The Value Chain
The firm’s task is to examine its costs and performance in each value-creating activity, benchmarking against competitors, and look for ways to improve. These processes include:
The market-sensing process – gathering and acting upon information about the market.
The new-offering realization process – researching, developing, and launching new high-quality offerings quickly and within budget.
The customer acquisition process – defining target markets and prospecting for new customers.
The customer relationship process – building deeper understanding of, relationships with, and offerings for individual customers.
The fulfillment management process – receiving and approving orders, shipping goods on time, and collecting payment.
(Kotler & Koller, A Framework for Marketing Management, 2016)