DEFINING YOUR BUSINESS USING PRODUCT-CUSTOMER MATRICES

This article demonstrates the value of product-customer matrices (PCMs ). PCMs can improve managers' understanding of what a company's produc ts actually are; who the customers are; which product-customer segment s the company is currently in; which ones it is not in; the business(e s) it is in; the competitors within each product-customer segment; whi ch segments are currently important in terms of Sales or profitability , and which are growing or declining; the nature and level of Competit iveness in each segment; how firms compete and the key success factors in each Segment; the strategic groups in the industry; the segments t he company might exit or enter; and how the company should compete in each segment. The article outlines a five step process for making PCMs an integral part of strategic analysis.