners, recently chaired a panel discussion among…

In Pt. 1 of this series, we detailed the first of three key elements that needs…

Most firms are motivated to consider M&A as an extension of their growth strategy as a way…

In business-to-business (B2B) markets, brand often does not receive as much attention as it should. Many…

The fear of headline-grabbing disruptors leave incumbent firms scrambling to prepare themselves. Executives fret over technological…

Greater commoditization, the expansion of credible low-cost competitors, increasing variety and complexity of offerings, and the…

The emergence of the millennial eCommerce mindset has fundamentally changed business-to-consumer (B2C) markets; in fact, eCommerce…

It’s important to establish needs-based segmentation for indirect and direct customers. As we have previously discussed,…

The world of business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce is fast-evolving. B2B buyers are increasingly demanding the same online…

As we enter 2017, China continues to evolve beyond an economy driven by exports of cheap…

Note: This article is part three of the series. The first article is “Customer Experience: Every…

Note: This article is part two of the series. The first article is “Customer Experience: Every…

Every business owner dreads it: getting an earful from a customer about a less-than-pleasant experience. As…

When we discussed the state of eCommerce in business-to-business (B2B) markets a year ago, we noted…

In private equity today, many management teams and their financial sponsors have collaborative relationships: the management…

Many business-to-business organizations segment their marketplace based on easily discernable attributes—such as industry, size, and/or location—and…

As a follow up to our previous blog post, Is China on Track to Reach Growth Targets?,…

China Retreats from the Headlines as Solid Growth Returns As foreign leaders were arriving in Hangzhou,…

Significant changes in your market that call into question the very nature of your business and…

It’s rare that a day goes by without seeing an article in the business press about…

Disruption fundamentally changes markets. Incumbent firms faced with this substantial change must respond decisively in order…

When clients come to Blue Canyon to evaluate their current business model, they want to know…

We operate in a fast-paced world where change seems to be a daily occurrence and competitors…

Customer centricity has become a popular initiative implemented by B2B organizations, but few resources are available…

Disruption can upend the entire structure of a market and jeopardize a firm’s profitability; however, it…

We help business-to-business (B2B) suppliers create value for their customers (and their customer’s customers) while capturing…

With greater focus on product innovation today, business-to-business (B2B) executives are creating more value for their…

To remain relevant among customers and to secure a leading position among competitors, business-to-business (B2B) companies…

Executives in the business-to-business (B2B) world know that a company’s channel management strategy is fundamental to…

Distributor and dealer relationships can be critical to the success of manufacturers that serve business markets.…

A message from the desk of the CEO After a rocky start the first week of…

Regardless of the state of the economy during a business cycle, pricing strategy is a challenge…

In our previous blog post, China: Imminent Doom or Necessary Adjustments?, we discussed some observations surrounding…

China continues to be the catalyst for waves of pessimism in international financial markets as the…

‘No Time for Losers’—Is Samsung a precedent? Note: This article is part three of a three…

In today’s two percent economy, business-to-business companies are challenged to grow. As such, many of these…

Conversations with marketplace representatives bring current problems to light. These same conversations, however, also are the sparks…

Two common, high-level questions we often receive from clients around pricing are: How much will our…

Suppliers often face high adoption barriers as more complex, critical equipment (such as transfer switches, generators…

There are instances where an organization doesn’t need to create an innovative, new offer. Rather a prime…

The topic of eCommerce may seem like old news, and if one were talking in generalities…

In the business-to-business world, there are many different models for providing post-sales support known as aftermarket…

Albeit eCommerce has been a topic of discussion for many years, this channel has recently begun…

Imagine two identical doctors. Both are seasoned professionals with many years of experience. However, one doctor…

China let the value of the yuan decline sharply for several days in a row and…

The past two months have been an interesting time in China. The stock market’s gyrations made…

Typical strategies built around product/service and cost are no longer enough on their own for organizations…

In a recent issue of Fortune magazine, an article “The War on Big Food” highlighted how…

Business-to-business companies are frequently pressured to identify the next business or market in which they can succeed in…

A session I moderated at the Strategic Account Management Association focused on how to bring the…

Effective brand strategy is critical for business success. Companies in the B2C world make this abundantly…

In the ever-changing business-to-business space, successful companies are those that know how to adapt when competitors…

For certain organizations the aftermarket[1] can be an afterthought, with many companies choosing to invest their…

The opportunities and challenges of serving major customers in emerging markets was my presentation topic at…

Finding new growth or expansion opportunities can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.…

ISBM’s[1] Winter Meeting was all around Analysis, Analytics, and Answers. Charlie Peters, Senior Executive Vice President of…

Business-to-business (B2B) organizations are increasingly seeing the benefits of becoming more customer-focused and its resulting positive…

With U.S. companies having a lot of cash on the balance sheets and financing availability, the…

Expansion into adjacent markets can be an effective method for achieving growth, but it is often…

In many business-to-business organizations we have seen segmentation that is no longer relevant, implemented many years…

Knowing your market is fundamental to developing a growth strategy. Knowing the different customers that make…

While the U.S. economy is growing in a lower gear, it is important for U.S business-to-business companies…

Is your organization’s segmentation effective? Is your organization segmenting on customer needs/purchase behaviors? Does your organization’s…

Airline carriers have primarily functioned on hub-and-spoke networks since industry-wide deregulation in 1978. The approach vastly…

For business-to-consumer (B2C) companies, customer-centric thinking is the norm. Because B2C companies know that impulse and…

Trust is a headline issue in China. The most dramatic examples of unsafe products—tainted baby formula, dangerous…

In our previous blog post, we discussed three common underlying causes of pricing conundrums along the…

Across a number of business-to-business industries, pricing issues frequently arise that create conflict within a channel.…

Customer relationships can range from painstakingly transactional to highly strategic and collaborative. In all industries suppliers…

If you’re like most business executives, by now you’ve probably seen your fair share of 2015…

Pricing management is difficult when there are complex customer chains with many steps between the manufacturer…

In today’s world, you can order your coffee in a number of different sizes: small, medium,…

For companies that have found success in specific ventures, it may be difficult to identify “what’s…

The non-recovery, recovery across the world has been a challenge.  The consensus in the United States…

We live in a world that is being reshaped by the pervasive nature of digital technology.…

Since the Great Recession, dramatic changes have occurred in centers of growth around the world. As…

As we near the end of 2014, growth remains elusive for many American companies. The World…

If your company is a business-to-business supplier, most likely its product(s) go to market via complex…

HBO recently unveiled a new strategy for how viewers can access its content. The premium cable…

For business-to-business companies that struggle to determine the value their product brings to customers and hence…

In today’s hyper-competitive market where technological solutions seem to advance at the speed of light, high-tech…

Blue Canyon frequently addresses a number of growth topics, ranging from channel strategies to pricing. One…

Are you confused by or unaware of the size of your available market? Are you seeing…

It has become almost a daily occurrence to see a news headline on China’s economy since…

Whether it be around an organization’s products, packaging, and/or processes, innovation continues to be a primary…

Customer chains are a straightforward construct that many organizations could benefit from if managed and understood…

In business-to-business (B2B) markets, customer loyalty can accelerate growth and create a competitive advantage. But, loyalty…

Last month, Blue Canyon Partners Principal, David Hartman, moderated a session at the Strategic Account Management…

Rolls-Royce makes highly sophisticated and costly jet engines for leading airlines around the world. In the…

Businesses that touch the aftermarket most likely are dealing with a host of factors related to…

As economic uncertainty continues to plague Europe and the U.S. economy returns to albeit slow and…

A client who was looking to implement a customer satisfaction program in his organization recently approached…

Virtually every year since 2009, has promised to be the breakout year for cloud computing that…

Pricing pressures, commoditization, and competition are just some of the challenges companies face when it comes…

Aside from its sleek electric vehicles and new Gigafactory to produce lithium-ion battery cells, Tesla Motors…

Blue Canyon is often asked to provide rapid answers to complex problems. When this occurs, I…

“We took our eyes off the ball. The recession hit and we focused on maintaining our…

At the end of January, it was announced that Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility from Google. Much…

As the economy slowly returns to growth, not all companies will fare the same. Growth for…

Product development can make a significant contribution to business growth if such initiatives are correctly focused…

Spanning over two decades of 10 percent annual economic growth in China, we frequently heard reports…

When it comes to devising and implementing a business growth strategy, those responsible for strategic planning,…

Over the past several years, business-to-business companies have recognized that Big Data should be managed and…

To achieve sustainable growth, best-in-class companies work with their channel partners to periodically review end customer expectations.…

Adjacent markets represent attractive growth opportunities for many businesses, but there are many adjacent markets from…

The lyrics to The Gambler focus on choices: “Know when to hold ’em, know when to…

The phrase used as the title to this article, taken from the communication by the crew…

Former President Ronald Reagan once said, “There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers.”…

I recently had the opportunity to work with a client that had decided to implement a…

In the new television series Touch, the main character Martin Bohm advises another “I wouldn’t do…

Price and product quality can only go so far. Value-added services can help manufacturers differentiate themselves…

In an earlier article on the challenges of managing changes to a firm’s business model, I…

How China has combined socialism and market forces is seen vividly in the Global 500 list.…

A number of years ago, I worked with an automotive parts manufacturer, in the division that…

I recently had an appointment with a physician who had also been a friend for some…

A senior human resources executive in a large manufacturing firm recently made the following comment at…

Make sure your customer is the right ‘fit’ and look beyond mature markets to boost sales…

The U.S. is still a market of consequence for the world’s manufacturing companies. What remains uncertain…

Fortune just released the list of the 500 largest firms in the world.[1] To us the…

In an earlier research project on the challenges of making changes to a firm’s business model,…

The April 26, 2012 issue of Industry Week featured an article titled New Celanese Chief Pushes…

Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a manufacturing client that was part of a…

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just…

Will Chinese companies begin to evolve and be more like its Western competitors? Note: This article…

In the past several years, second only to a renewed focus on emerging markets, “developing a…

Bono, U2’s lead vocalist, once observed “We thought that we had the answers, it was the…

Several months ago a senior marketing executive from a global business-to-business corporation shared the following experience:…

In a recent meeting with one of the partners in a venture capital firm, he cited…

The case study that follows started off a number of years ago with a quite troubling…

Whether or not businesses anticipate lackluster earnings results during the first half of the year, the…

Bill Gates once said “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”.  In that…

Suppliers can simultaneously respond to their shareholders’ growth expectations and their major customers’ expectations for global…

In a recent discussion with an executive client, he commented that he believes his hardest challenge…

Jim Mora, a former NFL coach, was made famous in a recent beer commercial that featured…

Recently, I worked with a client that was implementing a new “customer partnering” initiative that provided…

Many years ago, in a course on information theory, I learned that one way to measure…

Atlee Valentine Pope and George F. Brown, Jr. discuss issues that can arise in manufacturer-distributor relationships,…

One of my clients recently told me the following story: “We’ve been working with [a certain…

One of our clients in the building systems industry asked us to help resolve a dilemma…

We were having a conversation with one of our clients following a meeting related to their…

We have often described “major customer relationships” and “third-party channel relationships” as two of the most…

William Blake, the English poet and painter, has been quoted as saying, “He hasn’t an enemy…

Earlier this year, one of our clients invited us to participate in an off-site meeting involving…

Recently, we asked a procurement executive within a large communications equipment company to describe a supplier…

Last month, we were invited to meet with a marketing and sales executive at a leading…

As we begin to climb slowly out of the deepest, darkest recession on recent record, it’s…

Alan Perlis, the first head of the Computer Science Department at Carnegie-Mellon University, often told his…

Recent work involving the use of pricing analytics has provided some interesting insights about profit management…

While working on a growth strategy assignment with a major business-to-business supplier, we observed several fascinating…

At a recent workshop, we distributed a “quiz” with 10 quotes which we said were from…

At a meeting with one of our clients, we provided their executive team with a short…

A company with which our firm worked recently communicated some good news:  They had been selected…

Our title for this article emerged from a recent client project.  We were working with a…

One of our clients is the executive responsible for the Global Accounts served by her company,…

Several years ago, we published an article[1] titled “The Unwritten Rules of China”, addressing the complexities…

A global industrial systems company found that its business environment was shifting rapidly.  The firm had…

Rudy Giuliani once noted that “Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a…

When the topic of pricing arises, anticipation often follows that the discussion will be unpleasant, putting…

In the early 70s, one of the phrases of the day was “Make him an offer…

We have recently written that at the top of U.S. firms’ agendas must be bringing some…

We have used the saying “The second mouse gets the cheese” as an analogy for what…

A recent project provided an opportunity to examine the relationships between a machinery manufacturer and the…

While new global market participants are emerging from several countries, the Chinese are our primary example…

The wisdom inherent in the frequently heard statement “If you have too many priorities, you have…

In previous articles[1], we’ve written about the emerging competitors from China, firms that are beginning to…

What is the outlook for next year’s economic growth? It’s the $64,000 question. In the United…

When, if ever, will the Chinese competitors graduate from being ‘fast followers’ to become true innovators?…

Most companies invest a significant level of resources in activities designed to identify business partners and…

During a recent discussion, a customer of one of my clients described an episode of the…

It is as close to a sure thing as exists in business to assume that the…

Getting the standards right is only a part of the equation that defines sustained success and…

Driving into Tampa recently, we saw a sign that read “The early bird gets the worm,…

Recently, I participated in a conference attended primarily by technology integrators, firms that provided high-end solutions…

In recent years, “solutions” has become among the most popular one-word strategy summaries. Many firms, finding little…

George F. Brown, Jr. identifies four themes for business growth in 2012, and offers his unique…

An Arabian proverb says, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” While the logic is…

A client in the medical equipment industry recently shared the following experience with me: “You might…

Taking steps to avoid unnecessary instances in which your direct customer is a price buyer is…

In an interview with an executive in a large national industrial distribution firm recently, I asked…

Blue Canyon Partners’ George F. Brown Jr. on how to invest in your pricing strategy. When…

America’s governmental institutions face many more changes in the years to come. A major part of…

CoDestiny[1] relationships come in many flavors. The most frequent ones involve suppliers and their end customers.…

It takes a significant effort on the part of suppliers and customers alike to ensure that…

Adjacent markets are often the best answer when a business is faced with the question of…

Competency in managing strategic account relationships yields customers who are satisfied and see value, and, in…

This paper builds upon insights drawn from thousands of supplier-customer success stories to identify the most…

Acquisitions can make important contributions to a company’s growth strategy. The strategic due diligence process described…

In 2010, as the global economy began its rebound from the Great Recession, Blue Canyon Partners…

For many business-to-business suppliers, their customer chains involve channel organizations and one or more stages of…

While identifying the potential of the China market is not difficult, realizing this potential is complicated…

This paper offers insights into the economics of manufacturing in China. While the game is rigged…

Business-to-business suppliers face a complex market and economic environment. Their direct customers and end customers bring…

George F. Brown, Jr. shares his research on the challenges executives experience in implementing business model…

In today’s business environment, where every firm has to focus intensely on the ways in which…

One of my all-time favorite Far Side™ cartoons showed a deer with a target on its…

It is as close to a sure thing as exists in business to assume that the…

One of our business-to-business clients recently stated during a strategy session that, “We really no longer…

Most companies invest a significant level of resources in activities designed to identify business partners and…

Many organizations live in fear of the notion of sharing end customers. After all, a manufacturer…

In the book CoDestiny, it is argued that the most successful business strategies are ones that…

Decisions on pricing are among the toughest ones facing business executives. Customers and competitors alike put…

In 1967, many of us heard the same advice given Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate: “Plastics.”…

In 1975, Paul Simon released the song 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, which, despite the…

Over the past decade, many western firms have identified and targeted China’s exciting, fast-growing markets. Most…

The increased pace of merger and acquisition activity late in 2010, including some huge deals, suggests…

Identification of the most promising new markets, customer segments, and product and service offerings is critical…

As the last quarter of 2011 dawns, your 2012 business plan should involve initiatives that address…

One of the most important lessons in business is that when you create value for your…

The increased pace of merger and acquisition activity late in 2010 and early in 2011, including…

Here is the question that we think belongs on the top of your firm’s strategic agenda.…

It takes a significant effort on the part of suppliers and customers alike to ensure that…

Even from among firms that are best defined by the products of their R&D departments and…

In a recent meeting with an executive responsible for her company’s product development activities, she made…

Most firms have learned that their customers can be a valuable source of insight, providing ideas…

Just over a decade ago, businesses became aware of the magnitude of challenges related to doing…

It takes a significant effort on the part of supplier companies as well as their customers…

This paper describes five growth lessons that business organizations and their leadership teams can use to…