I've been thinking all I would be doing during those crisis times if I were running a business. I came up with this list focusing on marketing and sales management points. It' s a mix of own experiences, thoughts and readings. I will try to upgrade and enrich it with third parties articles and best cases later on. And some points I will detail in separate posts. I chose to concentrate especially on mid and long term action points: you shouldn't expect too much from your short term activities in those crisis times if your markets are really depressed; but it's highly important and the right time to prepare for better times and set ready to harvest later on. And it's not just about crisis and after-crisis times; it's about a new paradigm: not only the financial system has collapsed, but many other parameters have actually changed dramatically, driven by the global hyper connectivity and competitiveness, by the emerging power of the masses and by a new generation that has a stronger voice to denounce failing models and to claim new values and perspectives as a citizen, as a consumer and as a worker. Therefore, It's important in those deep times to think on that new order and adapt your business practices accordingly.
A Non-Exhaustive Business Check-List, in Progress :
1) Refocus on your end-users as a starting point in your decisions, listen to what they say on your business and brand, what they actually want and what they imagine you should/could be doing. Leverage web 2.0 platforms to secure a permanent and interactive discussion with them.
2) Enhance your market intelligence, make sure you have a large view, not only in your usual scope of business but in other relating and emerging businesses. Think in terms of moving business models and transforming ecosystems. Link all information systems, online/offline sources, external/ internal information into an open and powerful live information pool. Leverage web 2.0 and new generation IT tools do so.
3) Secure collaborative and transparent work principles. Make sure your co-workers share their voice and interact. Break the laws of hierarchy. Use open platforms of communication based on social software and web 2.0 to do so and to secure a permanent, transparent, live and easily addressable pool of ideas and innovation. Collaboration will also enhance positive workers feelings and translate into a stronger corporate culture.
4) Generate new business leads by embracing social networks, by activating new online tactics and by maximizing your online presence and its efficiency.
5) Break inefficient and time consuming reporting to concentrate on value creation, action and speed. Harness new generation IT tools and web 2.0 to move to near live, continuous and collaborative reporting. Also break with such tools the inefficient mail based communication that occupies an average 2 hours work time in Europe.
6) Embrace cost efficient communication channels including social media. Progressively shift to those new media whilst measuring their effectiveness. Hire small agencies at the forefront of new marketing techniques, especially in digital and web 2.0 marketing.
7) Challenge your lead agency to speed up in embracing new marketing techniques and in securing a 360° approach (offline-online holistic marketing)
8) Upgrade your marketing teams. Make sure they're embracing the new marketing spirit, they're aware of the latest practices that work in the new digital and crisis times and that they're curious enough to challenge ideas and practices. Training and coaching are necessary given the speed of change in new marketing areas.
9) Check all you can outsource and leverage new outsourcing possibilities, especially via the social networks and virtual market places. Compare the cost efficiency and quality. Start with small trial works. Establish long term relationships with relevant online workers and organize your internal/external resources into an efficient ecosystem.
10) Work hard on your product offering. Don't make it another boring 10+feature product-centric offering. Give your product additional dimensions including accessories & service and co-innovate with complementary partners and your communities of users so as to achieve a unique offering. Think in terms of unique experience instead of product.
11) Communicate a unique product experience. Make competition irrelevant by communicating a unique outbreaking experience and by using a double positioning technique where you suggest your absolute superiority and competitors obsolescence at the same time.
12) Maximize your product launching. Speed-to-the-market is critical for your product success and P&L whilst life cycles quickly shorten in the digital connected world. Start penetrating your product before launching, raise curiosity, initiate buzz and organize a strong D-Day. Make sure all your departments and workers align efficiently before, during and after the launch. In that process, make sure they work on an efficient project basis. Closely monitor the message and product penetration with predefined milestones for sample and metrics checks. Prepare milestones targets that every department is aware of.
13) Turn your service into a strategic business asset. Define clear business goals for your service. Make it part of your product offering and communication. Use it as a lever to differentiate and position your brand. Organize a strong, continuous and live loop from your users and clients by embracing open communication platforms.
14) Permanently benchmark other industries, best practices & new ideas. List your key-assets and functions and benchmark their efficiency and ranking against your competitors. Use external intelligence or ad-hoc resources like students to do that. Subscribe to expert blogs to follow the best practices and cases in other industries. Revolutionize your own industry by applying external practices and gain a competitive advantage by doing so. Challenge every part of your organization with this benchmarking attitude.
15) Take benefit from waiting attitudes and from weakening competitors. In low seasonality / low demand periods, most companies embrace a wait & see attitude and would freeze their marketing budgets. It might be interesting to attack their positions during those times by maintaining a relatively high marketing budget level. A surprising effect combined with a low cost access to the media during such periods might translate into effective brand awareness and market share gains. It might also be interesting to buy from weakening competitors their technology - if not the complete business, or at least gain part of their customers by attacking their message proactively.
will be continued ...
