Productivity. Has a nice sound to it, don't you think? Positive. Upbeat. Forward-looking. Something we probably all should be seeking to improve. Unfortunately,
word does not have same meaning for all.Productivity, Big Business, And People
To big business, productivity means cutting all possible expenses. And since wages are a major expenditure, jobs routinely disappear. (aka: Downsizing)
Large companies hire talent to collect solid data and determine exactly what profitability is for any element in place. It is then easy to point finger precisely at elements that are less profitable.
It can be demonstrated that if they eliminate a particular component of their business, they will lose N% of customers. More important, they know precisely what N will be for any proposed cutback.
At this level of business, people do not matter individually. That is, company is not concerned about needs or nature of potential customers turned away. The focus is on most profitable sale to make.
Customer Support Is Decaying Rapidly
One of early victims in battle for increased productivity was customer support. Adobe, producers of Acrobat, have taken this to an extreme. There is no contact information on their site. Not even an email address. Nobody to contact if you have a problem with one of their products.
Recently theme has been CRM (Customer Relationships Management) which purportedly improves interaction between company and its customers. Done properly as a company-wide on-going project, this is extremely effective for firms that benefit from staying in touch with their customers.
Often, however, CRM amounts to implementing expensive software systems that in effect seek to automate "interaction" and thus decrease need for salaried employees to deal directly with customers.
While people in general may accept being treated in such cavalier fashion, many will not. These people buy such products as Adobe Acrobat only because they need tool, and it is not available elsewhere.
Your Opportunity
The above picture of big business in action is loaded with implications that can lead to a great business of your own. Or to improving one you have.
For openers, consider that N% of previous customers discarded. One can make an excellent living off discards from giants. And there is nothing to fear in reaching out to embrace these potential customers, for they have already been written off. It's very unlikely that a major firm will reverse its position and want them back. And even if such a move is made, you will already have a following that will remain loyal to you.
