Act 1: When the Brand
is Everything
It used to be enough for businesses to have an inside/out
view of what customers wanted. Put bluntly, what this meant is that as a
customer you could only have what we’ve got and on our terms. There might be a
bit of lip-gloss on customer service but not a lot. For many businesses, the
view was also UK centric. Of course, there were global brands, but they were in
the Premier League - remote and unobtainable.
It really didn’t matter what was happening around the
business - we were the immutable ice breaking ship - confident in our absolute
right to skew the terms of business totally in our favour. Competitive analysis
was an over the shoulder glance - what on earth would those guys (as opposed to
mates) know that we didn’t? This was the era of big brands, big spends, showy
promotional activity and crude marketing subject to the 50% rule - as in 50%
wasted.
As an aside, wasn’t ‘command and control’ and silos absolutely
the right way to run a business?
|
I know because I was part of that world as
a senior marketing guy for a Retail Bank. Yep, I contributed to the debt
crisis too - magic mushroom lending margins that are still around! And, I
still shudder at the forced bell curve distribution of the annual performance
reviews.
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Act 2: When the Brand
is Nothing
And now?
Well it’s a bit of a ‘Countdown’ scenario isn’t it?
In summary:
·
External events - like rampant technology - are
shaping events more than businesses or their owners would like to admit;
·
New competitors spring up who won’t play the
game according to your rules and they could come from anywhere (as in global);
·
Customers won’t be spoon-fed any more - they use
a myriad of reference points (the ZMOT model) where a corporate brand based
‘push’ is largely irrelevant;
·
Employees who would be expected to subsume their
individuality to the collective corporate will are just plain bolshie - they
have their own rules;
·
The old model of leadership is, quite simply,
not fit for purpose.
|
Actually this was a bit of a ‘marmite’
test for me - you know, you either like it or hate it? It challenged all my
thinking and experience based on a successful career with a major corporate.
I decided I wanted to stay in touch so if
nothing else I would have some appreciation of the environment my
grandchildren are growing up in and the challenges facing clients.
|
Act 3: When the People
are Everything
Welcome to the Digital World!
|
Digital, as I understand it, is just a
super-efficient way of transmitting information. It’s transformational power
lies in the low cost and immediate way in which people can connect using
mobile devices (anytime, anywhere) like the smart phone and tablets
- and who knows what going forward?
|
Technology might well be anathema to you, but if you want
your business to survive beyond the 2013/14 Premier League and not be relegated
then you need to get take control. It’s not just the mechanics of technology. It’s
destructive potency is that it’s causing people - your customers and your staff
- to think and do things differently. They might go elsewhere.
So, until you build a business model that recognises these
challenges, your business is at risk too.
Are you ready to become part of the Digital Revolution?
e:
chrisfarrance@frontiercoaching.com
m: 07770 465 560
w: www.frontiercoaching.com
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