Reality Check... Part III

For most, the reality they are in now is because of the plans
and actions that they did yesterday. Why only most? Well,
for some, it may have been for some "uncontrollable" events
that had greatly affected their today. Still, this is not to excuse
them but after all, it's reality that we want and listening plays
a role. Nevertheless, for the few who understands that things
evolve not just because of himself but because everyone
weaved as well, thereby, coming up with a giant colorful fabric.

"In the future, the optimal form of industrial organization will
be neither small companies nor large ones but network
structures that share the advantages of both."
~ Francis Fukuyama

See, the future that we are looking at 5-10 years from now is
already here. It has already happened! Have you responded
to the challenges?

Shape the company's business brands, services, and messages
toward achieving desired objectives, goals, strategies and
measures.

Advertise truthfully. Do not present messages and information
in a way that is exaggerated, untruthful, and misleading in your
brand performance.

"Most organizations are not designed, they grow."
~ Charles Handy

Come out with marketing strategies that are well-researched.
A marketing strategy should not be based on sales power.
It should be a strategy that responds to the buyers' clamor for
different styles, features, and other attributes. Work on
improving the use of branding, product positioning and
differentiating, advertising and sales promotions.

Realize that growth comes naturally just like the human body
yet not all that comes with it is positive, therefore, growth does
not always lead a business to build on success. There are
instances where it would just turn a good company into a
run-of-the-mill kind of organization.

However, reality is that if enthusiasm holds up, ideas just come
pouring in and the success you wished for -- becomes a reality.

Take note...
"A company's ability to innovate is rapidly becoming the primary
source of competitive success." - Christopher A. Bartlett

Reality Check... Part II

Are you ready? Here's more of reality.

Reality is understanding that our competitors can be friends
but not to forget that we are still competing; therefore,
professionalism should always be upheld. Reality is recognizing
that while customers bring in the dollars, employees help you
multiply it. Reality is realizing that times have changed because
business changed it, hence, you have a big say in influencing
the future.

"It is a world made for elephants, with experts prophesying that
80% of online sales will eventually go to only 30 companies."
~ Charles Handy

Isn't it ironic that both forecasting and fantasizing starts with an
"F", or is it just coincidence? Well, we can not just leave the future
to such if you really want a fortune.

Do not just rely on self-improvement. Adapt the best practices
and emulate world-class performers.

Attract business-to-business purchasing on the internet. Allow
customers to access pictures of products, catalogs, or shop among
online vendors for the best margins and terms. While shopping
online is a breeze, take necessary precautions when making your
purchase. Shop with online merchants that you know and trust.

Focus on building customer share rather than market share.
Notice, McDonald's practices cross-selling and up-selling.

Do not base decisions on intuition alone, gut-feel or pedestrian
approach but combine them with models and facts.

Examine marketing scorecards to know what is happening to
market share, customer loss rate, customer satisfaction, and
product quality against those of competition. A change in
marketing indicators predicts movements in financial results.

"When nobody wants something, that creates an opportunity."
~ Carl Icahn

Recognize that every employee must be customer-focused.
Each of them has to think, do, and act as a customer would.
Refrain from relying on the old impression that marketing is
the sole responsibility of sales and marketing personnel.

Train your people to be entrepreneurs... and gain new customers
with the objective of having them in your camp for the long run.

You are the Head! Go for it!

Take note...
"Pull off a coup and you're a national hero, fail and you're an
evil criminal; in business it's the same difference between
bankruptcy and making a fortune." - Jeffrey Archer

Reality Check...

To survive difficult times, and more so, to thrive -- it is a must
that you face the realities of the times.

"The number one impediment to cultural change in large
organizations is a lack of urgency fostered by too much
historical success." - John P. Kotter

Notice? The marketplace is not what it used to be. To do more
of the same routine activities that made you successful in the
past will make you obsolete. To do exactly what competition is
doing will not give you the needed competitive edge. To use your
past performance as your benchmark will make you a history in
the marketing world. Companies must overcome the paradigm
of doing things based on past behaviors and past successes.
Past actions are based on their best knowledge in dealing with
the circumstances present at that time. In thinking about the
future, companies must make the changes today to create the
business of the future.

Challenging times are always around us. Crisis is like a double
bladed weapon. It becomes a danger or an opportunity. Every
crisis situation presents an equal opportunity. Economic
slowdowns come and go, hence, preparedness is a virtue.

"The important things of tomorrow are probably going to be
things that are overlooked today." - Andrew S. Grove

Realize that there's not just the 4 Ps of the marketing mix but
there's also the 4 Ms of the new economy: men (people, human
asset), money (resource allocations, budgets), machines
(hardware), and materials (software).

The course your company takes tomorrow depends on the
choices you made today. Thus, understand that developing a
sustainable competitive advantage is not enough, you have to
keep on inventing new advantages.

There are no short cuts to success so do not try making short
cuts to your marketing plan. Figure out how to develop it in order
to achieve desired organizational goals. Be ahead of schedule.
Aim to be better and faster than rivals. Grab competitors' market
share and move target customers to your side, then you will know
that the smoke is just about to set a lovely fire.

Now get people moving in your camp.

Take note...
"For an effective reality check: Hire someone different from you."

Surviving Difficult Times... Part II

Many times, difficult times is not really due to outside or
unforeseen factors, but because of not really doing things on
time. Planning is useless without proper execution.

"Remember that time is money." - Benjamin Franklin

To survive and emerge a winner, your company's products
and services must grow faster and be better than others.

Focus on profitable products, customers, and channels. This
does not mean to take smaller customers for granted; however,
in difficult times, you energy should be more focused. It is not
wise to scatter investments across many initiatives which are
not aligned with the overall business objective. Create new
partner relationships, where senior managers and executives
are responsible for consumer market not just marketing.

To survive the tough times, streamline design processes by
way of making systems more flexible and efficient.

"The customer is the most important part of the production
line." - W. Edwards Deming

Build up your credibility with customers. Credibility plays a
key role in winning customers to your side, retaining them, and
driving them toward loyalty. The better your product or
service, the more customers you have. And the more credible
your product or service, the more satisfied your customers are,
and the better chance you have at gaining their trust and
loyalty.

Still when you can not control the weather, for obvious reasons,
do not let difficult times weigh you down but consider these
tried and tested formulas...

• Address your inefficiences, redundancies, and excessive costs.
• Identify and partner with a potential and profitable customer that has special reasons to be receptive.
• Focus on creating process improvements, with an understanding of customers' real needs and business context.
• Ask your most valued customers to define the new benefits they want. Connect with and satisfy customers more efficiently.
• Take control of your inventory.
• Invest more on technology.

Strengthen your resolve. You can make it if you really want to.

Take note...
"Everything is always impossible before it works. That is
what entrepreneurs are all about -- doing what people have
told them is impossible." - Hunt Greene

Surviving Difficult Times...

If you don't know it yet -- your business is to succeed.

This was why we even went through growth initiatives. Yet
no matter how sharp one may be, in difficult times, having a
sustainable competitive advantage is not enough.

"Innovation is a necessary condition for business success --
but not a sufficient condition for business success."
~ Randall L. Tobias

What does one still need to do then?

Keep on inventing new advantages. Be proactive rather than
reactive. Find new ways to better serve your customers. Do
everything possible to exceed customers' expectations.

Realize that current traditional markets will not guarantee
sales, growth, and profit. They create new markets and new
channels. So, intensify your marketing efforts in terms of reach,
presence, and availability. Strongly consider the market space
-- and not just the market place.

See, satisfying and responding to customer needs are no longer
adequate. Anticipate what's really important to the customer.
Create business solutions and partnering such as unique
customer access, technical know-how, relationship networks,
and a loyal user community.

The ultimate goal is understanding customers' economic issues
and challenges. These allow you to anticipate rather than
respond to customer needs. From being just another supplier,
you become a key economic partner for your customer.

Create growth-based initiatives on traditional tools for
products, factories and personnel. Then create growth-based
initiatives on hidden assets by building long-term and win-win
relationships, competitive market position, and information.

"Business is often about killing your favorite children to allow
others to succeed." - John Harvey-Jones

In trying times specially, sacrifice is needed; and recognizing
the what's, how's and when's as early as possible would prove
crucial.

Do what it takes to outperform, outlast, and outwit your
competition. It is certainly better to be superior and ahead in
your chosen segments, industry, and product category...
not just to survive difficult times but always.

Take note...
"A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."
~ Grace Murray Hopper

Growth Initiatives... Part III

"Commerce is the art of exploiting the need or desire someone
has for something." - Edmond de Goncourt

Consider McDonald's... see, aren't people tired of eating fries,
burgers, et cera? You answer. Yet how do they retain and
continue to attract customers? They "invent" new products
and "innovate" on existing ones then let packaging and
advertising do its magic. They protect their image despite
branches sprouting like mushrooms while continuously
emphasizing and training their people on customer service.
More so... they partner. In short, their think tanks
"relentlessly" -- think.

Now, growth has always been a target for entrepreneurial
souls but sustaining it has many times been perplexing.

Here are the rest of the steps toward growth...

• Manage your organization, bottoms-up, down, and across functional areas through teamwork, empowerment, and business partnering, instead of doing the usual management from the top then down the line.
• Create a single-minded approach. Multiple message approach doesn't usually work in effectively reaching fast the intended target audience.
• Think out of the box. Think differently. Think from a new perspective. Be novel and creative in marketing practices.
• Manage customer lifeline value through customer intimacy and relationship marketing by focusing on making a profit on each transaction.
• Integrate marketing communication tools into one message and one voice. It is better than planning each communication tool separately.
• Understand and meet customers' real needs and wants, not just selling the product.
• Market an experience, not just an assortment of goods or services. Notice bookstores, food outlets, and clothing stores include coffee bars, which would now and then feature lectures and performances.
• More than just exceed customers' expectations by satisfying, delighting, and surprising customers beyond the 4Ps of the marketing mix by satisfying customers' needs and wants.

"Once all the surviving contenders in a market can offer value,
the battle shifts to speed and innovation. To distinguish
themselves, companies must offer something unique."
~ Noel M. Tichy

Remember -- speed and innovation.

Oh, we all know that. Sure. Still if you simply rest on your
laurels, you would just be an "overnight" success. No need for
speeeeed and innooooovation then, just wait until your product
matures and declines. That's it. The story's finished.

Is that what you want? Of course not, you have even been
following this series, you realllly want a continuing saga.

However...

Realize that we could only make it if we not only deliver on our
promise, but deliver it with speed and precision; not only
produce a useful and attractive product, but incessantly
enhance on its features. When the dusts of battle has settled,
even a 1% "uniqueness" could spell victory, it's a fortress we
could build on.

Don't just smile there... make things happen!

Take note...
"Markets are not created by God, nature, or by economic
forces, but by businessmen." - Peter Drucker

Growth Initiatives... Part II

If you have been following my blogs, you want to grow; and
wanting growth is being ambitious... and being ambitious is
good. And why not, why are you in business anyway?
Or why do you work with a company you believe you could
well contribute and help you move forward?

Unlike evolution, growth is not a natural phenomenon --
it's initiated.

"The strategic challenge for the transnational corporation
is the simultaneous achievement of efficiency, flexible
responsiveness, and worldwide learning and innovation."
- Christopher A. Bartlett

In our previous article, we delved into a handful of steps that
would help bring in the bacon -- not just regularly but
incrementally.

Here now is the continuation of those measures...

• Form networking and alliances with other firms through "coopetition" and "collaboration".
• Instead of making the usual product, make customized products through "house branding", "private labels", or "exclusivity contracts".
• Benchmarking is determining who is the very best, who sets the standards, and what those standards are. In the marketing industry, benchmarking is very useful. If you do not know what the standards are, you can not compare yourself against them. You have to know where your competitors stand. When you have decided to benchmark, you get to know how to improve your products or services. You also get to determine what you have to do to achieve your marketing goals.
• Consider a paperless marketing environment. A paperless office makes paper redundant for routine tasks such as record-keeping and market reporting. Computerization can do the conversion of paper documents, photos, marketing plans, and other paper-based systems. The paperless work system has its advantages: productivity gains, costs savings, space saving, and easy sharing of information and it is environment friendly.
• The internet has paved the way for e-business. This refers to the application of internet technology, to streamline business processes. It is also advisable to market your products or services over the internet. Build an online presence where your company is showcased and detailed information provided. Use the internet to conduct payment, handle transaction details, and support automated customer inquiries.

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great
enterprises." - Demosthenes

See, actually, most everything we want to do in this planet is
achievable by just using the common sense... including
business. But what makes that difference is fire -- to climb
and continuously climb mountains. This is why one's level of
courage and enthusiasm is what sets apart achievers from
regular performers; unfortunately, not many companies are
manned by "forward thinking" personalities and that explains
their fluctuation and eventual fold up.

To be that Leader, learn to spot potentials, in every form, and
cash in on them. After all, your business... is to grow.

Take note...
"There is no resting place for an enterprise in a competitive
economy." - Alfred P. Sloan, Jr.