Interested parties, strategic orientation and ISO 9001:2015

Answer:
ISO 9001:2015 clause 4.2 has requirements about interested parties and their expectations. I like to address this topic with an overall strategic view. Your organization has customers, they are the reason for your organization’s existence. So, customers are a natural interested party. Customers are all different and can be group segmented. For example, some value above all a low price, some value the service, the customization, and some value brand or innovation. Each group has different expectations. Your organization can also work with:

* influencers, for example, bloggers that promote your organization’s products and services among potential customers;
* regulators, for example, to promote certain product or service requirements;
* customers of your organization’s customers, for example, they can be more receptive to your organization’s value proposition, and they have power over your customer;
* suppliers, for example, perhaps your organization has a particular supplier that is strategically important because they can give an important support;
* employees, for example, perhaps your organization has some employee categories with well-trained people highly coveted by the competition.
* What are their expectations, why should they work with your organization? Why should they prefer to work with your organization?
It is becoming increasingly common for an organization to succeed to consider an ecosystem of stakeholders that extends well beyond the classic organization-client relationship.

The following material will provide you information about interested parties:
- Understanding needs & expectations of interested parties in ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2017/10/24/understanding-needs-expectations-of-interested-parties-in-iso-90012015/
- How to determine interested parties and their requirements according to ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2015/11/10/how-to-determine-interested-parties-and-their-requirements-according-to-iso-90012015/
- free online webinar (check after minute 12:30) - ISO 9001:2015 clause 4 - Context of the organization, interested parties, and scope - https://advisera.com/9001academy/webinar/iso-90012015-clause-4-context-of-the-organization-interested-parties-and-scope-free-webinar-on-demand/
- book - Discover ISO 9001:2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/