Being a successful business-to-business company takes more than delivering a product or a service. It requires making an impact on customers by improving their performance and helping them thrive.
The recession is perhaps hardest on business-to-business companies; as the consumer economy wheezes, the B2B economy chokes. A few B2Bs -- the ones that really meet their customers’ needs -- will survive. But can they do that without rolling over on price?
Only 22% of business-to-business customers are engaged, and just 13% are fully engaged. The reason? A small percentage of B2B companies focus on engaging customers emotionally. The other companies believe they need only emphasize price, speed, and efficiency.
With net sales of $6 billion in 2007 and with enough might and fame to attract knowledge workers, Stryker is a prominent company worldwide. Yet even this highly successful global business faced major hurdles in hiring talented software developers and engineers in India.