Biz Strategy

Re-energize and Lead Your Team
Achieve Greater Success in 2012

Tips to inspire you and your team members


Excite The Team with Your Vision

Each new year requires a re-dedication to the vision and goals of the organization through an evaluation of current realities and feed back from customers.

Encourage team members to claim ownership of the vision in a way that excites them into action.

Select The Right Person for The Job

This requires not just ensuring that the individual is qualified and competent, but additionally that they have the right personality and attitude for the set task.

Remember that different job functions may require different personality types. A personality weakness in one job may translate into a strength when re-assigned to another job function.

Consider investing into training and hiring from within.

Have a Practical Written Agenda for Action

In listing out the steps to be taken to achieve the targets set in the Action Plan remember to make them achievable with deadlines for completion.


Listen to Feedback from The Team & Customers

Remember that many hands make for light work. Encourage a team spirit that leads to creative synergy resulting in task being completed more easily without compromise on quality.

Understand that behind every great leader is a team. Every team member knows they can’t make it on their own. But Together Each Achieves Magic!

Business is About Delivering Value

Focus not just on delivering a service or product. Delight your customers by giving them a memorable positive experience.

Create a feel good factor within the team and amongst your customers.


Believe in Your Vision And Share This with The World

Broadcasting your values and vision creates expectation that once met creates loyalty from the team and customers who become advocates spreading the good word to their personal network of family, friends and associates.


Monitor Performance and Stay in Control

Personally get involved in understanding the facts on the ground through regular feed back, briefings and on the ground visits.

Remote monitoring should be supplemented with sufficient periodic face to face meetings that allow you to understand the facts behind the numbers.

Reward good performance and remedy weaknesses promptly.

Ensure that staff have access to coaching and consulting advise that allows them to learn and implement solutions in a manner that enhances their self-esteem.


Be a Great Leader

It is important that each member of a team is made to feel they count. Be consistent in praising and encouraging good behavior.

Rewarding success motivates individuals to perform better. Always deliver more then is expected.

Think big, act boldly and always exceed the expectations of team members.

Make 2012 your year for exceptional performance and success.

Have a great year!
Siddha Param
International Business Consultant
www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com
Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America
The geographical center of the world's largest market.

Innovative thinking identifies solutions that transforms society.

Biz Strategy

Today's Global Marketing Opportunity
Profiting From The Information Overload
 
Globalization is operating in tandem with the rise of a worldwide consumer network receiving and sending out information through the worldwide web at greater and greater volumes and speed. This has resulted in an ever widening gap between the evolving market demands and an ability of businesses to respond to these demands.
 
Ever increasing information about consumer taste and expectations is finding its way around the world and businesses are not processing available information about market demands fast enough to take advantage of the opportunities created through freer information flow.
 
Today’s consumer is ever more socially networked. Even those who are not linked up by computers are kept in the loop at social gatherings about opinions articulated over the internet regarding products and services on offer.
 
With courier companies able to deliver practically anywhere in the world and payment modes ranging from the internet to mobile phones and the more traditional banks and post offices, consumers can now shop for products from anywhere in the world. This means being the only store in town may not guarantee an exclusive local market share.
 
The good news is both local and global businesses can tap into this information overload with the help of business consultants who can provide services in data analysis, marketing and business planning that help increase sales to a more targeted market segment.
 
The challenge is to successfully build a community of consumers who can provide feedback and act as advocates of your products or services to a wider web of consumers.
 
Businesses need to develop the ability to use the data available to define their brand image in the minds of consumers. The alternative would be that consumers may end up defining the brand and image of businesses. Once a negative image becomes linked to a particular business it could be transmitted virally throughout the internet and into the real world where consumers experience a product, service or brand.
 
A healthy food cafe believed that they were in business to serve a health conscious segment of a local community. They did not realise that if they were to shift their marketing focus to emphasising that “healthy ingredients means tasty treats” they would find the long lines of customers that frequent the many local outlets of a global speciality cafe chain willing to switch to their delicious healthy offerings.  This information could be gleaned from feedback available through social media discussions.  
    
Too many businesses feel overwhelmed by the countless channels of information flow. They often wonder which medium for marketing would be best. Local consumers are just as much influenced by what they read from global electronic sources as they are from local newspapers.

Technology is not the problem. Rather, it is the solution. What today’s businesses need are partner consultants who can help them identify the information that they need to shape their marketing strategy in order that they may plan for success.
 
Siddha Param
International Business Consultant
www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com
Your connection to global markets!
 
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America
The geographical center of the world’s largest market.

Biz Strategy

Succeed by delivering with passion

Create happy customer experiences

Do what you are passionate about

Succeeding in business requires commitment and consistent delivery of a positive experience for your customers. With so many smart phones in the market how do customers choose the right one? If price is not the object they tend to pick the one that delights in look, feel and ease of use. The smart phone that stands out from the rest is often the one that adds a positive experience to the customers life. The secret ingredient that would have gone into the making of such a phone would have been passion.

 It is passion that drives us to attain excellence in what we create and deliver.

Do what you love and the passion to achieve excellence will come across and touch the heart of your customers. Such customers will very gladly pay you a compliment and the price you ask. Business succeeds best with satisfied paying customers. These are the type of customers who will become advocates of your product or service.

Sell A Positive Experience

I still do tell people about the delicious clam chowder I had at a little café on Granville Island in Vancouver, British Columbia 5 years ago! That is the kind of free advertising you want to have spreading around. Every satisfied customer is a promoter of your business.     

Remember to sell an experience. People will always remember how you made them feel. Strive to always make them feel good. They will come back for more of that positive experience.

Create A Moment In Paradise

Many a café succeeds by giving regular customers a daily experience of a moment in paradise! Yes! It may be the fancy cappuccino that first draws them in. But on most mornings rushing to work all they may have is 30 seconds to pick up a cup of regular coffee before continuing on to work.

As the coffee is being filled, for a brief moment they may close their eyes and inhale the aroma of the coffee being served up. At that moment the aroma may transport them to the top of a mountain with a panoramic view of the ocean. Ah! Yes! A moment in paradise. That experience of a moment in paradise may be what really draws the customer back to the café day after day.

A passionate café owner will strive to serve that perfect cup of coffee every time. My daily morning cup of paradise comes from freshly ground fair trade organic coffee roasted just right.

So serve up passion and let your business succeed with happy customers.

Siddha Param

International Business Consultant

www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com

Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America

The geographical centre of the world’s largest market!

Biz Strategy

Competitive Advantage In Customer Service 
Learning winning lessons from your customers

You may not be able to compete with global supermarket chains on pricing and range of products but you can compete on the quality of personal service. This advice holds true for all businesses ranging from a local retail store to a chain of stores worldwide.

The big stores tend to focus on business efficiency in order to deliver based on a template for response to generalized customer demographics. This allows smaller businesses focusing on delivering to individual customer needs to have an edge that allows them to turn a profit.

Learn from feed back given free by unhappy customers. These customers provide a real-life case study that allows you to learn and improve service. Very often the customer who is complaining will also provide the solution.

Recently I drove into a tropical beachfront resort in South East Asia. It was part of a chain of hotels worldwide. The beautifully landscaped garden leading to the sandy beach was so inviting. A walk on the beach rewarded me with one of natures’ wonders. Hundreds of tiny crabs appeared from little holes in the sand by the waters’ edge where waves gently lapped onto the beach. The sudden click of my camera scared these little creatures that at the blink of an eye disappeared into the little holes on the beach in unison.

A couple of drinks at the beach front bar and we were ready to head up to the hotel room for a shower before dinner. The room was well designed and pleasant. After the shower the spell of a relaxing evening in our tropical paradise retreat ended when upon pulling off the covers on the bed I discovered the bed sheet was stained and had strangers hair all over. It was obvious that the sheets were old and unclean. Housekeeping had to go through about six sheets to find one that was clean enough to sleep on. The next morning as a customer I complained that if only they had provided fresh clean bed sheets I would have ranked this hotel as having world class service.

Unfortunately several hours after checking out all I got was a call from a manager saying they would upgrade me to a bigger room next time. The point had been missed. The hotel management had failed to learn from this experience. All they had to do was to focus on cleanliness and hygiene immediately providing clean new bed sheets. Now all that a small bed and breakfast nearby has to do is to provide rooms that are spotless with clean bed sheets and they would succeed in gaining customers at the expense of this beachfront resort.

It is not the size of your store but the quality of service that gives an edge to the small and medium sized businesses worldwide. With the advice of a business consultant you can prepare a business plan and a marketing strategy that carves out a profitable niche for your business within the community you serve.

A little boutique Inn in Winnipeg comes to mind where the restaurant has a chef who takes it as a challenge to use only fresh ingredients to satisfy the needs of customers with allergies to artificial colorings, flavorings and preservatives in foods. He succeeds every time in creating a delicious gourmet experience that makes this Inn an attractive place to stay on your travel across the North American prairies.   

Business success always comes from satisfying your customers needs. These are the people who pay your bills and make your business profitable. Treat them well always.

Siddha Param
International Business Consultant
www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com
Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America
The geographical centre of the world’s largest market.

Biz Strategy

Cultivating An Attitude For Business Success

Positive motivators are the key to staying focused

To succeed in business you need a Business Plan and an Action Agenda that takes you towards your business goals. Staying focused on the Action Agenda is the key to success.

F O C U S is said to stand for “Follow One Course Until Successful”

Sounds simple! Yet too many business individuals get distracted by flavors of the moment put before them by others having a different agenda. It is a good idea to seize an opportunity that arises unexpectedly provided it fits into your business plan.

We may join networking groups and trade organisations and get involved in projects of the group. This is a good thing provided that these projects support your business plan or acts to motivate you to work harder at your business.

Working with a Business Consultant can improve your results. Two heads are better than one. Having a sounding board that allows you to get alternative views and a better perspective is an excellent idea.

To motivate and keep you on target with schedules it is good to have a consultant who encourages you to stick to your timetable. The best leaders are those who have consultants who keep them motivated and who themselves keep the team motivated to stick to the Action Agenda.  

Delegating administrative and management functions allows business leaders to spend more time on strategy development and leadership action. Work with specialist to develop your marketing strategy and brand value. This can transform just another player in the market into a business that leads, dominates or even creates a market.

Intelligent phones did not only capture market share of the mobile phone market but did also create two new markets. Intelligent phones are reshaping how consumers buy music and access the internet. Now we have one device that can act as our mobile phone, music player and personal computer.

Allow your successes to motivate you. Make a list of all your achievements. Analyse how you succeeded in the past. List down the facts that support your belief as to why you will succeed on your present venture. Remember, knowledge is power and the more information you have of the market and the global realities that impact on your target market the greater your possibility of success.

Seeking information is critical to success. Information well analysed can help you gain insights that could excite you to act promptly in order to succeed. Timing is everything when it comes to seizing business opportunities.

Seize the day!

Siddha Param

International Business Consultant

www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com 

Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America

The geographical centre of the world’s largest market!

Biz Strategy

Questions To Ask For Business Growth
Getting better market knowledge

Is your business operating at optimum potential?

Is your business worth the time you are investing in it?

A fantastic business should be one that excites both you and your customers. It should add a sparkle to your eyes and create a sense of satisfaction in your customers. If yours is a high end luxury product or service the customer should feel it is worth every dollar paid. If it is a budget product or service the customers feeling has to be good value for money. Either way the base customer emotion should be, “what a bargain”.  Equally important is your genuine appreciation of having delivered on your promise to the customer.

A happy customer can very quickly become your client and advocate who promotes’ your product or service through social endorsement and recommendations to family, friends and the wider community. There is no better advertisement that that of a genuinely satisfied customer. Money cannot buy you that. You will have to earn the support of your customer advocate not through marketing campaigns but through actually delivery on the promised quality and experience. It is critical that you ask the question, “Am I succeeding on this front?”

So, how do you find such customers? To avoid trial and error of feedback after sales, conduct market research and surveys as to the potential market that exists for your offerings. Do people want what you are offering? Do you need to modify your offering? Get feedback from both the physical and virtual market. Either way you will need to get feedback from authoritative sources and potential customers. With this preliminary data you may want to test market your product or services and obtain the subsequent feedback.

Giving free samples or demonstrations in return for feedback is another way to obtain information that can help you plan your marketing and pricing strategy.

The biggest fear in doing preliminary surveys is the concern that somebody else may steal your idea. You can utilize intellectual property protection to a certain extent. However, it is more important to identify a market rather than to allow the fear of losing the possible market to some other business to prevent you from conducting such a survey.

At the stage of conducting a preliminary survey there is no real market to lose.  A potential competitor may not necessarily have the same quality of skills, knowledge, commitment and resources that you and your team may have.

A survey might help you understand why others may have failed previously. It is cheaper to learn from the mistakes of others. In many areas of business we find competitors vying for what appears to be the same market. But very often we also find one business that appears to have a commanding share of the market way ahead of the other businesses in the market place. This very often is because such market leaders tend to be responsive to the evolving market demands. Hence we see fast food chains adding fresh fruits and salads to the menu alongside processed foods. This reflects the growing consciousness amongst the wider population of the link between nutrition and health.

Very often success comes not just from having a good product or superior service but additionally from having the right vision and drive to succeed combined with facts regarding market realities as the foundation of your business strategy and plan of action.

Siddha Param

International Business Consultant

www.worldwidebusinessconnection.com

Your connection to global markets!

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North America

The geographical centre of the world’s largest market!