The strategy that becomes prime for a company, however, has implications for its organizational structure. For a business to pursue this strategy, what is demanded is a very responsive customer service department and a very active marketing and sales department geared to relationship selling . In fact, these departments drive the company. They are the firm's primary interface with the customer base. Customer information is continually solicited, sorted, ordered, and immediately distributed throughout the company so that it can be acted upon immediately.
Information systems are state of the art.
The recipients of this information have to be able to act quickly to stay on top. A growing and successful construction company prided itself on building expensive homes geared to client needs and adaptable to client wants. Information about customer-initiated changes was frequently communicated incorrectly or late to the field, even more increasing construction costs due to the need to undo work that had been already completed. Sales people were pre-empted at closing regarding sales price, making for rapid turnover of sales people and suspicious buyers, and many clients complaints throughout the construction period. The firm's relative success was due to the fact that it was small enough to eventually determine what a customer wanted, as well as the fact that its competition in its geographical area was no better.