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74 don ’ t really want .” With the rise of the assembly line and mass production , the industrial revolution helped to pave the way for the product economy . During this period , a business thrived or died by how many products it could sell cheaply and effectively and it made economic sense . Though Tzuo believes that this all changed with the dawn of the internet and smartphones , which put the power firmly in the hands of consumers and the customer experience . “ In the old model , the finance team were just counting the dollars and cents and calculating the cost that went into that unit ,” he says . “ That ’ s not important anymore . What ’ s important is how loyal are your customers and is your business model growing as your customers use more and more of your service ?
“ Customers are actually demanding greater experiences and they want that in all aspects of their life ,” he adds . “ Why should it just be limited to TV shows or entertainment ? They also want this for food , for clothes , for transportation , for their vacations . They want it for everything .” As customers demand more , it ’ s pushing companies to better them-
“Customers are demanding greater experiences and they want that in all aspects of their life ”
— Tien Tzuo , Co-founder and CEO of Zuora
selves and create better offerings than ever before . But this model isn ’ t just beneficial to customers , it also offers a consistent revenue stream . Tzuo cites Netflix as a pertinent example of how a subscription business model can offer a competitive advantage . “ People sometimes complain that Netflix spends a lot of money creating content but the big difference between Netflix and a major movie
APRIL 2019