Which existing customer is your business about to lose? What potential customers will go to your competitors instead of you? What new threat will assault your business next week, next month or next quarter? When opportunity knocks is your business ready? Is your organization as fast and competitive as it can be? There is an old joke about a bear that goes something like this... Two guys are out in
woods hiking when all of a sudden a huge, black bear starts chasing them. Both hikers end up in a tree, but bear begins to climb tree after them. The first guy gets his sneakers out of his knapsack and starts putting them on. The second guy says, "What are you doing? The first guy says, "I figure when bear gets too close, we'll have to jump down and make a run for it." The second guy says, "Are you crazy? You can't outrun a bear..." The first guy says, "I don't have to outrun bear. I only have to outrun you...
Outrunning your competition, while providing unparalleled customer service is getting tougher and tougher. Daily, senior executives face an unrelenting assault on their business strategy driven by globalization, faster absorption of newer technology, shorter product life cycles and constantly evolving marketing wild card - ubiquitous World-Wide-Web!
If quality was mantra of 80's and ‘re-engineering' business term for 90's, then velocity is key for 21st century!
Over years, Global Marketing gained an astute appreciation for ways and means of developing and running a successful business in industrial automation industry. After much thought and lots of trial and error, we have learned various ‘truths' and complied them into 10 business axioms.
While there is no magic wand or silver bullet to guarantee success in any business, these 10 axioms will help you traverse uncertain and ever-changing market. They will help you develop a business strategy and execute tactics that obtains sustainable growth and above average return to your stakeholders.
We begin with Global Marketing business axiom # 1:
Stay in front of your business - if you don't your competitors will!
This may seem obvious, but all too often Global Marketing is called in to help a client after they are in serious trouble. Many times we find that senior executives wait until growth subsides, profit margins erode and competitive pressures force steep discounting as de facto business strategy. This condition didn't occur overnight, it happens over time.
How do you tell someone who is complacent, that they are complacent? This is not meant to be double-speak, but to convey a powerful point in a pithy manner. No one plans to be complacent in business, it happens slowly over time and one day company faces severe cut-backs and CEO and management team struggle to find a way forward before bankruptcy becomes only answer.
The sad truth is that this scenario could easily be averted.
Running a business has similar challenges as flying an airplane. Once you define where you wish to go, you fly there. As you fly, adjustments must be made. Changes in weather and head or tail winds effect your speed and direction. Indicators (or measurements) help guide your progress and inform you if you are on track to make your destination as well as determine if you will meet your budgeted time frame. Therefore, meaningful measurements become a key aspect in achieving your travel goals. This is similar in reaching business objectives.
