Metrics offered here apply to customer-driven strategies, but can also be tracked even when they are not the primary value proposition. Again, just because a measurement is listed does not mean it should be tracked. Organizations need to select the metrics that best fit their strategy and situation.

For marketing-focused strategies, it might be a good idea to develop a marketing scorecard of key measurements that provides management feedback on the effectiveness of customer-driven efforts.

Delivery Performance Measuring on-time delivery is crucial for any customer-driven strategy and was described in detail in the section on lean Six Sigma metrics.

Field Service Response Time The growing emphasis on customer service makes this measurement an important element of a differentiation strategy. It is determined by monitoring the average number of hours required to respond to a customer service call. Lengthy and numerous field visits are indicative of problems that may require attention. Many companies have increased their focus on service by establishing Internet sites and user communities to allow on-demand access for time-efficient self-diagnostic information. In addition, firms may want to track the average cost of making service calls.

Market Share Percentage This measurement will indicate a firm s sales as a percentage of sales in its target market. Other indicators might include monitoring market growth compared to a firm s sales growth to provide clearer focus on the rate of progress.

Changes in Customer Master File The customer master file in the...