So called good customers provide a short-term ease but difficult customers provide an opportunity for improvement & sustainable growth in business for long term.
In a sales review meeting with the team, the new CEO finds that there is a huge drop in market share in one of the products.
Way back in 1959, US President John F. Kennedy had said that word ‘crisis’ also presents an opportunity. Decades later, this statement is more relevant than ever for businesses during a pandemic. When a pandemic like Coronavirus struck us, everything from our daily routine to the way we run business and hold conversations has changed drastically. While we are together in this, the truth is our perspective is also changing collectively. As leaders in the communications sector, we have to focus on the shifts while being sensitive so that we can be responsible without losing out on opportunities. In the last few years, the digital platform was teeming with opportunities for the communication industry. Now, with everyone at home, the need to convey the right message on the digital platform has also become imperative. Moreover, the economic challenges of the current period have ensured that businesses think innovatively when it comes to the digital media.
I recall this line written I had read long time ago that said that the most dangerous thought in today’s world is “we have always done it this way”. Echoing a certain Darwinian sentiment which calls for adaptability, this is very integral to business and marketing, especially in the current unprecedented times. If there is one thing that Covid 19 has made us realise, it is that the uncertainty looming over us calls for drastic change in the way every brand is handled. As leaders, responsible for important communication in these times, we must be clear about how we perceive our brand and showcase it to the world to retain relevance while being sensitive.
Here are a few ways in which brands need to decode marketing in these tough times of fighting a pandemic.
Warehouse management continues to evolve. Now, that we are in 2020, the warehouse is a carefully managed control center. It is a strategic hub of e-commerce within an overarching supply chain. Exciting as it, the business landscape has transformed, with the arrival of many different challenges, some of which depend on where in the world the warehouse operations are located.
I clearly remember, it was 1985, my dad finally booked our first Refrigerator. The Refrigerator was delivered almost a month after the booking. Unfortunately one decorative plastic cover was found broken. Toll free or customer care concept was not there even in the imagination of the brands. The dealer was the only channel of communication between the customer and the company. The dealer listened to our complaint, assured everything but did nothing to replace the broken part.
A digital instrument that converts your Mobile phone into a device for carrying out financial transactions can be defined as a Mobile Wallet. Technology evolved from fixed line phone to a cordless phone to a mobile phone and that got us thinking of how could we add various services to this device and found replacement to various services that were restricted to a desktop or a hand held camera. How could our commercial transactions be left behind? We brought the ability to conduct these on the mobile phone.
After the recent pandemic, the world has realised that if a business has to stay relevant it has to transform itself to its Digital Avatar. If you stop meeting people and want to sell you need an interface to complete the commercial transaction. That interface to accept payments digitally is provided by a payment gateway.
Let’s understand the evolution of plastic money. Visa as founded in 1958 followed by JCB (Japan Commercial Bank) and MasterCard. These names are often referred to as card schemes. These companies issued plastic cards that would be accepted at the merchant location and dependency on cash was reduced. The advent of internet saw businesses going online and payment gateway was evolved as a tool to accept the payments digitally. Today there are various card schemes – Rupay, China Union pay, American Express, Discover to name a few. We are moving from a cash economy to the digital payment world.
We all are going through an unprecedent crisis there is no doubt about it and this one is going to stay here for a while. This crisis will also change a lot of things and ensure that most of the things are not going to be the same anymore.
The good part is that such crisis comes once or twice in 100 years, the best part is we may most likely not be facing this again in our life time.
As students our strengths are age, energy and being connected. That’s what we need to harp upon during these uncertain times. If you look at these three pillars individually and merge them together you would realize ways to not just navigate these times but also come out successful.
In my experience here are the ways in which you can learn sales and be a top-notch professional.
Observe what good salespersons in your organization do – If you are working in a sales organization, this is absolutely important and fastest way to learn. I have observed many strong sales persons (and not all were in sales!) and many interesting styles to sell. Observe very closely how the best sales persons in your organization bring in sales, how do they fix their appointments, how do they ask questions, pitch and handle objections from clients. How do they position themselves and so on.
“Boss, we will understand the data signals, optimize our search, do some data management, integrate Al, set an evaluation metric…’ a young trainee exults as | look on, wondering whether he can connect the dots.
In another context, | hear a colleague say, ‘Digital marketing will either outdated us or recast us: At a CMO meet recently, we nodded our heads in sombre agreement. ‘If we can synthesize classical marketing with the newly emerging tools of digital, we will lead the change, if not…’
“We will be led, the others echo.