Best Buy Essay

Plan of Action Report - Best Buy Co., Inc.: Customer-Centricity

Why did Best Buy need to adopt a new strategy when Brad Anderson became CEO?

The market for electronics was changing. Many of the Best Buy customers at the time were beginning to look for additional service and support for the products being purchased in the stores. Mr. Anderson described this shift as "We have to shift our focus from products to customers and redefine our value proposition." By remaining the same, Best Buy ran the risk of simply becoming a store to price compare from a customer perspective. By focusing solely on the products and price, Best Buy was really offering nothing different than Wal-Mart or Amazon.com. Mr. Anderson recognized this "commoditization" of the electronics world and determined that a new strategy was needed in order to set Best Buy apart from its "price is king" competitors.

Alternatively, it could be said that Mr. Anderson chose to adopt a new strategy when becoming CEO because he felt he needed to leave a legacy with the company. I often wonder how much some decisions are made based on actual sound judgment that the data of the company supports versus the need to some senior level executives to be able to point to a "change" in which they lead for "changes" sake.

What does the Customer-Centricity strategy imply and how is it different from a strategy of great service?

The customer-centricity strategy is built on the premise to provide customer service to predetermine groups in a way that meets their needs and anticipates their wants. The strategy was designed to help employees to act like they were the owner of the store and to interact with customers on a deeper level to meet the unique needs of each client segment. There were five major client segments that were established in this strategy. Best Buy's data indicated that 50% to 90% of total revenue could be linked to these segments.

Where I believe this strategy differs from a...