Sunday, May 6, 2012

Five Disciplines for Creating what the Customer Wants)


Identify Customer Needs: Use surveys to identify what customers needs are. Ask what kind of foods they would like to see on the shelves. Ask what suppliers would like to see improved.

Solutions to Needs: Over the years, Kellogg’s has continued to introduce healthier products. Kellogg’s created the Kellogg’s Breakfast Council, which consists of “seven independent experts dedicated to helping all of us understand nutrition information…” http://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/our-commitment-to-nutrition/kelloggs-breakfast-council.html
They have focused especially on their cereals. Now even the “sugary” cereals are nutritious. They also introduced their Heart Healthy Selection of cereals, which include brands such as Smart Start, Fiber Plus and All Bran. Kellogg’s has also introduced My Special K, which is a challenge geared towards women to eat healthy and lose weight. http://www.specialk.com/aboutchallenge

Structure of Company: Kellogg’s organizational design is an International design, which I discussed in a previous post. However, their management structure consists of a Board of Directors and a Leadership Team of 13 members. http://investor.kelloggs.com/management.cfm?navSection=BInfo

“Innovation Champions”: At Kellogg’s I believe that their Leadership Team members are al Innovation Champions. After reading through a lot of their biographies, it seems like they have all had a lot of experience and enjoy being in their leadership positions. They also seem to all have the drive to keep innovating the products that Kellogg’s has to offer.

Create Value for Customers: Kellogg’s creates value for their customers by creating and promoting programs for their consumers. I mentioned some of them above. These create value by going above and beyond just selling food and drinks. Kellogg’s has decided to get their consumers involved and are promoting healthy living and eating. 

Exit Strategy: I could not find an exit strategy on their website, but I do not know if they need one. They are a highly established company and are doing very well. I do not think Kellogg’s is going anywhere. I believe that they will keep expanding into new markets and innovating their products.