On December 11th, we had the privilege to sit through a new-age economics class by professional Vistage speaker, Mr. Sam Bowers. He presented his thoughts on the new market dynamics faced by companies both now and in the future. His key points focused on the necessary paradigm shift we must all experience in order to gain and maintain competitive advantage in this new business world.
After a four-hour lecture, our employees walked out
motivated and excited to incorporate the following five points into their 2016
business strategy:
1.
Accept
commoditization – In an economy where the seller’s power has been
transferred to the consumer, it’s imperative to remain competitive by looking
at your product and figuring out how to continue to provide that service or
product in a better, faster, and cheaper fashion than your competition.
2.
Yours
costs are not fixed – Customer driven pressure will force you to lower your
costs and selling prices. Every company needs to become a negotiating company
that defends profit rather than a sales company that defends price at the
expense of profit. In fact, price is a useless number; the only number that
matters is profit.
3.
Sales
people are obsolete – A company without sales people would make for a
stagnant business in the old world, but in today’s day-in-age, our customers
are educated and knowledgeable. They’ve done their research online, they’ve
read reviews on the company through social media outlets and they know exactly
what they want. When a customer contacts a business, they’re not looking for
information, they’re looking for the best price point they can find. In order
to survive in this new economy, your company has to find itself on this new
“bid list” and this can be done through effective marketing.
4.
Marketing
is key – The culture of instant gratification has taken over the business
world, resulting in companies having to be available 24/7, while also taking on
a non-interruption approach to promoting their products or services. Consumers
do not want to be bothered by sales calls at any point in time. When looking
for a particular product or service, they will come to you. The key is making
yourself visible and available to them so that your company can make it to
their “bid list.” This can be done through excellent online presence, i.e.
social media platforms, websites and blogs. Mastering non-interruption
marketing will help your company get on the “bid list” 100% of the time.
5.
Added
Value is no longer valuable – Added value comes from the idea of not giving
into price pressure. Your company may pride itself on excellent customer
service, however, in today’s age, no one really cares. They’re on the hunt for
the cheapest price they can find, and they know that they can find your same
services and products elsewhere; it’s no longer about providing superior
quality at a higher price – it’s about offering a product or service that is
“good enough” and at the price point your consumer is looking for, circling
back to the idea that every company needs to figure out how to do what they do
in a better, faster and cheaper manner.
What are your thoughts on this new business philosophy? Do
you agree? Disagree? We’d love to hear from you. -- Dr. Bill Kent
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