Satisfying both a customer's needs and preferences is required for success in the marketplace, but there are a number of distinctions between the two. Needs served are the attributes a product or service must have in order to be considered by a customer. You can compare this to an analogy of a poker game where the player must ante up the "table stakes" in order to participate in the game. While an organization must have a sharp focus on fulfilling customer needs, this does not necessarily in itself guarantee success. You are likely to have competitors who can also fulfill the customer's basic needs with regard to the particular product or service.

Preferences are ultimately what will determine the buying decision if there are multiple competitors that have satisfied the basic need. Preferences are also product or service attributes but the customer will generally trade off some of these for others that they consider more important. In order to be successful you must determine which of these preferences is most important to the customer and out-perform the competition on these.

Can or should we alternate members on the Planning Team from year to year?

First understand the basic guidelines for formation of the strategic planning team. It should include members who have the responsibility and authority to implement the Strategic Plan. It should have functional diversity. That is, it should include participation from a variety of functional perspectives within the organization. Finally, it should be manageable in size. Just as a certain degree of continuity is important within the top management ranks of a company, continuity is also important on the planning team. Even though the Strategic Plan is well documented, there is much that is "written between the lines", and it is important to bring this historical perspective forward. Thus, wholesale changes for change's sake are generally not recommended. Nor is a continual expansion of the team to the point that meetings and decision-making become unwieldy. That being said, changing a few members out from time to time, particularly if you feel that new members can bring a fresh perspective, can be useful.

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