differentiation in a commoditized market: how centurlink found it, benda van der steen, centrylink

Availability of CenturyLink services varies. Please refer to the following for availability details: HTTP://qwest.centurylink.com/legal/docs/availability © 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not to be distributed or reproduced by anyone other than CenturyLink entities and CenturyLink Channel Alliance members. ASSETID# MM/YY

Differentiation in a commoditized market: How CenturyLink found it Brenda Van der Steen Content Strategy Group Manager Business Markets Group September 21, 2011


Commoditized Differentiation … really?

2

Which one are we?

Which one are you?


Even harder with….

1,200 Sales Professionals

110 Products/Solutions

5 Verticals 3


The Math

1,200X110X5=660,000

Potential Messages

4

Availability of CenturyLink services varies. Please refer to the following for availability details: HTTP://qwest.centurylink.com/legal/docs/availability © 2011 CenturyLink, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not to be distributed or reproduced by anyone other than CenturyLink entities and CenturyLink Channel Alliance members. ASSETID# MM/YY 5


The Result

YOUR BUSINESS LIVES ON YOUR NETWORK, MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR INVESTMENT

Cost Management Changes in Demand Continuity

6


Deployment

• Executive buy-in

• Tools

• Training

• Alignment

• Focus on our customer

7


What we are hearing… the impact

8

• “We need one of these for all the major industries, healthcare, finance, etc.”

• “This would really start the discussion.”

• “I was thinking the whole time, ok prove it. Then you did on the last slide.”

• Comes from a point of view, “We understand your problems, here is how we’d help.”

• I never thought I would say thank you to marketing


What’s next

9


Pull-through

10

http://www.centurylink.com/business/resource-center/videos-and-demos/list.html#3022


LEARNINGS:

• Rationalize feedback

• Better cross-section of sales participation

• Importance of executive buy-in

• Keep it alive

• Deeper dive...

• Finding our “Why”

11


Why?

12

YOUR BUSINESS LIVES ON YOUR NETWORK, MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR INVESTMENT

Cost Management Changes in Demand Continuity