Youth vs Age
I was looking at the website of one of the UK’s well-known fashion houses and was interested to see the models they use – all young and trendy (and extremely fashionable in what they were wearing). I then wondered why there were no older people on the site.
Our website and media presence as much as our clothes and ‘corporate culture’ reflect who we are. The fashion house, in this case, seems to be aligning itself to a younger, more ethnically diverse market compared with the more staid and ‘traditional’ image they may have had in the past.
The brand could be going through a ‘re-alignment’ process to attract a younger market. It could also be addressing issues of discrimination, racism or any number of ‘-isms’ that may have been levelled at it. Without this information, who can say?
The problem that I see though, is that younger people often don’t have the money to buy the clothing that this particular fashion house sells (prices for a coat range from GBP650.00-GBP5,500.00). I would certainly baulk at paying that sort of money. True, the quality is undoubted and I’m sure the coat would last for years, if treated properly. But does it really offer value for money?
So what message is this fashion house sending? Is it in keeping with what made them what they are today or are their sales slowing because market research shows there’s no youth appeal in their brand?
What happens if the gamble doesn’t pay off and they have to re-brand again to focus on another market (one that has the necessary spending power due to its stage in life)? Management will have asked themselves these questions and will be ready, I’m sure, with a plan to address them.
As businesses, we constantly need to understand and focus on who our customer base are, whether our customers numbers are shrinking or growing in number, and whether we’re missing out on opportunities of which we may not be aware.
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy
Turning Down Business
I never thought it would happen, but I’ve had to turn down business that I knew I was capable of delivering and delivering well
We’re all in business to provide goods or services to our customers and make money. So, what went wrong, you may ask. One of the skills a previous manager of mine had was to be able to ‘feel’ when something wasn’t right about new business on offer. Of course, it wasn’t a ‘gut feeling’ but more like a premonition based on past experiences of similar situations, the way they worked out, and what his innate intelligence were telling him. In the case he and I discussed all those years ago, it turned out that he was right. We heard that a competitor had taken on the business and things hadn’t gone well.
As we learn through experience, we subconsciously store away memories of what happened, anecdotes from our peers, friends and others and perhaps even expectations derived from our upbringing or education. All these combine to give us a ‘filter’ of which we remain unaware most of the time, but which is constantly operating in the background. Most of the time, it’s right.
It is this filter of experience and intuition that sets our antennae tingling when triggered by certain actions or events. In my own case, the signals I was getting from the prospective client were, at best, mixed. Some were just unfavourable, and, in the end, I realised that I wasn’t going to feel comfortable dealing with this sort of client. A competitor might, and I have no problem with that.
I feel, though, that I did the right thing for both the client and myself by cutting the deal loose in the early stages of negotiations before either of us committed to something we both might regret. This was another alert to me: I was uncomfortable almost from the start and have no regrets over the decision. Time will tell if I was right.
The key is to develop our intuition as business owners: listen to what our ‘gut’ tells us and then see if it turned out to be right. (and, if so, why).
I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Risk, Selling
Facebook Faux-Pas
Many of us are Facebook users; we use it to keep in touch with friends and hear their news as well as to promote our business.
Facebook has evolved over the years for better and for worse. If I’m not careful, I end up spending too much time on it. Often, this is on weeding out posts telling me that my friends “liked” or “reacted” to something, or that they’re now friends with someone or use Instagram, or some other piece of equally minor (to me) news. Then of course, there’s the continuous bombardment of advertising…
One thing that Facebook has been useful for is to show me how some people use it as a tool for self-promotion (lots of pictures of themselves and/or the wonderful life, location, partner or activity they happen to be enjoying).
Sometimes they “react” (with an “angry” emoticon) to posts from those who delight in reviling others or in spreading hatred, false news or any other number of distasteful pastimes. I’ve seen more “angry” people on Facebook than I’ve encountered in my lifetime, mainly because Facebook’s comparative “anonymity” gives them a platform to say things that they would never say to someone’s face.
I recently went through an exercise in which I “unfriended” or “unfollowed” a number of people whom I like, but from whom I hadn't heard in ages (although I saw plenty of self-promoting posts). It was a salutary experience.
Something else Facebook does for us is remind us of our friends’ birthdays (if they’ve allowed that information to be viewed). As an experiment, I set my birthday to be visible only to myself. Result: hardly any birthday wishes and less time on Facebook. I keep a diary note of the birth dates of those to whom I want to send birthday greetings and do it by email with a suitably humorous picture attached to make it personal.
Employers these days may conduct Facebook and LinkedIn searches on potential employees. Some actually ask for candidates’ usernames and passwords (that’s the time to leave). This is the same as asking to read someone’s bank statements. Peoples’ private lives are just that (private). Staff have been fired (or not hired) for posting what others deem inappropriate or “offensive” comments or pictures, so beware! It’s too easy to forget once you’ve posted something that it’s “out there” in the public domain.
Facebook is a friend and a foe. My main concern is that it “de-humanises” the personal interaction between people in general by making it too easy to “like”, wish Happy Birthday, etc with a simple click. Equally it makes it too easy to air in a very public forum views which you might not express face-to-face with little chance of “taking them back” once they’re “out there”.
In a world where interpersonal skills continue to be at a premium, one can't help but wonder how much value is added by Facebook… How do you use it to add value to your “brand”?
I've spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Leisure, Social, Strategy
