what does your company mean?

Last update: successfully positioned your product on November 22, 2013: What does your product really mean to your customers?
When they think of your product or service, what are the intangible assets they are associated?
Why is this important?
Last week, I had an interesting discussion with the director of Mary Kay, one of the most successful companies in the cosmetics industry.
She wondered why it was important for the sales rep to understand the strategy.
Traditionally, we just asked the sales rep to sell and nothing else.
The ideal salesperson is someone who can sell ice to Eskimos.
Oil Salesman in plaid jacket.
This approach does a big thing for American businesses: it teaches us to expect lies and misdirection from the sales staff. Long-
However, success cannot depend on this mentality of \"burning the bridge.
With the \"scorched soil\" sales strategy, you can maximize sales in the short term, but there will be no second sales.
As sales costs rise, the demand for customer retention makes the second sale a mandatory prerequisite for profitability.
The best way to have a lifetime customer in a second sale-or better yet-is (
This is not rocket science)
Sell what customers want to buy to customers
Rocket science appears when you try to figure out what customers want to buy.
Strategy guru Peter Drucker says best: \"Customers rarely think he\'s buying what you think you\'re selling \".
In other words, when your customers are all immersed in his life, you are all immersed in your company, and it is surprising that you can actually get any sales!
My response to director Mary Kay is this.
I asked, \"What do customers get when they buy from you?
She replied, \"make-up . . . . . . No, wait. they\'re buying beauty products.
She\'s on the right track, but we\'re going further.
Of course, beauty is in the eyes of a bystander, so you can\'t really sell it (
You will have a lot in return if you have tried).
However, you can sell certain aspects of cosmetic performance.
Some people buy cosmetics and promise to make them look more professional.
Others want to attract partners.
Teenagers want to look cool and stylish.
Mary Kay can sell these things, but everything has a very different meaning.
This means the key to efficient sales.
In Mary Kay\'s case, they developed a product line for high school and college people.
In marketing this route called \"speed\", they highlighted the fashion of cosmetics.
This extends to packaging, color, perfume, selection of sales reps, and marketing materials.
Interestingly, Mary Kay\'s management did not insist on highlighting Mary Kay\'s name-because they knew that Mary Kay meant something disgraceful for their target market.
There are six key things to remember about meaning.
First of all, useful meanings are found in the brain of your customers, not in your operations.
Second, it is a valuable strategic tool only when meaning is unique.
Third, in order for meaning to be of lasting uniqueness, there must be a serious commitment and focus.
Fourth, it must be difficult to copy the meaning casually.
Fifth, your sales, finances, and operations must make some sense so that it will not be destroyed.
Sixth, meaning is difficult to create, it is difficult to erase.
Attributes of value significance 1.
In the mind of your client. Distinctive 3. Commitment 4.
Difficulty of copying 5.
Your business structure.
It is difficult to provide some examples for each example through eraseLet to understand why they are important to the organization: 1.
Meaning is in the mind of your client.
I asked a friend of the mortgage bank what his company meant.
He replied, \"My company means excellent customer service before, during and after you get your mortgage.
\"Right now, that\'s a good answer, but let\'s take a closer look at what\'s going on in the customer\'s mind.
There are a lot of things that people think about when they go to get a mortgage-\"Will I be approved ? \"?
\"Does it take a lot of time ? \"
\"Will I make a mistake that cost me a lot of money? ”.
Please note that while it is directly related to some of the most common questions --
\"Can I get good customer service?
\"It is unlikely to be one of these issues.
So if, in the customer\'s mind, \"excellent customer service\" is directly linked to one of his or her most concerned issues, it is a useful value, for example, \"does it take a lot of time? ”.
Otherwise, potential customers may react to what you mean, such as \"well, you have good customer service, but will I spend a lot of time? ”. 2.
Meaning must be unique.
\"Excellent customer service\" is a good example.
We can all see that good customer service is valuable.
In order for it to be of value, it must differentiate you from your competitors.
Again, look at what\'s going on in your client\'s brain, and it\'s easier to do this if one of the two things is true:)
No other person makes a claim or B)
You have some concrete evidence that you are the best in what you claim.
If these statements are not correct, then there is no point in this statement.
For example, think about car dealers who claim the lowest price, or car manufacturers who claim to produce high quality products. 3.
Serious commitment and focus must support meaning.
There is nothing more damaging than occasional performance mistakes-these things will certainly happen without serious commitment.
For example, there is a very popular and successful \"mom and pop\" grocery store in a corner near my home.
I \'ve always found this interesting because there\'s a big low-priced competitor across the street-just three blocks away.
The \"mom and pop\" store has a very loyal following because (
Different from big competitors)
There was never a line on the cash register.
Does this need commitment?
You bet-think about how much it costs to work so well in a store, customers never line up.
What is the return?
Profit margins are much higher and customers return again and again regardless of the price.
Please note that any store can try to have this meaning-\"you will never wait in line\"-but only one store that promises to support this can succeed from it. 4.
It must be difficult to copy the meaning casually.
Meaning cannot come from easy things.
The best sense comes from the focus and commitment that others don\'t want to take.
Mary Kay\'s story is a huge motivation for the meaning of the company\'s representative, and this kind of thing can only come from years of dedication to concepts outside the competitive comfort zone.
For example, a few years ago, I used to distinguish between a hotel chain by providing fresh food.
Bake cookies for guests when they check in.
While this is a good distinction, it is also a comfortable one, so at least a few competing hotels are starting to do the same thing now.
The end of the difference. 5.
Meaning must be part of your organizational structure.
It has to be driven to your sales, finance, and operations so that it will remain true even after the advertising campaign is over and the buzzwords are popular.
That\'s why dozens of fans who imitate the most successful innovators from Mary Kay to Southwest Airlines usually fail miserably.
It\'s not enough to replicate the superficial aspect of the business model-you also have to understand what it means.
One of the most unintelligible reasons is --
The hyped \"first mover advantage\" is that, over time, when it fits into the structure of an organization, it means creating its own drive. 6.
Meaning is difficult to create, and it is difficult to erase.
In order for the customer to understand the idea, you have to do very expensive things with hard thingsto-
Measure results such as advertising, PR, and customer service. Being first (like Yahoo! )
It will also bring you some spiritual wealth, but you can usually do it only once, or once every generation.
To make matters worse, changing meaning is an almost impossible task.
If you like Southwest Airlines because their flight attendants are interesting, it is unlikely that you will change your belief in this without a good reason.
Again, if you think of Mercedes
Mercedes as a luxury car brand, low
The expensive budget car may fail to offer the brand on it.
Now that we understand the importance of meaning, how can we use it to make your company more successful?
First of all, you must find the meaning that is useful to you.
Second, make sure that your target customers and segments will reward you for the point.
Third, take your commitment to the meaning of the company seriously.
Fourth, look carefully at the relationship between meaning and your operations and finances.
Fifth, create useful comparisons for your customers to prove why you mean this, and your competitors don\'t (and never will).
Sixth, challenge your organization and define the next level of performance related to what you mean. 1.
Find the meaning that is useful to you.
In the process of simplified strategic planning, we like to focus on strategic capabilities.
This is a good starting point if you have good strategic ability.
If you don\'t, you need to find the meaning of meeting two criteria:)
None of your competitors can (or would)claim it and B)
You have some advantages that allow you to claim the meaning and support it.
As with strategic capabilities, you should also pay close attention to the value of this meaning to your customers, and the market size of your company that you would prefer due to this meaning. 2.
Target customers and market segments will reward you for that.
This can be a daunting task, especially if you have been selling to a market that no longer values your meaning for the past 20 years.
In extreme cases, this may mean that your company must be much smaller to succeed than it is today.
On the other hand, keep in mind that customers tend to lie to you and tell you their value before they place orders and order.
What we seek in these orders is truth.
Pay special attention to those customers who have a real choice and, despite your competition, decide to buy from you.
They are the most likely candidates, and the reason they choose you in the long run is most likely the reason for your company\'s success. 3.
Take your commitment to the meaning of the company seriously.
The difference between continuous success and short-lived success lies in commitment.
Management masters like to point out the companies that are successful today and describe their success as something that can be copied overnight (
Of course, with the help of the management master).
The reality behind all successful companies comes down to one of two things:)Luck or B)
A sustained commitment to a meaningful vision.
Before someone creates a reliable process of creating luck, we should focus on commitment.
In your own company, this means that you have to support your commitment-sometimes without profit.
Does this mean that you should sometimes show customers how to get good results by spending less on us? You bet.
Remember, part of making money from what we mean to our customers is two-
Way street-they need to feel that every time they come back to us they can trust us to make that sense. 4.
Check the relationship between meaning and your operations and finances.
Operations and Finance-\"non-
The \"market\" reality of our business-there is an interesting way to define meaning.
For example, airlines pack planes with people because they are very expensive.
Because of this, \"you will be comfortable\" is what you will not encounter outside of the first class of most airlines.
Therefore, companies like Midwest Express, whose fleet is configured to enjoy comfortable seats on the entire aircraft, can claim that \"you will feel comfortable\" is of strategic interest.
It is very important here that you have to find unique ways to make your operations and (possibly)
The meaning of your financial structure to support your company.
That\'s why you see the meaning of organizations like Disney and Southwest Airlines integrating into every part of their operations.
When these companies encounter difficulties, management will be very attractive to unlock the structure and destroy its meaning.
Because the meaning exists in all parts of the organization-not just sales and marketing-it is virtually impossible to reduce costs in this way without disbanding the entire company. 5.
Create useful comparisons for your customers to prove why you make sense and why your competitors don\'t (and never will).
See your competitors through the eyes of your customers-why don\'t they seek what you mean to your customers?
Can\'t they, or don\'t they?
These are good starting points for advertising campaigns and sales conversations.
As an extra bonus, your sales team can become more efficient by guiding customers who don\'t value what you mean. 6.
Challenge your organization and define the next level of performance related to what you mean.
If a customer buys from you because your company means quality, what is the next level?
Can you provide the first lifetime warranty in your industry?
Can you open 24 hours if your company means service?
Hourly turnover level of orders?
How can you accept the love your customers have for you and raise it to a higher level?
What will you do if money is not a target?
The process of driving the performance envelope allows your company to reach a place that is a few miles ahead of anyone who may be stupid enough to try to be in your \"space\"-defined space-competing what do you mean by company?
I recently met the president of a company called university life, which runs a local retirement community.
It is technically correct to call it a retirement community, but the meaning of the company is very different.
The president said, \"we have a unique and active community because we firmly believe that your brain will not leave just because you are old-only if you treat your brain as old.
Now, I \'ve worked in the retirement community before, so I ask how many of his clients are private pay.
I was really impressed when he said \"everything.
I was led to think it was impossible-you just need to have public funds to make money in his industry.
When I think of this, I realize that what he is doing is exactly the right thing, because the reliance on medical insurance is about the meaning of operations, financing, and organizations that in fact provide living space for the elderly.
University life can effectively provide an environment of intellectual stimulation for their residents, especially because they are not hindered by the operating expenses brought about by public funds.
This kind of organization is a good example of how you can create a market for your customers that you can dominate in transactions.
What does your company mean?
Robert Bradford is president and CEO of Simplified Strategic Planning Center
A consulting firm focused on providing strategic planning services for small and medium-sized enterprisessized company.
Simplified Strategic Planning Center
CT, South Port, 2002.
Re-printing with permission from the Simplified Strategic Planning Center