Beyond the Bundle

The McKinsey Quarterly: Solving the solutions problem highlights the difference between merely bundling IT products together and truly collaborating with customers to develop solutions that add value to customers' businesses. The latter strategy is the best for long-term profitability and growth for both the solution provider and its customers.

One of the most interesting points in the article is the observation that customers who approach their IT purchases from a product level would expect a discount for purchasing multiple items, while those who purchase a solution are buying into the value that the finished product will bring to their organizations and thus are evaluating the purchase on an ROI basis.

I sometimes call this part of the solution sales process creating oranges, because it raises the level of the conversation with the customer from an apples to apples, feeds and speeds conversation to a truly collaborative interaction. Engaging a customers at this level is necessary to create and finance solutions that succeed in adding value to the organization that is quantifiable in terms of cost savings, revenue enhancement, or other key metrics.

Companies that create this type of depth in their relationships with their customers will foster real loyalty by delivering value, versus habits that are easily swayed by a lower price.