Edge Strategy: A New Mindset for Profitable Growth

actually make existing customers’ interaction with the business more complete.

Does a customer buy a flat-screen TV because he wants to own an electronic device? Or rather because he wants to sit on his couch and consume entertainment? Is the mission of a trip to the grocery store the acquisition of items for the pantry? Or might the underlying mission be a hot meal for the family?

Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets. —Steve Jobs, cofounder and CEO of Apple

Part of the reason edges can be simultaneously higher return and lower risk is that the risk is paid for elsewhere.

Accordingly, options that wrap service around product, anything that turns “do it yourself” into “do it for me,” is a journey edge.

Edge strategy acknowledges that the boundaries defined by a product do not typically mark the beginning and end of the journeys that initially prompted customers to engage. These journeys often start before a company actually sees the customer and tend to continue well after they have transacted.

There is an optional enhancement offered to a core product (add-on). The add-ons typically leverage foundational assets of the core business. The incremental effort and investment required to present and fulfill the enhancement is typically low. Incremental consideration is paid (extra charge) for this add-on.

This framework is competencies-based (inward out) rather than needs-based (outward in), and much more naturally centers on the customer—the absolute key to any profit-expansion effort.

the misalignment might result not because the core offering is missing something, but rather because some customers do not universally value some elements of the core offering. While important for some customers, and perhaps even target customers, certain elements may not be valued by all customers. This is where we can find opportunities on the in