Winning in the Guidance Economy

Superior guidance, as I see it, is the new source of competitive advantage and profitable growth.

Why is that?

It's because buyers in both the B2B and B2C worlds are sick and tired of being blindsided by unexpected events. Think about the tech bust at the turn of the millennium, the corporate scandals that led to Sarbanes-Oxley, and, now, a credit crisis which has become a global financial crisis.

Confidence is at an all time low. People feel battered, bruised and mistreated. They don't trust government leaders and, increasingly, they don't trust business leaders either. Too often, their leaders have failed to set expectations they could meet.

The future, it seems, is not dawning. Instead, the future has become a twilight world of shadows and darkness. People are afraid, uncertain and unclear about the risks they are facing. This includes the people you call prospects. They are waiting for leaders who will illuminate the path ahead and help them navigate the hazardous shoals. They want trustworthy insight from diligent advisors. They want clarity, direction and guidance.

Interestingly, the business technology industry, which committed so many sins during the tech bubble, has reformed itself. (One can't say the same about the financial services industry.) Tech has diminished the mania and forced due diligence into the fold.

But the sector may also have ushered in commoditization. Suppliers and solution providers, I would argue, have become a bit too risk averse -- prone to needless profit erosion.The problem is even worse in other B2B sectors.

So every seller should now be seeking a new source of competitive differentiation. Some will try to enhance their products. Others will concentrate on their services. I contend they'll set themselves apart most vividly by giving their prospective customers what they now want most: credible and reliable guidance.

Present the vision. Marshall the evidence. Build the business case.  Help your prospects see what's coming next. Guide them through the difficult and demanding decisions they now face. That's what we must do to set ourselves apart in the next economy -- the Guidance Economy.

Comments

[Joshua Horwitz]

Nice post Britton. I agree with you completely that buyers skepticism is at an all time high. I've just recently started following your blog, I be interested to hear more on your definition of guidance. Is the average B2B vendor able to accept this responsibility or are they better facilitating an interaction between prospects and their customers that have already realized the vision. Or perhaps that's what you mean by marshalling the evidence.

[Britton Manasco]

Joshua,

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you asked for more clarity on guidance. As you'll see in the post that follows this one, I am putting together examples that illustrate the case. Best Buy vs. Home Depot is a pretty vivid contrast. But I will also be getting into B2B examples that show how product and service companies are beginning to resemble strategic consulting companies in various ways. Guidance, as I'll show, comes in various forms. It is both an element of marketing and an element of the offering. Indeed, it will increasingly be seen as a powerful offering unto itself. That's my view anyway.

Best,

Britton

[Jarvis Cromwell]

Britton, you are on to something here. Marketers should expand their client relationships along the lines you suggest.

In 2002 public trust in corporations reached its lowest ebb in a century. And this state of affairs hasn't improved! The big problem with this for marketers and brands is that trust is transactional. When you have a lot of it, it greases the sale. When you have little, it acts as a clotting agent and the transaction either slows down or falls apart.

My colleagues and I in the Reputation Garage call this new world the "show me" marketplace. In such a world, you have to prove yourself beyond your offering. To win big B-to-B marketers need to stretch their value propositions beyond the feature/functions of their offering and your concept of guidance is right on the money.

[Lewis Perelman]

Britton, this reminds of Sy Sims' longstanding and slogan: "An educated consumer is my best customer." Very true. But tech people often seem to interpret that as explaining the features of their own product in exhausting detail--rather than helping customers understand how best to satisfy their needs. ... Lew

[Ardath Albee]

Hi Britton,

Nice article. What I took away is that Guidance is akin to cutomer-focused thought leadership put into action. Is that where you're going?

Thanks,
Ardath

[Britton Manasco]

Great comments on this piece. Thanks for your insights.

Jarvis, I was extremely pleased to learn how much our work was aligned when I saw you speak at the MarketingSherpa conference. I will be actively tracking your compelling work on trust.

Lew, thanks for the Sy Sims quote. I agree that this is very much about educating the customer. The key is enabling customers to participate in their own education as opposed to passively absorbing a teacher's words. In this sense, I prefer to speak about it as providing guidance that strengthens a decision.

Ardath, you are right. It's deeply tied to thought leadership. That is the means by which we provide the guidance that prospects/customers are seeking. They want to know where things are going next. We meet their needs by helping them build a case that giver them confidence in the change they are making.

Thanks all-- Britton