How Companies Win: Profiting from Demand-Driven Business Models No Matter What Business You’re In – New Customers and Profits in Contracting Markets

by Rick Kash, David Calhoun

In a world of contracting markets and diminished consumer demand, The Cambridge Group founder Rick Kash and Nielsen Company CEO David Calhoun show companies how to find new customers and bigger profits. How Companies Win makes The Cambridge Group’s proprietary demand model—a strategy which multi-million dollar corporations pay premium rates to access—available to the general public for the first time. Taking the reigns from Larry Bossidy’s Execution, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne’s Blue Ocean Strategy, and Kash’s own The New Law of Demand and Supply, this is a must-have for succeeding in business in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Ebooks

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Mai Kijkul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too vague and all over the place to be useful. A lot of rephrasing and incomplete examples. Can be summed up in a few sentences: The world is no longer a supply-driven company. To adapt, companies must focus on demand (understanding most profitable customers) and have supply (cutting costs, supply chain) respond to those insights, find the most profitable pricing strategy, and make sure whole company is aligned.

[Guthrie C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a decent read although some of the business cases in it are dated since it was published about a decade ago. The authors do a good job describing the importance of a demand-driven approach to successful business strategy, and the importance of great data science/analytics to achieve this.

However, they offer too few practical details on creating a demand-driven strategy. They do supply the key questions and frameworks, but leave out the “how” next steps, which makes sense as the book points to their strategy consulting experiences as examples of the how.

This aspect makes the book more of a content marketing piece for their services, versus practical guide, but the frameworks and real world business cases provided are still interesting enough to warrant a read for those stuck in supply-driven strategies.

[Matt Witten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have given it two stars, but it likely would have been more insightful or thought provoking when it was first written, so I gave it the benefit.

Overall, most of the information is things that have been in place in most companies for a long time, with new names and over dramatic descriptions of their importance. I wouldn’t say there’s anything that seems drastically off, but there isn’t anything that’s going to put you ahead of competitors. On top of that, it’s also simply repetitive and over done in general.

Wouldn’t recommend this one, there are other books worth the read.

[Gene Babon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoever satisfies demand the best profits the most. These companies will win in an over-supplied economy.

The core message here is that we have entered an era of oversupply which is characterized by lack of differentiation with price becoming the primary factor underlying purchasing decisions. The authors contend the following:

"In a world where supply is growing ever more efficient while demand is flattening or even contracting, understanding demand becomes the new imperative for how companies will compete and win."

A demand-driven company consistently takes a longer-term perspective than its competition. If you are not "asking your customer" you are falling behind. At best "asking your customer" might enable you to keep pace with your competition, but will never position you ahead of the curve. Intimate customer knowledge is one factor that will help your business gain competitive advantage.

"Finding those highest-profit customer clusters, growing them, and then hanging on to them for dear life may decide your company's future."

The authors offer a series of focused questions you can use to identify your highest-profit customers and the current, latent and emerging demand for your company's products and services. The authors also suggest adding a fifth P to the marketing mix. The traditional four P's of marketing are product, price, place and promotion. The fifth P is precision. The greater the precision in analyzing demand, the better the chances of developing profitable products and services in a demand-driven economy.

The authors present a demand-based framework for growing your business. Proprietary research seems to be at the center of creating an effective demand landscape. This analysis is necessary to help you understand who your customers are and what they want, both now and in the future. Case studies from McDonald's, Best Buy, Harrah's, Miller Brewing, Ball Park Franks, Allstate, Hewlett-Packard and Hershey's offer insights into implementing a demand-based strategy. Discussions on innovation, differentiation and pricing also help shine a light on this demand-driven approach.

Take-home message: Think of demand analysis as an "early opportunity system." Customer intimacy offers a gateway into future profits for your business. The change in mindset that needs to occur to transform your business into a demand-driven profit machine: change your relationship with your customers from selling to them to working with them.

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[sultan abukoshaim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is to some extent a pardime shift to the traditional view of supply demand concept. The author gives most of the weight for success to our ability to satisfy the changing demand of the consumers.

Supply concern's the products packiging, display, location, price, branding and servicing. While demand conern's customers phsycology, emotions, and needs. The company ability to resopond the changing consutmer needs is a key to success in this era of compatition.

Demand takes three forms:
1- current: this is immidate market demand. for instance selling icecream in hot areas inside a water park.
2- latent: goodreads, and facebook might be a good examples of this form. The customers never know that they wanted its servces until they saw it.
3- emerging: it is a hypothitical form. It focuses on anticipating the future of the consumers needs.

the book also discussed the concept of "demand poles". The companies should look at thier top profitable customers and work to undrestand thier demography. For instance deviding customers into Gold, silver, and pronse. or whatever the names. Then dig more into the golden group to undrstand where they come from, what their ages, sex, and so on. Such demand focuse approch help the company to increase their sales remarkably.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there's a valid message about understanding demand in this book, but it's obscured somewhat by the authors' insistence on focusing on hidebound brands that have failed to properly understand demand in their markets since the book's publication. Additionally, a lot of the so-called "analysis" leading to demand identification in the case studies seems to be little more than wishful thinking driven postdiction and attempts to ascribe success to good practices rather than luck or the "upward failure" of an already strong brand.

[Samuel Lubell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since the recession businesses have had an over-supply. They need to shift from focusing on supply to focusing on demand, by using new tools to determine who to target and how to determine what it is they will want to tap the pool of highest profit. I’m not quite sure if I don’t understand how innovative this is due to my lack of understanding of business sales or because the authors keep the actual process hidden since that’s what they are selling as consultants. But it seems to boil down to the type of audience research that I assume any company selling things should be doing.

[Adrian Viesca Trevino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Top 3 takeaways...

1) Look outside not in. In today’s world success of business relies on identifying need states of customers and growing with them.

2) when constructing demand landscape (segments) look at future, not past behavior. Otherwise it’s the equivalent of driving while looking at the rear view mirror

3) Focus I’m high margin segments and grow them. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Be precise to THEM only

[Bryan]

What they point out is true but is also, I think, pretty obvious to all but the most lethargic old-school companies.