Are you the doctor?

I have two doctor friends I bother all the time with my medical questions and referral questions. Sometimes, these questions aren’t even from myself. They could be from other friends but because I want to help, I end up asking these questions.

Vivek and Paul, both childhood friends and specialists in their fields, would always oblige and would reply very quickly. This simple action inspires me because I know they are very busy people yet they take the questions seriously and reply promptly.

It got me thinking. We are all experts in our own field and with our very set of expertise. Inevitably, some friends will ask us for advice and opinions. Reply to them as quickly and as detailed as the time allows during that time. It may be a small thing to you but to the person asking for the piece of information, it’s an important one.

Are you willing to help?

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Can they be right?

When you feel physiological changes when someone challenges your deepest experience, beliefs, and opinions; it’s your body telling you to listen because your brain is blocking you from understanding. I am no scientist, that may not be how it works. But you get what I mean. When you feel your heart starting to race, your voice gets louder, and you get argumentative, it’s time to quietly say to yourself “They may be right.” Instead of arguing, ask clarifying questions. Take the answers home and mull over them. Let it simmer and boil. Then ask yourself if they are right? What can you adopt and adapt that makes your experience, beliefs, and opinions even better?

How can you be better? 

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It is time?

Every time you want to quit but don’t, you discover a little more about yourself. You learn to build endurance. You learn you can be creative, you can be better than the you that says, “This is it!”, and you have a lot more stamina than you think you have. There is a time to quit, but most of the time, learn to turn up, do the work, get better, and don’t complain (ok, maybe a little.)

Do you really want to quit?

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How do you work?

I was told by a friend recently; compassion is empathy in action. Pretty interesting, I have never thought about it that way. If you run a consultancy of some form, build compassion into your practice. Put yourself in your client’s shoes. If you are on the other end, how would you want to be treated? When you are relational and not transactional in your dealings, you build trust, you gain respect and lots of joy with it too. Money can’t buy these.

How does it work?

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Can you see them?

It’s a cold and calculated business world. You tend to accept that. So, you approach everything with skepticism and cynicism. But if this is your worldview, then you miss out on opportunities on people who wants to help.

There exist people out there who genuinely who wants to help you. Perhaps, they are the guardian angels sent to help you. Perhaps, it’s affinity; some Chinese calls it “yuan”. These people will help purely out of altruistic reasons. Few, but there are. Question is whether you recognise them when they appear. It’s whether you question their intentions when they start helping. It’s whether you act upon their help to bring yourself to the next step.

Will you turn them off?

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Why are you losing passion?

If you are losing passion for the business you started and you don’t know why; may I suggest you start with your net profit? If your net profit is low and you can’t pay yourself as a business owner much, it’s very easy to lose passion. In fact, you start losing passion, patience and many more too. You have all sorts of excuses except the real reason you may not want to face. After years, you still aren’t taking home much. Start fixing how you can make a healthy net profit. Then see how money ignites the passion for your business again.

Are you making good money?

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How do you grow?

If you are doing well in one business, ask yourself what else have I not done to grow my business more? Have I optimised everything that the only way for me to grow is to look at another area?

Too often we see; especially SMEs that do well in one business for a few years and they start to think they should expand into other industries. Some are worse, they have barely stood firm in the filed they chose to compete in and they decide they will expand into another. So instead of being a winner in one arena, they end up losing in two arenas.

What else can you do better?

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Do you collect it?

Someone asked me “What’s your view of Big Data? My boss is very into it.” The context of the situation is that he was going to recommend my company to the boss. I think it was late, I was tired and the conversation was meandering aimlessly. Plus, I don’t have a lot of patience with management soundbites. I asked, “What data do you guys collect now? And how do you use it?” Ear-shattering cacophony of nothingness ensued.

If you don’t even make sure of data you have now, don’t bother with Big Data.

Do you use it?

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Can you save me?

Some businesses that are in trouble look to marketing and branding to save them. Yes, marketing and branding can, sometimes; if the diagnosis is done correctly. Often times, the issues that business owners face are multivariate. No amount of marketing and branding is going to save them. In fact, it may actually speed up their demise.

Diagnose the issues correctly. It may well be marketing and branding that is the issue. But do proper diagnosis. Your business faltering may not be because you aren’t doing marketing right.

Is it the right solution?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

Who has to carry the load?

The consultant can’t carry all the load for you and your company. You and your team need to do the hard work of lifting the work and executing it. They can’t ensure that every initiative and implementation is done every week. They can’t be at every department’s work-in-progress meeting. You and your team must do it.

While you invest financially to solve the challenge, invest intellectually as well. You and your team. Be all in if you want success. Immerse in educating yourselves about the topic. Read books, asks questions, watch videos whatever works for you. There is a positive side-effect of this, you are constantly aware of the task at hand.

How will you carry the load?

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Who is failing whom?

If you are a consumer-oriented company, then understand that the marketing department’s function is to deliver to the consumer. In that sense, while it carries the most weight in extracting value from the market, other departments have equal responsibility to deliver to the needs of the marketing department. They are to ensure that marketing gets what they need so that the end consumer is happy. Happy to part with their money that will fatten your pocket. Sometimes the failing of a company in marketing isn’t the fault of the marketing department. It’s other departments failing to deliver to marketing so that they in turn can deliver to the market.  

Is marketing a culture in your company?

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Why should I help you?

Sometimes you need to know when to keep quiet and listen. Then do what you have been told to do and execute everything. If you reached out to get a consultant because all the previous plans and executions have failed, then you owe it to yourself to listen and execute. This is especially true when you have never had decent results in the past.

Are you consult-able?

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Do you want to fight fair?

It’s never fair in business. You can and should use marketing as your competitive advantage. It’s an area in business where size doesn’t have a lot of influence on it. It all depends on your strategic planning. If you plan this well, you don’t need to have a fair fight with your competitors. Start by identifying the segments that exists within your market. Choose a target or two and along with that a position that you can win. That’s the beginning, now choose to execute the tactics which are your 4Ps and appropriate them to the targets you have chosen. Aim small, miss small. Don’t worry about going after a smaller segment as long as you can win there.

Can you create your own competitive advantage?

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How do you spend your time?

Spend 1/3 of the time learning and 2/3 of the time practicing to perfection the skill. Not 2/3 of the time learning and 1/3 of the time practicing to perfection the skill.

Better to find the right person to guide you and then spend most of the time perfecting your skill than to spend so much time looking for the right teacher and not having enough time to practice.

Are you confusing learning and practicing?

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Do you want the fun?

Understanding that the challenge is the fun part of any obstacle is the hard part. Once you understand and savour challenges as fun, it becomes easier. Easier. Not easy. It will still give you anxiety. Stress. Tire you and flatten you sometimes. But like a good workout program, that’s the fun part. It makes you stronger.

Can you accept the challenge?

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Are you becoming twins?

Be very careful when you are too focused on your closest competitor. You will start to mirror them. Unconsciously (sometimes purposely) copying in an effort to react to what they do. Eventually, you will lose your distinctiveness and differentiation. Soon every smaller brand will nibble on your market share (and those of your closest competitor).

If your market share and your closest competitor is shrinking and the smaller brands are getting your shares; chances are you both are too much alike.

How do you define competitors?

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Is cutting cost going to help?

Generally, when brands find it hard to increase revenue, they tend to cut cost. That creates a vicious cycle as lack of investment in branding results in lower sales.

The better solution is to increase your sales or increase your price. Who can you sell more to? How else can you add new consumers to the current ones? How do you reach a new segment? Don’t reach for the cost cutting lever until you have exhausted every possible scenario for increase consumers or increasing price.

Will increasing sales help more?

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What questions should you start with?

As we get into the last two months of the year and you may be planning for next year, here are some key questions to ask.

How do I grow my business? Where should the grow come from?

Do I grow my core business? 

    Do I grow within current segments?

    Do I focus on the fastest growing segments?

Do I grow outside of my core business?

    Do I see new products to current segments?

    Do I use company’s core competencies to get into new business?

How do I improve profits?

Do I improve revenue?

    Do I increase volume sold?

    Do I increase price?

Do I cut costs?

    Do I cut fixed cost?

    Do I limit variable costs?

These are the strategic questions to ask before anything else.

Do you like the answers?

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Why did they choose you?

If you believe in the concept of branding, then you have to understand that people choose a brand in ‘irrational’ ways. Just because you have a better product with better functions at a better price doesn’t automatically mean people will choose you. Once you understand these biases, you can harness it to your brand’s advantage.

What's the real reason they like you?

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Where are you?

Make your brand easy to find. Meaning it is everywhere that it is expected to be and then be creative – where it is not expected to be but would be needed. Then in those places where you can be found, make it easy to find too. It could be at the end of the aisle or special displays to flag your consumer down. This applies online too.

If your brand isn’t easy to find, no amount of advertising can help it grow.

Can they find you?

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Who is tired of you?

Penetration is what drives sales. Getting new customers into the pool. If you are overzealous on loyalty strategies, all you are doing is extracting value from a shrinking pool of customers.

Who hasn’t heard of you?

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