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Shelter Chieza : Change Management

There are companies that have achieved success through understating some facts and in most cases they have folded. In most instances signs of trouble start showing due to a string of results resulting in the company being placed under judicial management and subsequently liquidation. Is it that these companies are keen on misrepresenting their profitability the lack of it thereof or fate made a dictate at a premature time?This has raised question on what defines success. In terms of start-ups the minimal period for it to be considered successful — is 10 years, but is 10 years a measurement of the success of a business?

A lot of companies are fond of working without a significant way of measuring themselves. Now is the time to leverage data tools, quantitative analytics in preparing your organisation to move from anecdotal to data-driven decision making.

For instance, if you want to grow your clientele base, an increase in monthly sales may be an indicator.

If you intend to improve communication flow with customers, try a customer feedback method.

Data is transforming organisations in every sector across the globe.

Organisations are harnessing new data technologies and quantitative analysis to apply quantitative analysis to their strategic planning and targeted marketing efforts.

Remember the days when the number of hits on your website was a measure of how popular you are.

This was taken over by the number of visits to the site. Now the website isn’t the primary determinant anymore; RSS feeds do that, even other forms of user generated content do the job.

Now we must have more ways of generating the value that the user has derived from the website, not just the number of hits.

Culture and success

I set out to discover how some cultures have managed to come up with a reputation they have to success.

The Japanese are popular for offering low cost and superior quality at the same time. So, what strategy do they have?

Ok, if they pioneered Total Quality Management and continuous improvement, and they even enjoyed substantial cost and quality advantages, they must have used something as a benchmark for their success. In Japanese manufacturing industry, there is a lot of imitating and copying each other.

One discovery I made of the Japanese business is that in the 1970s and 1980s, they looked unstoppable as they penetrated global markets and even expanded their domestic economy. The major impediment they faced is lack of a strategy. I stand to be guided but I believe one of the major successes that the Japanese business can build upon is their culture.

In fact, what will stand the test of time is their service tradition that makes them to go to great length to satisfy a customer.

When you enter a Japanese store, you will be greeted by shouts of “irrashaimase” (welcome) and when you leave there will be shouts of “domo arigato gozaimashita” (thank you) and you will notice that everyone, even the chef will join in the “chorus”!

In our beloved homeland, Zimbabwe, personal service has become something that people must pay for with tips — in most places in Japan there is no tipping, personal service is literally “part of the service”.

Let’s consider another example of a secret to success, in 1985, when Coca-Cola announced it was changing the Coke formula.

Based on pitches from market researchers who had tested the sweeter, Pepsi-like “new Coke” in numerous focus groups, the company’s top management decided that the new formula could effectively compete with Pepsi.

The idea was a marketing disaster. There was a huge backlash, and the company was forced to reintroduce the old Coke.

In a later discussion of the case and the importance of relying on decision makers who are both good pitchers and industry experts, Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Cola’s CEO at the time, said that there’s nothing so dangerous as a good pitcher with no real talent.

So to date, what is the story to the success of Coca-Cola? It the consistency, the taste, the leadership, the supply management or what?

Let’s even get closer home, can we proudly stand up and say yes, this company’s success story hinges on marketing or innovation — how do we rate ourselves?

It seems as if everyone is heading to China. True that. The Chinese can capture every customer despite their class from the lowest to the highest.

They have a highly flexible and adaptive business strategy. You cannot go to China with a fixed mentality.

Things change so rapidly and businesses must be able to adapt quickly to those changes. If you travelled to China 2 years ago, do not expect to find the same situation.

Till next week may God richly bless you!

Shelter Chieza is an Expert in Management Issues, she can be contacted at [email protected]