Insights
B2B Distribution: Supplier Sourcing Strategies, Pt. 2
In part 2 of our blog B2B Distribution: Optimizing Your Product Portfolio, we identify 3 supplier…
B2B Distribution: Optimizing Your Product Portfolio, Pt. 1
As a distributor in business-to-business (B2B) markets, expanding your product portfolio may seem like the quickest…
The 3 Key Objectives of an eCommerce Strategy
eCommerce drives profitable growth by expanding customer reach, reducing cost-to-serve, and creating differentiated customer experiences. Utilizing…
The Trade War with China
A major topic in many of our business discussions these days is the trade war with…
Setting the Foundation for an Effective B2B eCommerce Strategy
When it comes to eCommerce, it’s time for B2B suppliers to move from reactive to proactive.…
Understanding the Approach to a Successful Digital Strategy
Internet of Things (IoT) has become a key topic across a wide range of industries, and…
Launching Revolutionary Products in Slow-Changing Markets: Who to Target? What to Charge? When to Launch? (Pt. 2)
In Pt. 2, we continue with a closer look at the 3 key questions to ask…
Launching Revolutionary Products in Slow-Changing Markets: Who to Target? What to Charge? When to Launch? (Pt. 1)
What makes a product or service revolutionary? Its cost/pricing structure, its impact on end-users, its potential…
New, Disruptive Technologies & Trends in Your Industry: Hype or Reality?
New, disruptive technologies and trends can provide opportunities for growth. But as an enterprise or business…
3 Goals to Successfully Listen to the Marketplace
At a recent suppliers’ conference, one of our clients looked at the phones, tablets, and laptops…
How to Thrive in a Disruptive World
More and more business-to-business (B2B) markets are undergoing dramatic transformation, upending entire market structures, and threatening…
How to Get Extraordinary Customer Insights
What is good insight from a B2B customer and how do you get it? Voice of Customer…
Digital Solutions are Sweeping through the Cleaning Industry: Applying Lessons Learned to Your Industry
Across many industries, manufacturers and distributors are seeking approaches to create successful digital strategies. The cleaning…
Asking Good Questions Leads to Having Best-in-Class Customers
In a workshop with a client’s supply chain executives, we were discussing the attributes of a…
Accelerate Top- and Bottom-Line Growth with an Effective Pricing Strategy
Pricing is a powerful lever to accelerate top- and bottom-line growth. A well thought out pricing…
Customizing Your Branding & Pricing Strategies to the Needs of Your Customers
Branding and pricing are two of the most important strategies driving success in business-to-business (B2B) markets.…
Customer-Written Plans for Brands and Pricing: Positioning for Success in Complex Customer Chains
As suppliers to business markets face shareholder demands for top-line-driven profitable growth, brand and pricing decisions…
Shaping the Perspective of Your Customer’s Experience
Leading academics, business researchers, and practitioners from best practice companies often conclude that paying attention to…
5 Key Themes in B2B eCommerce
Although eCommerce has been a disruptive force across many business-to-consumer (B2C) markets, for many business-to-business (B2B)…
5 Key Themes in B2B eCommerce
Although eCommerce has been a disruptive force across many business-to-consumer (B2C) markets, for many business-to-business (B2B)…
How to Succeed with Chinese B2B Customers Today
A number of our business-to-business (B2B) clients are now needing to take a long-term look at…
Unlearning Untruths: Finding New Ways to Drive Profitable Growth
The concept of unlearning bad habits came up at a recent conference. Speakers and participants alike…
The Strategic Rationale for Expanding Your Product Portfolio to Serve More Price-Sensitive Segments
Various market pressures can lead business-to-business (B2B) companies with premium offerings to expand their product portfolios…
New Strategies for the New China
Business executives are now being forced to look at long-term operations in China with fresh eyes.…
Is Price Conflict Disrupting Your Strategic Account Relationships?
Imagine that your company has put in place a bold new plan for growth. The plan…
How to Create Positive Pricing Experiences
Can the topic of price actually enhance the business-to-business (B2B) customer experience? We’re not talking about…
Look Before You Leap: Product Portfolio Strategies for Price-Sensitive Segments
Often companies believe it will be easy to expand their offerings into more price-sensitive segments, assuming…
The Challenge of Capturing Value through Innovation: Unsophisticated Customers, Pt. 2
In Pt. 1 of this series, we introduced a business executive who reached out to Blue…
The Challenge of Capturing Value through Innovation: Show Them the Money, Pt. 1
After reading CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs, a business executive…
The 4 Major Roadblocks of Digital Transformation in Industrials/ Manufacturing
Most business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing leaders understand the importance of digital transformation. They’re open to exploring how…
How to Utilize Non-Price Levers to Resolve Price Conflict
In our previous blog, The 4 Sources of Price Conflict, we introduced a company opening a…
How B2B Service Companies Can Drive Growth Through a Customer Relationship Advantage
As human beings, we rely on strong and lasting relationships to fulfill our personal happiness. There’s…
Business Services: Building Successful B2B Customer Relationships
As human beings, we rely on strong and lasting relationships to fulfill our personal happiness. There…
The 4 Sources of Price Conflict
Your company has put in place a bold new plan for growth. The plan involves opening…
How to Define an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Strategy
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the fascinating vision of a world in which all manner of…
Evolving Your Brand Architecture With The Market
Blue Canyon has begun to see a shift in the attention that business-to-business (B2B) companies are…
Understanding Your Place in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Supply Network
The Internet of Things (IoT)—that fascinating vision of a world in which all manner of devices,…
Commercializing Your Internet of Things (IoT) Offer: Key Questions to Address
In business-to-business (B2B) markets, we are seeing an overabundance of trend setting technology platforms—from eCommerce to…
Digital Transformation: How to Commercialize Your Breakthrough Internet of Things (IoT) Offer
An overabundance of trend setting technology platforms—from eCommerce to the Internet of Things (IoT) with data…
B2B Business Services: Mapping the Customer Chain
In the B2B business services world, change is common. Markets experience change in the form of…
Needs-Based Segmentation: Unlocking Growth
The foundation for any successful growth strategy is knowing your market. Unfortunately, many business-to-business (B2B) companies…
eCommerce Disruption in Business-to-Business Markets
The world of business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce is fast-evolving. B2B buyers are increasingly demanding the same online…
Hitting the Wall in China, Pt. 2
In Pt. 1 of this series, we offered one explanation for reaching an underwhelming market share…
Incorporating Blue Canyon’s Growth Lessons into B2B Business Services
We have written extensively on the strategic challenge of identifying and taking advantage of new growth…
Hitting the Wall in China, Pt. 1
For decades, U.S. companies—like those Blue Canyon advises—have lamented the fact that China’s B2B customers don’t…
3 Guidelines for Managing Disruption
As the U.S. economy continues to expand, and with acquisition multiples hovering at an all-time high,…
The Impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on Manufacturing: Monetization and Commercialization, Pt. 3
Atlee Valentine Pope, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Partners, recently chaired a panel discussion among…
The Impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on Manufacturing: IoT Acceleration and Key Challenges to Address, Pt. 2
Atlee Valentine Pope, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Partners, recently chaired a panel discussion among…
The Impact of Internet of Things (IoT) on Manufacturing: Defining a Strategy, Pt. 1
Atlee Valentine Pope, President and CEO of Blue Canyon Partners, recently chaired a panel discussion among…
3 Essential Elements to a Successful M&A Strategy, Pt. 2
In Pt. 1 of this series, we detailed the first of three key elements that needs…
3 Essential Elements to a Successful M&A Strategy, Pt. 1
Most firms are motivated to consider M&A as an extension of their growth strategy as a way…
The Increasing Value of Brand in B2B Markets
In business-to-business (B2B) markets, brand often does not receive as much attention as it should. Many…
Rules Don’t Apply: Thinking Like a Disruptor
The fear of headline-grabbing disruptors leave incumbent firms scrambling to prepare themselves. Executives fret over technological…
B2B Brand Architecture: How to Build Value in a Changing Marketplace
Greater commoditization, the expansion of credible low-cost competitors, increasing variety and complexity of offerings, and the…
B2B eCommerce: A Shift in the B2B Customer Buying Experience
The emergence of the millennial eCommerce mindset has fundamentally changed business-to-consumer (B2C) markets; in fact, eCommerce…
Understanding the Shifts in Customer Segmentation
It’s important to establish needs-based segmentation for indirect and direct customers. As we have previously discussed,…
Identifying and Responding to eCommerce Disruption: A Guide for B2B Suppliers
The world of business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce is fast-evolving. B2B buyers are increasingly demanding the same online…
China’s Economy: A Call to Action for the World’s B2B Suppliers
As we enter 2017, China’s economy continues to evolve beyond exports of cheap manufactured goods and…
China's Economy: A Call to Action for the World's B2B Suppliers
As we enter 2017, China’s economy continues to evolve beyond exports of cheap manufactured goods and…
Customer Experience: Coming Full Circle (Pt. 3)
Note: This article is part three of the series. The first article is “Customer Experience: Every…
Customer Experience: The Role of Company Culture (Pt. 2)
Note: This article is part two of the series. The first article is “Customer Experience: Every…
Customer Experience: Every Employee, Every Interaction, Every Day (Pt. 1)
Every business owner dreads it: getting an earful from a customer about a less-than-pleasant experience. As…
Business-to-Business eCommerce: A Call to Action
When we discussed the state of eCommerce in business-to-business (B2B) markets a year ago, we noted…
The Risks of Not Making a Decision—and How to Avoid Them
In private equity today, many management teams and their financial sponsors have collaborative relationships: the management…
A Deeper Approach to Segmentation: 3 Steps to Develop Application-Based Segmentation
Many business-to-business organizations segment their marketplace based on easily discernable attributes—such as industry, size, and/or location—and…
China’s Booming Auto and Housing Markets
As a follow up to our previous blog post, Is China on Track to Reach Growth Targets?,…
China's Booming Auto and Housing Markets
As a follow up to our previous blog post, Is China on Track to Reach Growth Targets?,…
Is China’s Economy on Track to Reach Growth Targets?
China Retreats from the Headlines as Solid Growth Returns As foreign leaders were arriving in Hangzhou,…
Is China's Economy on Track to Reach Growth Targets?
China Retreats from the Headlines as Solid Growth Returns As foreign leaders were arriving in Hangzhou,…
Stay Ahead of the Game: How to Recognize and Respond to Disruption
Significant changes in your market that call into question the very nature of your business and…
Creating Success Stories from the Internet of Things
It’s rare that a day goes by without seeing an article in the business press about…
Know Your Risk: Looking for Disruption in Your Market
Disruption fundamentally changes markets. Incumbent firms faced with this substantial change must respond decisively in order…
Evaluating Your Business Model
When clients come to Blue Canyon to evaluate their current business model, they want to know…
Four Pillars of Customer Focus
We operate in a fast-paced world where change seems to be a daily occurrence and competitors…
Does Customer Centricity Pay Off? An Assessment of the Benefits of Customer Centricity in B2B Organizations
Customer centricity has become a popular initiative implemented by B2B organizations, but few resources are available…
What’s Your Play? A B2B Executive’s Guide to Identifying and Creating Disruption
Disruption can upend the entire structure of a market and jeopardize a firm’s profitability; however, it…
Drive Productivity to Create Value for Your Customers
We help business-to-business (B2B) suppliers create value for their customers (and their customer’s customers) while capturing…
Creating and Capturing More Value
With greater focus on product innovation today, business-to-business (B2B) executives are creating more value for their…
Driving Growth through Monetization
To remain relevant among customers and to secure a leading position among competitors, business-to-business (B2B) companies…
Channel Management: Recurring Dynamics in B2B Markets
Executives in the business-to-business (B2B) world know that a company’s channel management strategy is fundamental to…
The Challenge of Branded Channels
Distributor and dealer relationships can be critical to the success of manufacturers that serve business markets.…
Back to Basics: Lessons Learned from Q1
After a rocky start the first week of the year, Q1 continued with falling oil prices,…
Three Reoccurring Principles for Pricing Strategies
Regardless of the state of the economy during a business cycle, pricing strategies are a challenge…
China’s Challenges: The Road Ahead
In our previous blog post, China: Imminent Doom or Necessary Adjustments?, we discussed some observations surrounding…
China: Imminent Doom or Necessary Adjustments?
China continues to be the catalyst for waves of pessimism in international financial markets as the…
China’s Future Competitive Environment
‘No Time for Losers’—Is Samsung a precedent? Note: This article is part three of a three…
How Much Will Your Customers Pay?
In today’s two percent economy, business-to-business companies are challenged to grow. As such, many of these…
How Can Customer Insights Ignite Growth?
Conversations with marketplace representatives bring current problems to light. These same conversations, however, also are the sparks…
How Much Will Your Customers Pay? And How Can You Capture This Value?
Two common, high-level questions we often receive from clients around pricing are: How much will our…
Three Approaches to Overcome Adoption Barriers
Suppliers often face high adoption barriers as more complex, critical equipment (such as transfer switches, generators…
Do you Have a Disconnect with Your Customers? Reclaim Your Value Proposition
There are instances where an organization doesn’t need to create an innovative, new offer. Rather a prime…
The Ripple Effect of eCommerce Across B2B Industries
The topic of eCommerce may seem like old news, and if one were talking in generalities…
Why Aftermarket Services Shouldn’t Be an Afterthought
In the business-to-business world, there are many different models for providing post-sales support known as aftermarket…
Why Aftermarket Services Shouldn't be an Afterthought
In the business-to-business world, there are many different models for providing post-sales support known as aftermarket…
eCommerce in Business-to-Business Markets: Value Creation and Market Disruption in the United States and China
Albeit eCommerce has been a topic of discussion for many years, this channel has recently begun…
Showing Symptoms of Strategic Issues? Call the Doctor!
Imagine two identical doctors. Both are seasoned professionals with many years of experience. However, one doctor…
China Devalues: What Does It Mean?
China let the value of the yuan decline sharply for several days in a row and…
What's the Status of the Chinese Economy?
The past two months have been an interesting time in China. The stock market’s gyrations made…
What’s the Status of the Chinese Economy?
The past two months have been an interesting time in China. The stock market’s gyrations made…
Elevating Customer Focus – More Difficult Than You Think
Typical strategies built around product/service and cost are no longer enough on their own for organizations…
How to Address New Products and Technologies That Threaten To Disrupt Your Business
In a recent issue of Fortune magazine, an article “The War on Big Food” highlighted how…
Growth Strategy: Steps to a Structured Decision
Business-to-business (B2B) companies are frequently pressured to identify the next business or market in which they can succeed…
Bringing the Strategic Account Organization into the Product Development Process
A session I moderated at the Strategic Account Management Association focused on how to bring the…
How to Develop an Effective B2B Brand Strategy
Effective brand strategy is critical for business success. Companies in the B2C world make this abundantly…
Four Steps to Develop a Competitive Response for You and Your Channel Partner
In the ever-changing business-to-business space, successful companies are those that know how to adapt when competitors…
Tap Into Your Aftermarket’s Growth Potential
For certain organizations the aftermarket[1] can be an afterthought, with many companies choosing to invest their…
Tap Into Your Aftermarket's Growth Potential
For certain organizations the aftermarket[1] can be an afterthought, with many companies choosing to invest their…
Serving Customers in Emerging Markets: The Good, The Bad, and The Unknown
The opportunities and challenges of serving major customers in emerging markets was my presentation topic at…
Analyzing Customer Chains to Open New Opportunities: Moving the Needle
Finding new growth or expansion opportunities can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.…
Unlocking the Power of Data Analytics
ISBM’s[1] Winter Meeting was all around Analysis, Analytics, and Answers. Charlie Peters, Senior Executive Vice President of…
How to Measure Customer Focus
Business-to-business (B2B) organizations are increasingly seeing the benefits of becoming more customer-focused and its resulting positive…
The Case for Organic Growth
With U.S. companies having a lot of cash on the balance sheets and financing availability, the…
Tread Carefully Before Pursuing an Adjacent Market
Expansion into adjacent markets can be an effective method for achieving growth, but it is often…
An Approach to Rethinking Segmentation
In many business-to-business organizations we have seen segmentation that is no longer relevant, implemented many years…
Is it Time to Rethink Segmentation?
Knowing your market is fundamental to developing a growth strategy. Knowing the different customers that make…
With the Market Returning, How Do You Ensure You Get Your Share?
While the U.S. economy is growing in a lower gear, it is important for U.S business-to-business companies…
Is it Time to Rethink Segmentation?
Is your organization’s segmentation effective? Is your organization segmenting on customer needs/purchase behaviors? Does your organization’s…
Don’t Fly by the Seat of Your Pants: Lessons from Airline Pricing Strategies
Airline carriers have primarily functioned on hub-and-spoke networks since industry-wide deregulation in 1978. The approach vastly…
Becoming More Customer-centric
For business-to-consumer (B2C) companies, customer-centric thinking is the norm. Because B2C companies know that impulse and…
Is Loss of Trust Creating Business Opportunities in China?
Trust is a headline issue in China. The most dramatic examples of unsafe products—tainted baby formula, dangerous…
Early Pricing Conflict Warning Signs
In our previous blog post, we discussed three common underlying causes of pricing conundrums along the…
Three Common Causes of Pricing Conundrums
Across a number of business-to-business industries, pricing issues frequently arise that create conflict within a channel.…
Three Strategic Dimensions to Effectively Assess Supplier Relationships
Customer relationships can range from painstakingly transactional to highly strategic and collaborative. In all industries suppliers…
Five Trends to Track in 2015 (and What C-level Executives Need to Know)
If you’re like most business executives, by now you’ve probably seen your fair share of 2015…
Understanding and Overcoming Pricing Conundrums
Pricing management is difficult when there are complex customer chains with many steps between the manufacturer…
How Many Product Options Should Customers Have?
In today’s world, you can order your coffee in a number of different sizes: small, medium,…
Using Strategic Fit to Identify Adjacent Market Opportunities: A Case Study
For companies that have found success in specific ventures, it may be difficult to identify “what’s…
Anticipating the Future is Key to Thinking through Strategy
The non-recovery, recovery across the world has been a challenge. The consensus in the United States…
Can Big Data Uncover Growth Opportunities?
We live in a world that is being reshaped by the pervasive nature of digital technology.…
Beyond Familiar and Emerging Markets: Are Frontier Markets Right for Your Growth Strategy?
Since the Great Recession, dramatic changes have occurred in centers of growth around the world. As…
Where Are Future Centers of Growth? Familiar, Emerging, or Frontier
As we near the end of 2014, growth remains elusive for many American companies. The World…
Pricing and Channel Strategy: The Importance of Understanding Customer Chain Economics
If your company is a business-to-business supplier, most likely its product(s) go to market via complex…
HBO Channels into a New Market Opportunity
HBO recently unveiled a new strategy for how viewers can access its content. The premium cable…
How Customer Experience can Inform Value-Based Pricing
For business-to-business companies that struggle to determine the value their product brings to customers and hence…
Why Segmentation Should Matter to High-Tech Suppliers
In today’s hyper-competitive market where technological solutions seem to advance at the speed of light, high-tech…
Measuring the Market: The Foundation of a Strong Growth Strategy
Blue Canyon frequently addresses a number of growth topics, ranging from channel strategies to pricing. One…
Three Building Blocks for Solid Growth Strategy
Are you confused by or unaware of the size of your available market? Are you seeing…
Pathways to Profitable Growth in China
It has become almost a daily occurrence to see a news headline on China’s economy since…
Breakout Growth: The Innovation Competency
Whether it be around an organization’s products, packaging, and/or processes, innovation continues to be a primary…
Customer Chains: The Key to Unlocking New Opportunities
Customer chains are a straightforward construct that many organizations could benefit from if managed and understood…
Converting Customer Challenges into Solutions
In business-to-business (B2B) markets, customer loyalty can accelerate growth and create a competitive advantage. But, loyalty…
Managing Complex Channel Relationships in the New Economy
Last month, Blue Canyon Partners Principal, David Hartman, moderated a session at the Strategic Account Management…
Taking Flight: How Data is being used to Create New Business Models and Drive Profitable Growth
Rolls-Royce makes highly sophisticated and costly jet engines for leading airlines around the world. In the…
Lessons Learned from the Aftermarket
Businesses that touch the aftermarket most likely are dealing with a host of factors related to…
Why In-depth Market Understanding is Critical to Growth Strategies in China
As economic uncertainty continues to plague Europe and the U.S. economy returns to albeit slow and…
Going Beyond Customer Satisfaction: A Roadmap for Strategy Development
A client who was looking to implement a customer satisfaction program in his organization recently approached…
Is Cloud Computing Living up to the Hype?
Virtually every year since 2009, has promised to be the breakout year for cloud computing that…
Expensive Decisions: Getting Pricing Right
Pricing pressures, commoditization, and competition are just some of the challenges companies face when it comes…
Learning From Tesla to “Plug In” to Direct Sales Models
Aside from its sleek electric vehicles and new Gigafactory to produce lithium-ion battery cells, Tesla Motors…
Four Guiding Principles for Quicker Channel Decisions
Blue Canyon is often asked to provide rapid answers to complex problems. When this occurs, I…
Which Market Share Measure is Right?
“We took our eyes off the ball. The recession hit and we focused on maintaining our…
What Lenovo’s Acquisition of Motorola Mobility Says About Its Growth Strategy
At the end of January, it was announced that Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility from Google. Much…
What Lenovo's Acquisition of Motorola Mobility Says About Its Growth Strategy
At the end of January, it was announced that Lenovo bought Motorola Mobility from Google. Much…
The Imperative for Active Channel Management
Creating value for your customer goes well beyond the product or service. Value often extends throughout…
A Market-Driven Framework: Aligning Product Development and Markets
Product development can make a significant contribution to business growth if such initiatives are correctly focused…
China: The Bad News and The Good News
Spanning over two decades of 10 percent annual economic growth in China, we frequently heard reports…
A Strategy Diagnostic: How to Optimize the Success of Your Go-to-Market and Get-to-Market Efforts
When it comes to devising and implementing a business growth strategy, those responsible for strategic planning,…
Creating New Data-Driven Business Models for Profitable Growth
Over the past several years, business-to-business companies have recognized that Big Data should be managed and…
Channel Management: The Customer Chain – Value Chain Framework
To achieve sustainable growth, best-in-class companies work with their channel partners to periodically review end customer expectations.…
Adjacent Markets: Choose Your Battles Wisely
Adjacent markets represent attractive growth opportunities for many businesses, but there are many adjacent markets from…
Growth Choices: Which Business Units Offer the Greatest Potential?
The lyrics to The Gambler focus on choices: “Know when to hold ’em, know when to…
Houston We’ve Got a Problem
The phrase used as the title to this article, taken from the communication by the crew…
Simple Answers and Hard Tasks
Former President Ronald Reagan once said, “There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers.”…
Newton Was the One Who Asked 'Why?'
I recently had the opportunity to work with a client that had decided to implement a…
If I Were You…
In the new television series Touch, the main character Martin Bohm advises another “I wouldn’t do…
How to Crush the Competition with Customer Service
Price and product quality can only go so far. Value-added services can help manufacturers differentiate themselves…
Sometimes, What You See Is NOT What You Get
In an earlier article on the challenges of managing changes to a firm’s business model, I…
Thinking About China’s Global 500
How China has combined socialism and market forces is seen vividly in the Global 500 list.…
Pay Attention to Your Premarket
A number of years ago, I worked with an automotive parts manufacturer, in the division that…
Are Surprises Foolish Things?
I recently had an appointment with a physician who had also been a friend for some…
Planning Change and Leading Change
A senior human resources executive in a large manufacturing firm recently made the following comment at…
Three Essential Growth-Planning Targets for 2013
Make sure your customer is the right ‘fit’ and look beyond mature markets to boost sales…
Manufacturing’s Future in the US
The U.S. is still a market of consequence for the world’s manufacturing companies. What remains uncertain…
China Takes on the Global 500
Fortune just released the list of the 500 largest firms in the world.[1] To us the…
You Thought Globalization Was Hard? It’s Getting Harder.
In an earlier research project on the challenges of making changes to a firm’s business model,…
The Leadership Challenge in Becoming Customer-Facing
The April 26, 2012 issue of Industry Week featured an article titled New Celanese Chief Pushes…
The Challenges of Surrounding Products with Services
Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a manufacturing client that was part of a…
Taking Dashboards out of Wonderland
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just…
The Future Market For Second Mouse Companies
Will Chinese companies begin to evolve and be more like its Western competitors? Note: This article…
Every Road Will Get You Nowhere
In the past several years, second only to a renewed focus on emerging markets, “developing a…
Posing Provocative Questions
Bono, U2’s lead vocalist, once observed “We thought that we had the answers, it was the…
Ten Key Roles of a B2B Corporate Marketing Function
Several months ago a senior marketing executive from a global business-to-business corporation shared the following experience:…
There Is Money to Be Made in Mice
In a recent meeting with one of the partners in a venture capital firm, he cited…
Earning a Return on Your “Relationship Fund”
The case study that follows started off a number of years ago with a quite troubling…
Finding Growth Opportunities During Lackluster Times
Whether or not businesses anticipate lackluster earnings results during the first half of the year, the…
The Sales You Didn’t Make
Bill Gates once said “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”. In that…
Three Cs of GAM
Suppliers can simultaneously respond to their shareholders’ growth expectations and their major customers’ expectations for global…
I Would Pay 50% More…
In a recent discussion with an executive client, he commented that he believes his hardest challenge…
Pricing! Pricing! You Can’t Talk about Pricing!
Jim Mora, a former NFL coach, was made famous in a recent beer commercial that featured…
Don’t Forget "How"
Recently, I worked with a client that was implementing a new “customer partnering” initiative that provided…
Don't Forget "How"
Recently, I worked with a client that was implementing a new “customer partnering” initiative that provided…
Where’s The Beef?
Many years ago, in a course on information theory, I learned that one way to measure…
Where's The Beef?
Many years ago, in a course on information theory, I learned that one way to measure…
CoDestiny Relationships Between Manufacturers And Distributors
Atlee Valentine Pope and George F. Brown, Jr. discuss issues that can arise in manufacturer-distributor relationships,…
What’s Keeping You Awake at Night?
One of my clients recently told me the following story: “We’ve been working with [a certain…
What's Keeping You Awake at Night?
One of my clients recently told me the following story: “We’ve been working with [a certain…
From Assessment To Action: Managing Distributor Relationships
One of our clients in the building systems industry asked us to help resolve a dilemma…
Deleting Voicemail 666
We were having a conversation with one of our clients following a meeting related to their…
Sales Models In Business Markets With Complex Customer Chains
We have often described “major customer relationships” and “third-party channel relationships” as two of the most…
A Blueprint for Strong VAR/Vendor Relationships
William Blake, the English poet and painter, has been quoted as saying, “He hasn’t an enemy…
Whatever Happened To Growth?
Earlier this year, one of our clients invited us to participate in an off-site meeting involving…
Growth Is A Project
Recently, we asked a procurement executive within a large communications equipment company to describe a supplier…
Strategic Accounts As Engines of Growth
Last month, we were invited to meet with a marketing and sales executive at a leading…
Mistakes That Could Have Been Avoided
As we begin to climb slowly out of the deepest, darkest recession on recent record, it’s…
Two Pricing "Constants"
Alan Perlis, the first head of the Computer Science Department at Carnegie-Mellon University, often told his…
Two Percent For Looking In The Mirror Twice
Recent work involving the use of pricing analytics has provided some interesting insights about profit management…
Avoiding The Vicious Cycle Of Pricing
While working on a growth strategy assignment with a major business-to-business supplier, we observed several fascinating…
Using Service Strategies To Avoid Price Pressures
At a recent workshop, we distributed a “quiz” with 10 quotes which we said were from…
Innovation: Fuel For Breakout Growth
At a meeting with one of our clients, we provided their executive team with a short…
Success! Now What?
A company with which our firm worked recently communicated some good news: They had been selected…
Out Of Crisis Comes Opportunity
Our title for this article emerged from a recent client project. We were working with a…
Offices in Chicago And Chengdu: Managing the Complexity of the China Market
One of our clients is the executive responsible for the Global Accounts served by her company,…
Rules Of Three: Managing Major Customer Relationships Involving China
Several years ago, we published an article[1] titled “The Unwritten Rules of China”, addressing the complexities…
Implementation Competencies: Creating Long-Term Growth Foundations
A global industrial systems company found that its business environment was shifting rapidly. The firm had…
In-Career Education and Implementation Competencies
Rudy Giuliani once noted that “Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a…
Pricing Isn’t A Four Letter Word
When the topic of pricing arises, anticipation often follows that the discussion will be unpleasant, putting…
Make Them An Offer They Can Refuse
In the early 70s, one of the phrases of the day was “Make him an offer…
You Might Be A Real Chinese Company…
We have recently written that at the top of U.S. firms’ agendas must be bringing some…
Second Mouse Opportunities For Distributors
We have used the saying “The second mouse gets the cheese” as an analogy for what…
If Speaking Is Silver, Then Listening Is Gold
A recent project provided an opportunity to examine the relationships between a machinery manufacturer and the…
Second Mouse Tales From China
While new global market participants are emerging from several countries, the Chinese are our primary example…
If You Have Too Many Priorities, You Have None
The wisdom inherent in the frequently heard statement “If you have too many priorities, you have…
Learning from the Fast Learners
In previous articles[1], we’ve written about the emerging competitors from China, firms that are beginning to…
Your 2012 Plans: Preparing for the Uncertainty of the New Year
What is the outlook for next year’s economic growth? It’s the $64,000 question. In the United…
We Aren’t The Champions: Achieving Success As A Second Mouse
When, if ever, will the Chinese competitors graduate from being ‘fast followers’ to become true innovators?…
Turn Your Customer Into A Partner
Most companies invest a significant level of resources in activities designed to identify business partners and…
They Only Had One Pig
During a recent discussion, a customer of one of my clients described an episode of the…
They Aren’t Who We Thought They Were
It is as close to a sure thing as exists in business to assume that the…
The Standard is the Standard
Getting the standards right is only a part of the equation that defines sustained success and…
The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese
Driving into Tampa recently, we saw a sign that read “The early bird gets the worm,…
Stand By Me
Recently, I participated in a conference attended primarily by technology integrators, firms that provided high-end solutions…
Solutions To Growth Challenges
In recent years, “solutions” has become among the most popular one-word strategy summaries. Many firms, finding little…
Ready, Fire, Aim!
George F. Brown, Jr. identifies four themes for business growth in 2012, and offers his unique…
My Customer’s Competitor Is My…
An Arabian proverb says, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” While the logic is…
Known Unknowns And Unknown Unknowns
A client in the medical equipment industry recently shared the following experience with me: “You might…
It’s My Own Damn Fault
Taking steps to avoid unnecessary instances in which your direct customer is a price buyer is…
It’s a Pricing Problem, Not a Price Problem
In an interview with an executive in a large national industrial distribution firm recently, I asked…
Get Your Price
Blue Canyon Partners’ George F. Brown Jr. on how to invest in your pricing strategy. When…
CoDestiny Relationships With Government
America’s governmental institutions face many more changes in the years to come. A major part of…
CoDestiny Relationships With Channel Partners
CoDestiny[1] relationships come in many flavors. The most frequent ones involve suppliers and their end customers.…
Building Strong Foundations for Customer Relationships
It takes a significant effort on the part of suppliers and customers alike to ensure that…
Discovering Your Next Growth Opportunity: Adjacent Markets
Adjacent markets are often the best answer when a business is faced with the question of…
Best-in-Class Behaviors in Business-to-Business Relationships
Competency in managing strategic account relationships yields customers who are satisfied and see value, and, in…
Supplier-Customer Success Stories: How the Best Firms Collaborate to Drive Growth
This paper builds upon insights drawn from thousands of supplier-customer success stories to identify the most…
Creating – Rather than Destroying – Value through Acquisitions
Acquisitions can make important contributions to a company’s growth strategy. The strategic due diligence process described…
The Mandate of Global Presence
In 2010, as the global economy began its rebound from the Great Recession, Blue Canyon Partners…
‘Supplier Driven’ and ‘Channel Driven’ Business Models
For many business-to-business suppliers, their customer chains involve channel organizations and one or more stages of…
The Unwritten Rules of China
While identifying the potential of the China market is not difficult, realizing this potential is complicated…
China Economics: Unraveling the Mystery of China’s Low Cost
This paper offers insights into the economics of manufacturing in China. While the game is rigged…
Business-to-Business Economics
Business-to-business suppliers face a complex market and economic environment. Their direct customers and end customers bring…
You Know it Ain’t Easy
George F. Brown, Jr. shares his research on the challenges executives experience in implementing business model…
Troubled Waters
In today’s business environment, where every firm has to focus intensely on the ways in which…
Sitting on the Bulls-Eye
One of my all-time favorite Far Side™ cartoons showed a deer with a target on its…
Preparing for Future Competition
It is as close to a sure thing as exists in business to assume that the…
The BRIC Effect
One of our business-to-business clients recently stated during a strategy session that, “We really no longer…
Taking Action to Sustain Customer Relationships
Most companies invest a significant level of resources in activities designed to identify business partners and…
Who Would Ever Share Customers?
Many organizations live in fear of the notion of sharing end customers. After all, a manufacturer…
Listening To The Voice Of The Customer
In the book CoDestiny, it is argued that the most successful business strategies are ones that…
How Real Are Those Price Pressures
Decisions on pricing are among the toughest ones facing business executives. Customers and competitors alike put…
Focus on Fit in Growth Plans
In 1967, many of us heard the same advice given Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate: “Plastics.”…
50 Ways to Win in China
In 1975, Paul Simon released the song 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, which, despite the…
Are You Ready to Take on China’s Next-Generation Competitors?
Over the past decade, many western firms have identified and targeted China’s exciting, fast-growing markets. Most…
Driving M&A Success In 2011
The increased pace of merger and acquisition activity late in 2010, including some huge deals, suggests…
Finding New Pathways to Profitable Growth
Identification of the most promising new markets, customer segments, and product and service offerings is critical…
Creating Your 2012 Business Plan
As the last quarter of 2011 dawns, your 2012 business plan should involve initiatives that address…
Bringing Outsiders In
One of the most important lessons in business is that when you create value for your…
Come Together: Creating M&A Success Stories
The increased pace of merger and acquisition activity late in 2010 and early in 2011, including…
Change Before You Have To
Here is the question that we think belongs on the top of your firm’s strategic agenda.…
Opinion: Can This Marriage Be Saved?
It takes a significant effort on the part of suppliers and customers alike to ensure that…
Building a Customer Facing Culture
Even from among firms that are best defined by the products of their R&D departments and…
Creative Resolutions: Is Your 2011 Aerospace and Defense Innovation Plan Really Innovative?
In a recent meeting with an executive responsible for her company’s product development activities, she made…
Be A Good Customer – Let Your Suppliers Help You Grow
Most firms have learned that their customers can be a valuable source of insight, providing ideas…
Courting China – Very Carefully
Just over a decade ago, businesses became aware of the magnitude of challenges related to doing…
