Final Customer Purchasing from the Product Producer
Use Steps: Use steps include all the customer's value added activities or the consumption of the product itself. These steps include all the costs the customer incurs in employing the product in its intended use.
B.
Resources: Reduce resources required for the use of the product
1.
Money: Reduce the money the customer uses with the product. For more ideas on using pricing, please see the Improve/Pricing section of StrategyStreet.
C.
Reduce the customer's spending on other products used with the product
No. | SIC | Year | Note |
1 | 2891 | 2004 | Nordson's equipment is prevalent in production centers because it helps clients save money. Adhesives, sealants, and coatings for packaging and manufacturing are expensive. The chemicals that go through Nordson's equipment over its life cycle cost 100 times more than the equipment itself, so it makes sense to buy equipment that will save some money. It also helps Nordson that competition is scattered across the diverse markets it serves. Topping the list are Illinois tool Works, Graco, Cookson, and Wagner Group. Nordson's real competitors are different processes, such as tape or sonic welding. |
2 | 3500 | 2003 | There are three ways that technology companies can escape the Cheap Revolution's unrelenting margin pressure. One is to improve product offering faster than anybody else can. This tactic generally works for market leaders with a good brand name, a greased distribution channel, and financial might. And it works only as long as the market wants added functionality and is willing to pay for it. A second strategy is to sell fast custom solutions that answer a customer's needs. IBM's trick for example has been to go modular and bring in an army of third party solution providers. The third tactic is to find an unserved market and serve it cheaply. The product or service should be so cheap that the industry's old guard believes there is no money to be made and walks away. Sony for example in the 1950s served teenagers with transistor radios. Their parents owned expensive tabletop vacuum to be radios from RCA or Philco. By serving the unserved Sony got a head start in consumer electronics. |
3 | 3950 | 1986 | Cabot's new type of carbon black will boost fuel efficiency by improving the ease with which tires roll–a feature wanted by auto manufacturers. |
4 | 7372 | 2005 | Software from UGS lets designers, execs, and other collaborate easily. The technology allows companies like P&G to handle 25% more art changes than before, with the same staff. UGS was spun off Electronic Data Systems in 2004. The company is now on track to surpass $1 billion in sales and $200 million in cash from operations this year. It is the leader in the fastest-growing segment of the corporate software market: product life-cycle management. |
5 | 7379 | 2004 | Microsoft purchased web conferencing firm PlaceWare and runs a service called Office Live Meeting; the product was a hit with Microsoft employees, cutting travel and expenses. |
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