Operating models optimize organizations and leadership to drive value and meet business needs. In today’s dynamic B2B markets, uncertainty looms due to inflation, supply chain concerns, and regional conflicts. At Forrester, we understand that customer value is the key driver of growth. Unfortunately, internal barriers often hinder the creation of customer value, leading to ineffective go-to-market strategies and operations. 

It’s surprising how many companies fail to prioritize their customers’ needs and preferences. Instead, they focus on their own internal goals and processes. This lack of customer-centricity prevents organizations from designing an effective operating model that aligns with a growth strategy centered around customer obsession. Even today, we see teams building and maintaining isolated silos of functions, plans, processes, technologies, and measurement programs. This approach creates a disconnect within the organization, as different functions work independently without considering the overall customer value proposition. The result? Suboptimized resources, redundant efforts, and wastage. 

To overcome these challenges, organizations must shift their focus from relying solely on organizational charts as the catalyst for change. They need to embrace a comprehensive operating model that is customer obsessed. Designing such a model can be complex, as it requires careful consideration and collaboration to balance the needs of various stakeholders, feasibility, and the organizational context. 

That’s where Forrester’s High-Performance Operating Model Framework comes in. We help organizations answer critical questions about their target audience, how to meet their needs, the assets required to deliver value, how to effectively deliver capabilities, how to make informed decisions, and how to steer the organization in the right direction. By aligning all aspects of the organization towards delivering customer value, the operating model establishes integrated processes, workflows, and metrics that prioritize customer value in decision-making and resource allocation. It serves as a roadmap to translate the organization’s vision into actionable plans and initiatives, enabling agility in response to market shifts and emerging trends. 

Want to learn more about Forrester’s High-Performance Operating Model Framework and how to apply the research to a revenue operations function? Join me in Austin, TX, May 5-8, 2024 where I’ll present “Designing Your Operating Model For Customer-Obsessed Growth” at B2B Summit North America.  

Forrester clients can follow me for updates, and Forrester Decisions seat holders can request a guidance session with me or my colleagues to go deeper into our revenue operations research.