Solutions Metrics: Start Simple

Many companies have made important strides in developing and delivering solutions, but debate continues within companies about the business benefits of moving to a more aggressive solutions orientation. For most companies, solutions still represent a new way of doing business—and they have not yet found the most effective way to measure the business payoff of their solutions strategies.

One of the biggest challenges is simply identifying what to measure. For example, the solutions value chain typically integrates multiple value chains from product divisions, services lines, business partners, and even the customer, which makes solutions profitability hard to grasp.

Step one, according to ITSMA research with a range of companies moving to solutions, is to focus initially on the drivers that led you to enter the solutions business in the first place. Sample metrics for a handful of key drivers are outlined in Table 1.

Table 1. Start with Your Solution Drivers

Source: ITSMA, 2006

For more suggestions and best-practice examples of what IBM, BT, and Lucent are doing to meet the measurement challenge, see our Update, Solutions Metrics: Quantifying and Reporting the Value.

Comments are closed.

ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. We work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA annual program clients include business leaders such as AT&T, Cisco, Deloitte, EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing℠, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.