by Bert Shlensky | Sep 13, 2018 | Operations
Operations is finally getting its rightful place in small business strategy. Automation, technology, customer needs, and the sharing economy are becoming vital components of the branding and marketing process. In order to achieve marketing success through operations, here are some examples:
- In sports, analytics can be used to improve the individual impact of player skills. Defensive shifts in baseball, the three-point play in basketball, and increased passing in football are fundamental changes that have been accelerated by analytics.
- When selling on the internet first started, delivery and security were thought to be major barriers. Today, customer service and delivery in 1-2 days are generally standard. In addition, the internet has proven that eliminating stages of the sales process (like those used in brick and mortar stores) can dramatically reduce costs and prices.
- Creativity, differentiation, and advertising have been the focus of traditional marketing and branding programs. However, issues like value, service, quality, and culture are producing better results. Compare the focus of many brands in department stores, versus Amazon and other leading online sites. I argue that online retailers succeed partly because of the lack of technological skills among many traditional marketing professionals.
Here are some ways to improve marketing success through operations:
1. Digital Branding and the Internet – If you research anything about business today, it’s obvious that Apple, Google, and Amazon are three of the most important sales and communication vehicles. Nearly everyone uses their phone and/or laptop to research and buy products and services. However, the digital efforts in many companies are still buried in departments like accounting or marketing. I argue that digital activities and marketing need a special place in organizations and should be a major part of marketing programs. For example, digital activities need to be an integral part of efforts like emails, websites, sales, marketing, social media, logistics, and customer service (and should be treated that way.)
2. Excellence – There is an ongoing debate about pursuing excellence versus change just for the sake of change. This topic is affected by several issues and we need to understand how problems can require different solutions. Businesses are subject to radical change, so they need to build mechanisms into their processes. While we will face more uncertainty and instability, we need to focus on changing and simplifying processes to reduce the risks. Strategies like pivoting, developing and testing/measuring/adapting need to be built into our organizations.
3. Service – Service, image, and culture are frequently the biggest (and often least expensive) ways for small companies to develop a brand and differentiate themselves. Some suggestions:
- Focus on your target market, segment, and your ideal customer.
- Be polite, listen, and then act based on what you have learned.
- Become a trusted resource to your prospects by providing information that will help them make a good choice.
- Build an email list and send informative mailings on a regular basis.
- Keep in touch with potential and existing customers.
4. Company Culture – Creating and maintaining a positive company culture is a critical component in achieving excellence and establishing a great brand. A great strategy without a supportive culture will undoubtedly fail. I’ve seen it happen too many times.
Open systems are becoming a critical aspect of great cultures and they often reject bureaucracy, authority, and hierarchy. Open systems encourage participation, diversity, new rules, and to some extent, chaos.
There is no better example of this than the Golden State Warriors, who just won their third NBA title in four years. Much of the attention is given to their super stars, but if you look behind that, you see how the entire organization (including the training staff, coaching staff, medical staff) are all united to create excellence and a unified culture.
5. Prioritizing with the 80-20 Rule – Prioritizing can produce dramatic results. In particular, focusing on strengths and eliminating weaknesses has dual benefits. For example, I have a client who has the best product in the industry, but charges a little more money. She has achieved success by moderating some prices, but mostly in developing messages that explain her quality difference.
In the modern business realm, it has been proven time and time again that 80% of business revenues are generated by just 20% of our customers. Yet we all continue to waste time, money, and inventory dollars on customers that bring in a lower return. This tendency also frequently adds confusion and complexity.
By focusing on the products that you know your customers want, you’re making them feel much more confident (especially when you’re selling online.) Instead of finding new ways to market products that simply aren’t selling, you may be better off to shift over to what is selling. If you give people what they’re searching for, they’ll buy. If you don’t, they won’t. It’s that simple.
In summary, operations, and logistics should be viewed as a critical opportunity to improve sales, profit and competitive positioning. While there are some technical aspects to this, it is the thought process and integration of the key components that will lead to success.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, president of Startup Connection ( www.startupconection.net ) has an MBA and PhD from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. He served as the President of WestPoint Pepperell’s apparel fabrics business and President and CEO of Sure Fit Products. Having provided counseling to over 2,000 clients, he now focuses on working with select start-up and small businesses.
by Bert Shlensky | Aug 9, 2018 | Operations
There are two seemingly conflicting trends in organizations regarding technology and innovation. The first is a trend towards autonomy, which focuses on organizational goals, as well as cooperation and empowerment. The second is a trend towards automation, which simplifies work requirements and can result in fewer workers. I argue you can have both autonomy and automation… You simply need to focus on improving the autonomy at all levels as you increase the automation.
The autonomy approach is described by Fred Kofman, who promotes cooperation and voluntary exchange for mutual gain. According to this theory, motivation, culture and collaboration produce better solutions than pure self-interest. In short, organizations should focus on winning for the organization, and not just the individual silos of participants.
Organizations in Silicon Valley often devote their attention to things like automation and AI. However, they are held accountable for the trend that some jobs are being replaced by robots. This includes jobs like taxi drivers (replaced by self-driving cars), hedge fund managers (replaced by algorithms), or financial journalists (replaced by chatbots).
This idea was brought home to me a few weeks ago, during a visit to an 1850’s restoration community Sturbridge Village. They had little cottages doing various tasks to make clothing (like cleaning wool, spinning, weaving and sewing). The work that went into production of a few yards or one shirt was incredible. In contrast, my experience in the apparel industry was that we could weave millions of yards in short periods, thanks to automation.
Similarly, Google and others are developing AI programs to write and develop artistic works. They argue that this technology will greatly enhance an artist’s ability to create, while others argue that it will just replace artists. My own experience in the apparel industry is that automation greatly enhances the artist’s potential by reducing mundane tasks. Instead of it regretting the displacement caused by automation, we need to focus more on realizing its potential for individuals. For example:
- Don’t let automation or analytics give you one simple answer. Programs and situations are diverse, and require a variety of solutions. A great example is the success of the Golden State Warriors and LeBron James in basketball. The Warriors win by an integrated team that gets the ball to the open man, and passes more than any team in history. LeBron’s teams have won by making LeBron the focal point, and supporting with complimentary plays and personnel.
- Similarly, organizations need to consider their goals and processes. Do you need more expertise and experience, or more creativity? Are you maximizing the potential of your stars and developing collaborative solutions? Do you need diverse expertise on a problem?
- Most people I see working care about their jobs and try to do them well, regardless of pay or status. A very simple recommendation is just to consider how can we can empower our staff to do even better. We should acknowledge that there will be mistakes, but they will be far less than the total gains.
- “Need to know” should be a dead phrase, so help staff understand goals and strategies. The more we trust staff to understand these strategies, the more likely they are to embrace them.
- I believe “leadership” is an obsolete term. The best leaders I have seen are people like head nurses, restaurant expediters, triage managers, and legal assistants. They coordinate and manage various (and frequently much higher paid) participants. The process involves gaining their cooperation and motivation to execute a great final result. In contrast, authoritarian (rather than expert or professional leadership) is usually more harmful than helpful.
- Many financial and analytical models focus on a single or best solution. I recommend focusing on the parameters of alternative models. Then you can manipulate the model to evaluate alternatives. For example, we have developed a dynamic operating profit model that allows you to analyze the interaction and impact of various factors like price, cost, margin, distribution marketing etc. It has been effective in helping clients understand retail and online opportunities. Download it here.
In summary, automation and AI offer great opportunities to improve performance, especially when used with analytics. These strategies should also include empowering the organization. In particular, we should continuously challenge assumptions, review alternatives and evaluate progress.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, president of Startup Connection ( www.startupconection.net ) has an MBA And PhD from the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. He served as the president of WestPoint Pepperell’s apparel fabrics business and President and CEO of Sure Fit Products. Having provided counseling to over 2,000 clients, he now focuses on working with select startup and small businesses.
by Bert Shlensky | Jun 7, 2018 | Operations
It would be pretty cool to be a super-secret agent like James Bond, or Jack Bauer, or Jason Bourne — or ETHAN HUNT! Yeah, that guy from the films “Mission: Impossible” played by the one and only Tom Cruise. What’s funny is that the best business culture out there embodies the secret agent accomplishing amazingly insane feats, hanging by a thread on a plane or scaling a big building. Maybe disabling a bomb with a toothpick? Now I’ve got your attention, but you’re pretty confused: how can your business culture be like that? Easy:
The Trick to Your Business Culture Being Like Espionage Is Competitive Analysis, Namely KNOWING HOW TO PRICE YOUR PRODUCTS EFFECTIVELY!
And it’s no easy feat. Take our word for it. Many small businesses have the tough challenge of trying to price their products at the right amount — not too cheap, not too expensive. They want to be competitive enough…. But not sell themselves short. And honestly more often than not, you’ve got a lot of businesses out there pricing way too low.
The trick is to analyze the competition. Spy on them. Sort of “break in” to their secret facilities and know how they operate. This is especially the case when it comes to the biggest e-commerce giant Amazon as the lead competitor. How it relates to business culture? Your team, your entire business, needs to review everything the competition sells, in and out.
Scout the websites. Look at what Amazon is doing. What they’re selling. How they’re selling it. How much are they selling their stuff for. See if you can dynamically offer something better, something more unique. Match the price, look at your overhead. It allows you to be more competitive when you’re willing to spy on the competition, and believe me: it’s a lot easier to do that!
No lasers to do cartwheels over. No masking the traps or finding the loopholes. Back in the day it was hard trying to analyze the competition given the brick-and-mortar, but nowadays with websites just a click away, it’s pretty easy slipping into Amazon and getting the inside scoop.
So Make Sure Your Business Culture Is Doing Exactly That: They Need to Be Go-Getters, Predictors, Forecasters, Finders…. TRENDSETTERS. SECRET AGENTS.
Now we won’t say you could ever take Amazon down completely…. But you’ll definitely carve your niche and let the big boys know that you own it. And no on else will. Want to know more?
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of The Startup Connection, directs all small business clients toward maximum sales and profit thanks to his 40 years of high-quality experience. He does this through technological, social, and online integration, supercharging your business success into the next level, so don’t hesitate to sign up for a free consultation RIGHT NOW.
by Bert Shlensky | Oct 10, 2017 | Operations
Technology vs. Human Instinct
Technological advances provide efficiency and analytics. The web, AI, cloud, CRM systems, etc. are taking over. Great improvements are being accomplished and organizations are making better decisions. Yet, how do we ensure that creativity and the human instinct continue to be cultivated without us getting too comfortable with our technological supports? How do we beat the nerds ?
The purpose of this article is not to reduce these efforts, but rather ensure that creativity, innovation, and excellence are also preserved. Specifically, there are several indications that the analytical approach may have some unintended consequences:
- The stock market is a great indicator of world’s dynamics, and innovative companies like Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet are thriving, while traditional companies like IBM and GE are struggling.
- Authors, like Adam Grant in the “Originals,” and many others, point out that progress is dependent upon nonconformists and people who go against the grain.
- Organizations preach objectivity, yet they follow the HiPPO decision process (Highest Paid Person’s Opinions).
How Do Creative and Innovative Individuals Thrive in the Growing Trend of Reliance of Analytics? Beat the System!!!
This may sound impossible, but here are some easy tips:
- Challenge Assumptions. Many analytical models contain numerous assumptions that are seldom challenged. In particular. the data can be highly biased, because it can ignore critical factors or be based on preordained goals. If factors are not appropriate, this can result in incomplete or wrongly determined data. Find the parameters the system has missed and provide appropriate information to complete, or redirect, the research data assessment process.
- Ensure The Analysis Is Dynamic. Our lifestyles have increased in complexity with continual changes; many analytical models avoid difficult issues and, thus, can create incomplete data. Find the issues that have been avoided in your analytical model(s) and advocate for their inclusion and how it affects the outcome.
- Consider Alternatives and the What-Ifs? Most analytical solutions involve a single outcome. The reality of life and business is the need for varied solutions and backup plans. Review the alternatives, and the different outcomes, which could affect the results and probabilities. For example, bringing diverse resources into a situation can greatly alter the excellence in execution.
- Understand Risk. In general, we avoid taking risks. It is more comfortable to stay in the status quo than to uproot and change direction. But, we all know those that don’t risk, also don’t succeed. Taking healthy risks is important for growth of self and companies. We are more afraid of losses than the probability of gains. People are more likely to say “I could get fired,” than “I could get promoted,” regardless of the probabilities or impact. There is a balance between risk and caution.
- Set Multiple Goals. Most analysis focuses on singular goals, like short-term profit. A company needs to consider measuring multiple parameters, such as developmental, personal, staff, and branding.
Analytics and current technological advances provide us tools to make better decisions. The key to success is to not solely rely on them, but to integrate them. Our natural human intuitive forces continue to lead with the support of the new technologies. Freeing yourself from restrictive thought processes, especially in bigger corporations, like “We have always done it this way,” is dead. New paradigms: speed, expertise, flexibility, innovation, and collaboration, produce more dramatic change for organizations. Incorporating new technologies, while cultivating innovation and creativity in the business, will allow new approaches to problem resolution.
Creativity Is Allowing Yourself to Make Mistakes. Art Is Knowing Which Ones To Keep.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of StartupConnection.net, is a graduate of the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. He served as the president of WestPoint Pepperell’s apparel fabrics business, and President and CEO of Sure Fit Products. Having provided counseling to over 2,000 clients, he focuses on working with select startup and small businesses.
by Bert Shlensky | Sep 11, 2017 | Operations
No doubt that many avoid any kind of research, let alone market research, like the plague for a lot of reasons. This undoubtedly means your business culture suffers greatly due to a great fear in the office. A cloaked figure of darkness and a scythe, waiting to envelope you in the shadows of despair as you’re engulfed in never-ending data, statistics, and reading. It’s not fun!
Hence Why Your Business Culture Tends to Be More About Action and Results, Not the Preparation That Ensures You Get There
We want results — without a whole lot of work to get there. And don’t get us wrong: there are many things we do on a daily basis, best practices to optimize your business planning with the proven model that gives you the most minimal time crunch and maximum output and results. But hear us on this: you never, ever discount the preparation and planning, meaning the market research!
Fear is a funny thing, honestly. It’s only as terrifying as we make it out to be, but thankfully when you’re in on the trends of today and the power of the Internet, and other best practices you make second nature — there’s no doubt you make this grim reaper of market research more like a puppy dog!
Here are the best reasons for doing market research without breaking a sweat (or fearing death):
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Google’s Marketer’s Almanac — How easy it is to just click the link and get all the information you need right at your fingertips on consumer behavior changes, especially during the seasons, holidays and special events. Yep, Google has the ability to give you that information in just minutes.
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American Fact Finder — There’s no better research space than the U.S. census, but holy COW would it take forever for you to research that mile-long 
book. Thankfully, this website allows you to research all of it with a few button clicks and filters by age, income, year, race and location. Oh, and it’s free to use.
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County Business Patterns — When was the last time you scouted businesses clear across the country? Probably never. Travel’s expensive, but this site makes it easy as it provides info on the areas and regions for large numbers of all sorts of businesses. Check it out for yourself.
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Business Dynamics Statistics — Remember all that census data you just found? Guess what: now you can use this site to view the economic data on job creation, startups, openings, expansions, shutdowns, and even closures.
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FedStats — The best part about finding information on certain industries is getting the info from all sorts of federal agencies. What’s hard is finding that info from those agencies as quickly as you’d like. This site accesses all that info for you immediately, for such verticals as agriculture, education, transportation, and energy.
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MyBestSegments — This is next-level campaign research stuff when you think about it. We don’t know of any other tool out there that can review any region’s demographics in terms of lifestyle and habits. In other word, click on this site, and you can start researching your locale immediately to determine how your consumer base will react to any campaign you launch and even what competitors are near you.
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SurveyMonkey — Surveys are the weapon to use, but for many people, they’re hard to create. Unless you use this site.
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Loop11 — Even sicker and futuristic is this crazy site allowing you to actually test the websites of your competitors secretly. Simply create a form and recruit people. You have to see it for yourself!
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Userlytics — Definitely last, but most certainly not least, is Userlytics, which does the uncanny. This platform actually allows you to webcam and screen-shot a user testing your mobile apps, videos, display ads, and much more. Talk about real-time and verifiable research….
And you better believe this trend-setting business planning stratosphere will continually evolving. Perhaps even avoiding death and achieving immortality.
That’s Why You Have to No Doubt Shut Off the Fear Due to the Tools. Fear NOT Market Research.
For these days it’s plenty easier getting all the data you need to ensure you have all the information you could get your hands on. And that cloaked demon over there ends up not as scary. Just a guy with bad skin, looking for a corn field to harvest.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of The Startup Connection, directs all small business clients toward maximum sales and profit thanks to his 40 years of high-quality experience. He does this through technological, social, and online integration, supercharging your business success into the next level, so don’t hesitate to sign up for a free consultation RIGHT NOW.
by Bert Shlensky | Aug 7, 2017 | Operations
What? Sounds like we’re bass ackwards here, but we’re not. In the business lingo of today, we’d call it “after-sales service,” which can include anything from installations to support and even training after the initial purchase. It’s crucial to put that in perspective; because, yes, sometimes depending on the industry, your job isn’t done after the customer pays. There’s obviously more to do. Much more.
But Why? Why Does It Matter to Go Above and Beyond the Original Sale? Isn’t That Enough Service?
Honestly, NO. Yes, the service spoke for itself. The customer bought. The satisfaction should be there. But even those professionals in retail 
realize that even after the customer buys and leaves the store, the way to retain revenue and profit is to make sure that customer doesn’t come back complaining! That would be considered a kind of “after-sales service.” Follow-up calls. Damage control. Your goal is to keep them coming back satisfied — not angry.
Additionally, those after-sale services can clue you in on the metrics of what your customers liked, what they didn’t like, what they’d like more of, and getting them to spread more word-of-mouth of how awesome your service and product are. Don’t do any of those things, and that customer may be satisfied, but no other customer will ever hear about it! And lastly, you won’t know what else you can do to replicate the success if you don’t get that feedback. Here’s plenty of key ways to maximize that after-sale service mantra:
- Call Those Customers Every Now and Then, Just for the Heck of It! — Say thank you ALL THE TIME. Standardize an annual review, discussing the good stuff like logistics, pricing, distribution, anything that could be improved.
- Replace Anything and Everything, Even If It’s Minor — This means hiring the most empowered staff and management to have that authority. Give them the freedom to please the customer beyond all expectations.
- Designate a Toll-Free Number Just for Customers to Call and Discuss Anything — Transcend their expectations. Listen to those customers of yours. Go the extra mile.
- Don’t Just Have Customers Sign a “Sales” Contract, Have Them Sign a MAINTENANCE Contract — Meaning, you agree to maintain that customer satisfaction for a certain period of time.
None of That Even Matters More Than This One Important Aspect of After-Sales Service and Distribution
Loyalty. Not only are they going to come back satisfied, but they’re going to know more than anyone else about what they’re coming back to. It’s about building rapport. When that customer leaves your “service,” that customer isn’t actually leaving at all. That customer’s still with you 100%. So keep it looking good. It’s as they always say — those customers aren’t simply buying your products or services —
They’re buying you.
Dr. Bert Shlensky, President of The Startup Connection, directs all small business clients toward maximum sales and profit thanks to his 40 years of high-quality experience. He does this through technological, social, and online integration, supercharging your business success into the next level, so don’t hesitate to sign up for a free consultation RIGHT NOW.
