The Buyer Utility MapBackground The Buyer Utility Map was introduced by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in 2000 in the article” Knowing a Winning Business Idea When You See One” in Harvard Business Review. Identifying which business ideas have real commercial potential is one of the most difficult challenges that executives face. A common trap is that the management focuses on a product’s technical possibilities. Instead, they must focus on the product’s utility to identify where and how the new product or service will change the customers’ lives. It is less about a product’s technical possibilities and more about its customer utility. The buyer utility map helps to get managers thinking from the proper perspective. About the model The Map has two main dimensions. On the horizontal axle, you find “The six stages of the buyer experience cycle”; on the vertical axle, you find “The six utility levers.” The two dimensions form a matrix consisting of 36 spaces. The first dimension is “The six stages of the buyer experience cycle” on the horizontal axle. A customer’s experience passes through six primary stages running more or less sequentially from Purchase to Disposal. Each stage encompasses a wide variety of specific experiences for the customer. The model’s authors have identified key questions for each stage to help companies assess the quality of a buyer’s experience. We review the questions for each stage of the Buyer Experience Cycle individually. The first stage is Purchase. The questions in this stage to help assess the quality for the customer are: Is the place of Purchase attractive and accessible? How secure is the transaction environment? How rapidly can you make a purchase? How long does it take to find the product you need? The second stage is Delivery. The questions in this stage are: How long does it take to get the product delivered? How difficult is it to unpack and install the new product? The third stage is Use. The questions in this stage are: Does the product require training or expert assistance? Is the product easy to store when not in Use? How effective are the product’s features and functions? The fourth stage is Supplements. The questions in this stage are: Do you need other products and services to make this product work? If so, how costly are they? The fifth stage is Maintenance. The questions in this stage are: Does the product require external Maintenance? How easy is it to maintain and upgrade the product? The sixth and last is Disposal. The questions in this stage are: Does the Use of the product create waste items? How easy is it to dispose of the product? These six stages of the Buyer Experience Cycle were the first dimension of the Map. Criticism of the model There is no clear definition of the six utility levers. Before using the model, the participants must agree on a standard definition of the terms. The model requires a great deal of knowledge and facts about the competitors in the industry. The model requires a great deal of self-criticism of one’s strengths and weaknesses. The advantage of the model is that it forces the management to look beyond common practice in the industry, and management must allocate resources to various forms of Innovation to stay ahead of the competition. The company must be ready for change.
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