Embracing the Customer

Abstract

Tomorrow’s organizations are in the business of creating lifestyle- enhancing possibilities. Their aim is not to dictate, control or sell customer lifestyles — it is to co-create customer futures. Their medium is the product or service and the process by which they are created. The medium is not passive — it is one that enables customers to discover and extend the physical and mental boundaries of their own lifestyles. As new high quality, high touch, customer tailorable and customer-specific products and services flood into the market, we are fast getting to the stage where the product or service specification is relatively unimportant. We are fast getting to the point where it is the ability of the product to dynamically empower the customer to enhance his or her lifestyle that makes the difference between active, highly-prized companion and passive low-value commodity.

‘Service can be described as the integration of two actors. ’ (Alvin Toffler)