Introduction

We live in an interesting era. I believe that we see fundamental shifts happening in many areas. The Customer-Supplier relationship is amongst these changing areas. It is not just a change. It is a paradigm shift which is here to stay here. What is this paradigm shift?

suppliers need to help customers to buy

Instead of selling what suppliers have used to do for many decades. Stop pushing, start pulling. Suppliers had the wisdom and the knowledge and there was -at best- unidirectional communication. From supplier to customer. The power was with the supplier.

That is gone. For good. The power is now with the customer. And guess what? Neither the supplier nor the customer know how to handle this new situation.

This Customer Focus Manifesto is about the customer and supplier listening to each other, finding the true needs, solving real problems and co-creating value. Idealistic? You bet!

And it all starts here.

08MAR2010