A New Kind of Business Model

I just ran across a white paper I wrote at IBM while playing the role of e-Visionary. It’s from 1999, but much of it is still applicable today. The title is Adaptive Marketing because it was based on the book Adaptive Enterprise, by Stephan Haeckel, also of IBM at the time.

Years ago, small “mom and pop” enterprises—merchants like the local butcher or your grandfather’s tailor—forged lasting ties with their customers. They had the ability to quickly and continually gather information about their patrons, due in large part to the personal relationships they cemented with them over the years. They could sense their customers’ needs; understood their shopping patterns and buying history; and were keenly attuned to their individual preferences regarding products, styles and services. Personal service was a given—and everybody knew your name.

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In today’s extended enterprises, achieving that same level of service—what brand marketers refer to as “emotional lock-in”—is especially challenging when an organization is dealing with tens of thousands—sometimes millions—of customers. The pressure is heightened by consumers’ newly empowered ability to select how and when they want to patronize an organization. Though multiple channels are at their disposal—the Web, kiosks, standard mailings, the call center and ATMs, as well as traditional “brick and mortar” establishments—today’s customers nonetheless count on a single, unified brand experience.

To fulfill their expectations in a growing, increasingly Web-based marketplace calls for a commitment that reaches well beyond your Web site and deep into the enterprise. It means tying marketing to operations. . .finance to customer service. . .and market research to sales. It also calls for the adoption of two new attitudes within the organization —one absolutely committed to listening to the customer, the other dedicated to continuous learning. These concepts are embodied in a powerful new business model known as Adaptive Marketing.

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To fulfill customers’ expectations in a growing, increasingly Web-based marketplace calls for a commitment that reaches well beyond your Web site and deep into the enterprise.

Thanks to my mentor, Stephan Haeckel, for all that I learned about systems thinking applied to business!