Scott Daniels

According to Scott Daniels, a Partner at Monitor Group, "competition is less about reach or ubiquity, and more about the ability to target segments of the market."He notes that "knowledge-based competition is the ability to identify and scrutinize markets, and is supported by greater access to information architecture.In the last three to four years, technology has allowed even mid-sized and small companies to achieve this type of customer focus."

In response, executives in many industries, regardless of functional background, are spending time personally with key customers as well as devising ways to meet customer needs and link business systems with these customers.