Be Different or be dead

August 11, 2014

Why success is doing lots of imperfect stuff fast

Source: Unsplash

Why success is doing lots of imperfect stuff fast.

How do you consistently move the yardsticks forward in an organization? What actions are predictors of success?

Here’s my experience. Success has a really simple formula.

Success = (Doing) (lots of) (imperfect) (stuff) (fast)

Let’s break it down.

(Doing):

Acting not pontificating;
Not too much analysis;
Risk taking;
Gut and heart motivated;
Passion fuelled;
Making tries.

(lots of):

Don’t look for the silver bullets;
Be ok with making a ‘nano-inch’ of progress;
Failure is at the heart of successful ideas, so fail a lot;
Innovation doesn’t come in big chunks, it comes in bits and pieces;
Engage everyone in the organization because they all have ideas;
Shoot more than the other guy.

(imperfect):

Accept the fact that there’s no such thing as perfection;
Perfection seeking = no action; nothing is accomplished;
An imperfect idea successfully implemented beats an intellectually pristine notion that never gets off the ground;
Perfection cultivates innovation rigour mortise.

(stuff):

Make weird choices;
Look for DiFFERENT solutions;
Take contrarian positions on issues;
Unique;
Unleash the ’special’ in you and your organization;
Avoid copying at all cost.

(fast):

Know that speed is a competitive advantage;
Accelerate past the failures and try something else;
Avoid dragging, it robs you of your nimbleness;
Beware of your competition because they’re watching you.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 8.11.14 at 03:11 am by Roy Osing
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June 30, 2014

Why ‘buying’ customers is a really bad growth strategy

Source: Pexels

Why ‘buying’ customers is a really bad growth strategy. There’s no such thing as low hanging fruit.

A business plan based on buying a customer base is flawed.

When companies develop their growth plan, they are very tempted to consider an acquisition as a fast-and-easy option.

After all, if you want to grow revenues by $10 million over the next 24 months, why not buy a customer base that would yield that amount?

Buying customers may appear like low hanging fruit to achieve your growth intentions but it isn’t.

On paper, a merger or acquisition might look like it was made in heaven but it rarely is.

The synergies cited and the common denominator between the two organizations often understate or mask the real challenges facing the marriage.

Integrating a new organization into an exiting one is not easy.

Culture, operations, policy, systems and procedures differences make the combination anything but seamless and the acquired customers are often affected.

The difficulties in merging the entities are visible to them; their service is impacted and their loyalty wanes. There is no guarantee they will remain after the dust from the merge settles.

The intended growth plan is not realized.

There is no low hanging fruit when it comes to growing your customer base

Nurture and expand your existing customer base; those current customers who are with you because they know you and care about what you do.

Provide them with more personal solutions; packages of value that will excite them and motivate them to spread your word to others.

Build your business plan around organic growth; shopping for new ones is a risk you may want to avoid.

It is a more certain future for you.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 6.30.14 at 03:24 am by Roy Osing
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June 9, 2014

Why amazing customer experiences needs a responsible executive leader

Source: Unsplash

Why amazing customer experiences needs a responsible executive leader.

Most organizations continue to be product and service focused; they flog, or push products at their customers.

They push what they produce or supply at you. They claim their stuff is the best value at the cheapest price.

Research has proven conclusively that people get more long term gratification when they spend their money on experiences.

A family vacation. A Zip-line ride. Fishing off the beach with the grandchildren. A 4-hour snorkelling adventure. A movie with someone you love.

Sure, a new SUV is exciting at first but it doesn’t take long before it becomes a used car.

With customer gratification and happiness comes loyalty, which means that organizations must focus on experience creation if they want to stand-out from the competition and thrive.

A number of companies are waking up to the importance of experiences to their overall marketing program by appointing a Chief Experience Officer (CXO) to be accountable for the creation of “memorable moments” for their customers.

Marriott is one example. Their “EVP, Chief Resort Experience Officer Marriott Vacation Club International” sets the tone for what’s important to Marriott and what customer success looks like.

The CXO works across the organization to ensure that all functions work synergistically to provide a seamless dazzling experience for the customer. Not an easy task to be sure but one that is critically important to move the focus away from flogging products and services.

Dip your toe in the experience pool.

Declare that experiences are your end game.

Establish accountability at the most senior level in your organization.

Do it now.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 6.9.14 at 03:01 am by Roy Osing
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April 14, 2014

This is why you shouldn’t worry about your competition

Source: Pexels

This is why you shouldn’t worry about your competition.

Traditional marketing strategy spends a copious amount of time focusing on how to erect barriers to competitive entry.
Unfortunately in my experience this doctrine doesn’t go far enough and it certainly doesn’t create a sustainable competitive position for an organization.

Worrying about the competition is not where energies should be spent.

Worrying about the competition is misplaced — Here are 7 reasons why this traditional business approach doesn’t work:

It’s not a particularly unique approach to the market — Most organizations seem to follow this approach to minimize competition in their business; if everyone pursues the same strategy, how can it result in a differential advantage for any one of them? The truth is, it’s a business school course and every student takes it and typically tries to apply IT when there are other strategies that work much better.

The notion is rooted in a more theoretical perspective and falls short of the practical need to show business people how to do it. It’s all very well to salute a strategy that is rooted in strong theory, but if it can’t be practically implemented in the real world, it’s of little value.

It’s a distraction — While an organization is consumed with trying to find ways to keep the competition out, it’s not spending enough time to ensure their existing base of loyal customers are taken care of.

And it spawns an unhealthy culture that is preoccupied with preventing market activity rather than doing whatever is required to beat the competition in the trenches where the customers are. Earning their business everyday should be the priority rather than erecting barriers to others coming in to compete with you.

It diverts marketing attention — Away from investing in value based offers for the existing customer base. Rather, marketing resources are employed on other activities — regulations, patents and government restrictions — designed to keep competition away.

It creates an illusion — That competition can be restricted. It’s futile in the long run because a hungry competitor will always find a way to gain access to your markets and your customers. You will never keep them out or restrict their natural market activities.

It tends to focus on artificial non-market tactics — To prevent more competition such as regulation and law rather than beating them by providing amazing customer service and unmatched value.

It’s an ineffective use of valuable resources — With an outcome that is inevitable. Back in the day, the incumbent telecom carriers spent an enormous amount of money trying to prevent competitive entry into traditional monopoly markets through a time-consuming and expensive regulatory process.

The competitive tsunami wasn’t deterred, however, and they should have been paying more attention to creating better customer service and a marketing engine that provided compelling and unique value.

I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t pay attention to the competition, existing and potential.

But don’t get obsessed about preventing them from doing what is reasonable given free market conditions.
If they have an opportunity with your customers, expect them to make a play and respond by shielding your loyal customers from the onslaught of their competitive value proposition.

If you feel that a certain non-market response is necessary, go ahead and do it. But don’t let it be all-consuming. Don’t let it gobble up all of your resources. And don’t let it drain the effort in executing a customer response to the threat.

Observe your competitors but ACT for your customers.

Make it so difficult for your competition to attract your customers away from you - by providing them with constant unmatched value - they will be frustrated and will have to endure so much pain, they will decide it’s not worth it. And they will retreat.

How can you hold them? — What are some of the actions you can take to keep your customers close to you and prevent them from leaving?

Music is a great teacher.

The Grateful Dead informed us on how to create a unique competitive claim.

You don’t want merely to be the best of the best. You want to be the ONLY ones who do what you do — Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead

And The Eagles’ Hotel California declares the impossibility of patrons leaving.

You can checkout anytime but you can never leave — The Eagles

The message is cool. It’s mysterious. It’s haunting. It’s foreboding. It’s dramatic. It’s scary. It’s suggestive of a clandestine move.

Here are 8 actions you can take to prevent customers from ‘leaving your hotel’:

▪️Don’t be concerned about what the competition is doing; focus on the action that YOU need to take to enrich the stickiness of your products or services;

▪️Action to prevent leaving must be taken quickly. The time it takes to get to check-out and leave the building is short; rapid innovation of offerings your customers love is mandatory;

▪️Abandon the conventional; take risks with out there solutions;

▪️Give ‘em something more. Move ‘em to ‘another room’ with added value. Transform them into another world where a new reality intrigues them to stay;

▪️Intercept them as they make their way to check-out. Don’t follow up after they have left. Have your spider senses ready to know they intend to leave and disrupt their intentions;

▪️Give them a new experience that makes them want to stay. Give them something so dramatic that it will take their emotions to a new level;

▪️Make it personal Speak to them specifically. What works for Mr. Smith won’t work for Mr. Jones;

▪️SURPRISE! SHOCK! JOLT! AMAZE! FRIGHTEN! them to stay. Do whatever it takes.

Too much attention is given to the threat of others taking guests from our hotel.

If you want to worry about something, worry about the door closing behind them.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

• Posted 4.14.14 at 01:39 am by Roy Osing
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