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Management article
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Reference no. 95101
Published by: Harvard Business Publishing
Published in: "Harvard Business Review", 1995

Abstract

Virtually all managers are aware that the key to winning in the market today is tailoring one''s offerings to the needs of each customer while maintaining low costs and prices. But most manufacturers have focused only on the products themselves, largely ignoring another element that differentiates a company''s offerings and has a huge impact on costs and profits: services. Instead of tailoring their packages of services to customers'' individual needs, many suppliers simply add layers of services to their offerings. The authors have found that suppliers usually give customers more services than they want at prices that reflect neither their value to customers nor the cost of providing them. But some companies are realizing that they can lower the cost of providing services and use them more effectively to meet customers'' needs, gain more business, and enhance profits. From the authors'' study of the best practices of those companies, they have developed a model for providing flexible service offerings.

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Abstract

Virtually all managers are aware that the key to winning in the market today is tailoring one''s offerings to the needs of each customer while maintaining low costs and prices. But most manufacturers have focused only on the products themselves, largely ignoring another element that differentiates a company''s offerings and has a huge impact on costs and profits: services. Instead of tailoring their packages of services to customers'' individual needs, many suppliers simply add layers of services to their offerings. The authors have found that suppliers usually give customers more services than they want at prices that reflect neither their value to customers nor the cost of providing them. But some companies are realizing that they can lower the cost of providing services and use them more effectively to meet customers'' needs, gain more business, and enhance profits. From the authors'' study of the best practices of those companies, they have developed a model for providing flexible service offerings.

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