Focusing on sales and service needs Many firms devote too many sales and service resources to simple dealings and too few to complex ones where the key differentiator might be deep domain expertise. You should therefore start rethinking your advance by deciding exactly what type and quality of sales and service interaction you must provide to their various customers. Consider the case of a worldwide network components provider that until recently was “stuck in the middle” between low-cost competitors from Asia and companies that offered new solutions and stronger field expertise to high-end customers. Analysis revealed that 70% of this company’s customer interactions were relatively simple. An additional 10% of its interactions required a modest level of customization. Only 20% of the time was a true “high touch” customer interaction required. By matching the desires and service levels of clients more effectively, this company reduced its overall go-to-market costs by nearly 20%. It was also able to improve the quality of its customization work and speed the development of new solutions by concentrating its expertise on those high-touch interactions.