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DISCUSSION BOARD FORUM 1
Discussion Board Forum 1
BUSI 745 – Marketing for Competitive Advantage
School of Business, Liberty University
October 27, 2020
Author Note
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DISCUSSION BOARD FORUM 1
Discussion Board Forum 1
As organizations seek to maximize specific departments’ potential, establishing customer
relationships and meeting customer needs may become value drivers. To better understand these
relationships, three topics will be examined. The three topics include the progression of customer
value differentiation, the likelihood of meeting customer needs, and categorical examples of how
organizations may practically meet customer needs.
Customer Value Differentiation and Customer Needs Differentiation
While organizations attempt to identify factors that will allow profitable growth,
customer value differentiation, and customer needs differentiation help the process. Attempting
to identify the higher value customers’ needs is more profitable due to the more significant return
on investment (Peppers & Rogers, 2004). Since customer value differentiation has been fruitful
for establishing a competitive advantage in particular industries, identifying customer needs may
help shape the purchasing behavior of products and services (Kim et al., 2015). However,
differentiating customer needs can be a difficult process for organizations. For example,
complicated dynamics of labeling or grouping customers based on needs can be a multifaceted
process that manufacturers do not have the resources to support (Peppers & Rogers, 2004).
Likelihood of Meeting Customer Needs
Peppers and Rogers (2004) note that customers desire their problem to be solved and the
process in which the situation is resolved needs to be managed distinctly according to personal
