THINK BIG. FAIL FAST. MOVE ON.

Amazing Amazon. 

Founder Jeff Bezos has much to answer for. Among the bouquets are countless brickbats. Numerically, financial failures have exceeded successes. 

Few people have heard of the Fire phone. Even fewer bought one. Entry into the highly competitive, sophisticated and dynamic mobile phone marketplace was and is fraught. It was an expensive lesson for Amazon and Bezos – more than $US200 million. And yet there were no or few regrets. The lessons learnt were invaluable a unique KPI (key performance indicator). 

Amazon has moved on from Fire phones. 

Significantly, those involved in the design, manufacture, distribution, wholesaling and retailing of the failure were encouraged to keep thinking big. Risk tolerance was resilient. Risk aversion was discouraged. 

This is an encouraging cultural value which persists in the midst of coronavirus. In such circumstances culture does eat strategy for breakfast. 

BEYOND WORDS 

Think big has been embraced by an Australian national radio station network as its positioning statement. Upon reflection and on balance, question could be put to whether it is a projection of the belief of the broadcaster or exultation for, and to its listeners. 

There is no consistent, universal evidence of programming and programs which characterise the term Think Big. 

Positioning statements should, indeed must, reflect core values. 

Amazon’s abiding belief in, and adherence to, the Think Big philosophy is reflected in its commitments to the development of electric powered motor vehicles and space travel, to name just a few of its creative initiatives. 

FAIL FAST 

In commerce, failure is often a relative rather than an absolute measure.

Slower, inert management and leadership teams tend to be sensitive and reflective to even small scale and limited numbers of failures, and suboptimal performance initiatives and endeavours. Consequential costs seem large in a restricted, relatively static portfolio. 

Not a lot has changed over decades. Products and services powerhouse 3M prided itself in having at least 60% of its product/service range having been introduced to the marketplace within the previous five years, at all times. This was dynamism personified and was a key driving force, before “disruption” became fashionable and a mantra for entrepreneurs and start-up business leaders. 

Individual concept, product and service failures were deemed to be incidental and stepping stones to bigger things in an ongoing journey, which dictated, that all and sundry moved on. 

The same principles apply to small and medium sized enterprises. It’s simply a matter of scale. Significantly, scalability applies to growth, contraction and application. Lessons have relevance and benefits, regardless of size. 

MOVE ON 

Fast fashion has superseded many of the established philosophies and practices of traditional ‘bricks ‘n’ mortar’ fashion retailers. 

Stock-turns (a true and accurate measure of business performance based on the rate of turnover of inventories) have accelerated. 

Failures and underperformance of stock items and styles are registered, analysed and rapidly archived. The focus is on volume, velocity and productivity. 

The bottom-line is typically, profitable. Margins may be squeezed, but more than compensated by appealing cash-flows. 

GET EDGY

Playing at the edges is usually time-consuming. Doing lots of things does not ensure substantive outcomes. There is enormous evidence of such at present. In contrast, being edgy suggests agitation, provocation and assertiveness. Such attitudes and actions attract attention, interest and interactions, particularly when alternative and competitive initiatives are sparse. 

Risk need not, and seldom is a consideration. Promoting and packaging presence are initial steps in business development initiatives. 

Some sayings in commerce are ageless. Remember:

Fortune Favours the Brave 

It is the translation of a Latin proverb, which has a long history of use in the military, and throughout the Anglo-Saxon world, as a motto for families and clans. It recognises that fear is the most inhibiting of factors. 

ON BALANCE 

Upon reflection, the most prevalent and dominant constraints on the economic well-being of businesses are established policies, practices and processes. 

Innovative, creative and entrepreneurs have recognised that in the current pandemic-affected environment and marketplace there are no rules. “Open-minds” accept that scenario as an open invitation to make one’s own rules. As such, value judgements and comparative analyses are somewhat meaningless. 

The metrics which measure performance aligned to, think big, fail fast, move on,

are hard to qualify. 

So, “do your best, and try for better”. 

You’re on your way. 

Barry Urquhart

Managing Director

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

CLOSE THE GAP

Gap analyses are typically brutally honest. 

The insights and overviews from internal and external stakeholders are invaluable. 

Identifying, isolating and analysing variables and dimensions that are of interest, relevance and importance to existing, prospective and past clients are often refreshing and revealing. 

They detail in stark terms the reasons why people and entities seek out, deal with, purchase, utilise, return and become loyal to specific companies, brand names, products, services and applications. 

Furthermore, explanations are revealed and heightened of why good sales conversions, lack of responses and losses of clients, revenues and profits do occur. 

Disciplined, malleable and well-structured gap analyses ensure that there is

nowhere to hide. Transparency, accountability and measurability are well profiled. 

Assumptions, presumptions, naivety and ignorance are sidelined and made both redundant and obsolete. 

Improved productivity, efficiency and effectiveness are seemingly natural consequences of ongoing, scheduled gap analyses. 

STRIKING GAPS 

The philosophy and related mantra of being customer-driven are found wanting when customers and clients, as well as the front-line service providers are asked to nominate a discrete (often 20 factors or less) list of criteria which are employed in the selection and buying processes. 

Seldom do the two sets of responses correspond. 

Individual dimensions are often worthy of extended review, analysis, possible refinement and adroit application.  Significantly, cost is rarely ranked in the top three factors. 

The variances average between 15% and 20%. Often, they can differ in up to 50% of instances.  

Prioritising those purchase criteria variables adds further to the disparities which typify the perceptions and perspectives of customers and internal service providers. 

Clustering the nominated dimensions into weighted groupings of, say, five is equally revealing. 

In short, and in reality, the understanding of customers, their needs, wants, values, expectations and preferences is shallow, often misleading and potentially significantly detrimental to the wellbeing, profitability, competitiveness and relevance of service-providing businesses. 

Sub-optimal performances of marketing, selling, merchandising, promotional and advertising campaigns, and the reasons why, become apparent. 

Refinements and recalibrations need not be expensive and resource-intense. 

CUSTOMISED PROBING 

Gap analyses are like companies, products, services and brand names. Each is unique. 

Informal, casual and occasional analyses count for little. Their implications, consequences and importance are far too serious. 

The true value is the input and the resultant outputs. Open, unstructured probing of consumer and service providers’ frames-of-reference provides the content, context and structure of the analysis. 

Process is important, but secondary and consequential. 

No ideal or optimal model exists. The capabilities are typically available and accessible, much like access to social and digital media. 

In all instances, the art is in having, utilising and deploying capabilities. Understanding is, to a considerable measure, intuitive. 

Gap analyses are often equated to looking at one’s self (or business) in the mirror. Only on these occasions a three-dimensional reflection is received. The depth and breadth of the images are meaningful and profoundly advantageous. 

Presenting, explaining and applying the findings distinguish the true nature of a customer-centric (if you wish, customer obsession) leader is revealed in their willingness to accept the findings, no matter how confronting and brutal. 

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS 

The efficiency, relevance and innate value of gap analyses, like artificial intelligence-generated modelling, improve with ongoing applications. Experience and expertise of practitioners are broadened and deepened. 

Resultant business goal settings, performance reviews and briefings (of internal and external resources) are enhanced. Confidence improves, often in parallel with reductions in errors and the margins and frequencies of those errors. 

The life-cycle durations of gap analyses are shortening as a consequence of the dynamics of life, lifestyles, economic forces, technology, innovations and creativity. 

Change is inevitable. The quantum nature of that change and its rapidity are breathtaking, exciting if you will. Ironically, the variances between the findings of progressive gap analyses are indicative measures of change. 

The process is not a waste of time. Indeed, it is an investment in the relevance, competitiveness and future of a business, product, service and application. 

VALUE BASED 

For those who embrace the concept, process, outcomes and applications, a true measure of the value of gap analyses is a better understanding of existing, prospective and past clients. Invaluable. 

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

THE PRICE IS RIGHT

That’s fixed. 

Those words, phrase and sentiments are reassuring. They typically confirm the successful conclusion of a deal done – project  a sense of peace-of-mind, and enable clients, consumers and service providers to move on to mutual benefit. 

FLUID BACK-DROP 

One significant consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been widespread apprehension about continuity of supply. That is compounded by sensitivity to the probability of variability in access (trading hours and product/services availability, prices, maintenance and service costs and responsiveness) to specific needs. 

Anxiety levels have risen as a result. Overall, expectations have fallen. 

Collectively, these factors have impacted customer satisfaction, loyalty, repeat and referral business. 

SET PRICES 

Prices are not the dominant and overriding forces they have been in the past. In recent times, across the board, owners and managers of businesses have reviewed and, in a significant majority of instances, have increased prices. 

No product, service, application, sector or locality is immune. New cars, used vehicles, caravans, swimming pools, dine-in and take-out meals, fashion, electrical appliances, vacation accommodation, hire cars, air-travel, new and established homes. The list goes on. 

Interestingly, there is considerable tolerance, even understanding among consuming individuals, families, corporations and public sector entities. 

Substantiation and justification for such increments tend to be because of rising supply costs, distribution expenses, trimmed margins and falling net profits.  No substantive arguments there. 

Early indications of increases in inflation suggest these practices and policies will be extended and broadened. 

Strikingly apparent is the absence of competitive forces. 

Consumers, clients and businesses are not living in bubbles. They are generally aware, informed, discerning and price-sensitive. The latter factor is a key driver in determining when purchases are made.  Expectations are that specials, deals and discounts will inevitably be offered. Therefore the timing of purchases is fundamental. 

VALUE PRICING 

The fundamental issue in pricing policies are, or should be, value-driven. Comparative measures about cost, margins, profits and sustainable economic viability are secondary considerations. 

Indeed, astutely packaged value-pricing is incomparable. It is also satisfying and fulfilling for the purchasers. Those initiatives marginalise, if not make redundant, price-points. Comparative pricing rapidly becomes worthless within a marketing context. 

When the dimension of time is introduced to the equation, the value, worth and length of relationships are enhanced. 

Several leading global motor vehicle manufacturers have introduced through their national and global dealer networks fixed price service and maintenance costs for set periods of time. Very satisfying. Reassuring. No surprises. Typically affordable. And above all, “budget -able”. 

That lead should and could be taken up by countless other entities. 

BE HOSPITABLE 

Much has been written, said and visually projected about the trials and tribulations being experienced by trading entities in the tourism and hospitality sectors. 

Considerable empathy exists throughout society. 

People, governments (all three levels) and commerce at large are going to great pains to support local, adversely affected operations which are dependent on tourism-based demand and revenues. 

That support is tempered somewhat, when products and services are withdrawn forthwith by businesses, often to comply with government legislation and regulations. Exacerbating the disappointment, frustration, inconvenience and personal cost experienced by unsuspecting and non-determining customers are the practices of denying credits and reimbursements or by extending compensating payments over months, or offering time-limited, inappropriate alternatives to the products and services that were withdrawn after contracts, agreements and deals have been concluded and payments made. What deal? 

Such actions come with a price – reputations, loyalty and repeat business. 

PRICELESS ACTIONS 

By necessity, business models are being refined or totally reconstructed as a consequence of the ravages of the global pandemic. 

Resilience is a forlorn hope. Bouncing back to what was may be well-intended. However in most cases it will be misplaced, irrelevant and disadvantageous. 

Foremost among the recalibrations will, or should be, pricing policies. 

There is no single catch-all answer. Value is typically situational and personal. 

Value-pricing has two components: 

                        Price is what is paid.

                        Value is what customers get.

                         (and enjoy) 

The computations and permutations possible for those variables seem endless. Creativity among business owners, managers and team-members is figuratively boundless. 

It’s time to get together, retain an external facilitator and catalyst, and get serious about winning, retaining and sustaining business and marketplace presence based on value-pricing. 

Barry Urquhart

Workshop Facilitator

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

BEYOND PERSONAL SERVICE

Consumers consider service personal. 

It’s how they experience it, and, accordingly, how they value it. 

Therefore, service can’t be sold. Experience and reflecting on those interactions and consequences, is the paradigm through which the value-package is qualified by those who consume and pay. 

That is just one challenge for business entities and service providers. Another is establishing, embracing, projecting, supporting, complementing and celebrating universal service. 

That’s right. For commerce, unqualified understanding of, commitment to and consistent delivery of service excellence by all is non-negotiable for those truly subscribing to the ideals. In some instances, service is personalised, to the benefit, advantage and benefit of customers and clients. Fundamental is that its delivery is universal. Always. 

UNREAD WALL POSTERS 

Many front-line service providers believe their service endeavours are compromised by a lack of delegated authority, inconsistent management policies and emphases on, and biases to immediate profit imperatives. 

Company-wide campaigns, like “Customer First”, “Consumer Obsession” and “Service Above Sell” are typically dismissed as lacking meaning, belief and conviction by C-suites (read: ‘senior management’). 

Attractive wall posters espousing virtues count for little and are seldom read by team-members, customers and clients. 

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, highlighted his commitment to personal and personalised service by being prepared to, and actually booking a loss exceeding US$2 billion over a period of less than two years, to improve service standards and to fulfil the promise of service/product delivery within as little as one hour. Service costs. 

Above all else, service is multi-dimensional, delivered on omni-channels and its cost is, or should be integral to retail prices. 

Since 2015 Amazon has made noticeable investments in bricks ’n’ mortar businesses and premises. It acquired the US national Whole Food chain, purchased many vacated Toys R Us premises and is about to establish its own national network of pharmacies. A progressive program of constructing localised fulfilment centres is underway, to facilitate immediate deliveries and collections. Jeff Bezos too, has concluded that on-line, digital and social media and channels should complement, not replace the human quotient. 

He is now a believer. Neil Diamond wrote the song “I’m A Believer” in 1966. Micky Dolenz of the Monkees sang it. What took so long? Some essentials simply never change. Awareness and adherence are important. Harmony demands it. 

DEPENDENCE OVER INDEPENDENCE 

The economic, competitive and general well-being of participants and members of marketing or buying co-operative and franchise networks is enhanced by all providing continuity and consistency in service delivery. Dependence has its virtues. 

Independence is compromising to varying degrees. However, the compensating benefits of mutual dependence, in the short, intermediate and longer term are substantial. 

SERVICE IS TIMELESS 

A genuine service culture knows no bounds. It includes all team-members, departments, locations, operations, seasons and campaigns. 

Service should be all embracing. Therefore, specific promotional campaigns seem misplaced and inappropriate. 

Short-term heightened service standards are incompatible with service excellence ideals of consistency and continuity. Variability in standards and emphasis is likely to be, confusing and contradictory. 

Service excellence can be, and often is, hard to achieve and to maintain. It takes an uncompromising belief by all. Service cultures have no limits, particularly in terms of time and timeliness. 

The construction sector, of new homes in particular, is an essential foundation of the broader Australian economy and lifestyle. 

A significant percentage of Australians own, are paying off or aspire to own their own residence. 

The industry is structured on subcontracting. Key elements and aspects of residential, commercial and industrial premises involve multiple subcontractors, including individual “tradies”, who operate under supervision, but can exercise considerable independence and self-determination on service standards. 

That makes coordination and adherence to service standards difficult, if not impossible to achieve. 

Interactions with expectant new home owners are rare, often limited by building company policies which deny access to sites during construction. Therefore, bonding and commitment to owners is distant, if it exists at all. 

None of these policies, practices or characteristics foster close, positive personal customer service scenarios. 

In many instances, relationships between subcontractors and the building company are limited to brief, periodic visits by supervisors and the accounts department. Thus, the customer and consumer of the services provided are focused on the intermediary building company people. 

Recent collapses and enforced vacating of multi-story residential projects profile and highlight the deficiencies and consequences of a whole sector. 

PERSONALISED BUILT-IN  

In stark contrast, JahRock, which specialises in custom-built furniture, often featuring the Western Australian hardwood Jarrah, personalises each piece of furniture. 

Stories are detailed about the base product, like dining room table legs being from the historic Bunbury jetty. Each chair in the set is personally signed by the crafts person who moulded and assembled it.

The strikingly attractive settings become conversation pieces. Now that is personal and personalised service. 

It doesn’t take much to introduce a little retail or commercial theatre and personalised customer service into the buying process. 

NO EXCUSES 

Compromised phrases and attitudes like, “that’ll be good enough” have consequences. Brand damage is inevitable. Comparative competitiveness falters too. “Employer of Choice status” is invariably lost. 

Internally, morale, cohesion, job satisfaction and staff turnover rates are negatively impacted. 

Regrettably, the words good enough have a negative connotation. 

It takes effort to excel and attain excellence. Just ask elite sports people, arts practitioners, scientists and those in medicine. 

We may not aspire to mix with or match those. But, rest assured, most want to be serviced by those with such values and capabilities. 

PREMIUM SERVICE 

A common characteristic of entities that enjoy desirable brand images centred on personal service is the noticeable additional, if not premium allocation of resources to strive for, attain and sustain service excellence. 

There are more than 29 definitions of the word premium. In some, premium is an impost, a penalty or cost. Insurance is a good example. Payment of premiums in such instances is why the service is widely regarded as a grudge purchase. 

Service can mean above the norm. Advantage service provider. Particularly if the cost is included and not distinguishable in the price. 

In business, thought processes and beliefs are the cornerstones of success, malleability, innovation and creativity. Those measures and attributes are accelerated when premium is applied in the best manner. 

So go on. Go beyond. 

Barry Urquhart

Conference Keynote Speaker

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

AN INFLATED FUTURE

Be aware. 

The dormant forces of inflation are stirring. Consequences will be strategic, structural and deep-reaching. 

Globally, the signs are indisputable. Annual inflation in USA increased by 5% in the period to May, 2021. That is the fastest rate since 1982. 

In recent times the European Central Bank has revised and scaled up its projections for inflation. (Around 3.5%). 

Cost structures for living, business and supply chains per se will progressively and sustainably increase. Incomes for the populace at large and for many small businesses in particular, will remain relatively static for the immediate foreseeable future. 

Therefore, the real cost-of-living will become apparent and will be reflected in confidence levels, expenditure patterns and ultimately in house prices. 

BEYOND GOVERNMENT 

The lead in increases for mortgages, loans and credit will emanate from the trading banks. 

Those trends are already evolving and are being implemented. Moreover, the trend-line is not one way. Some savings and investment rates have been trimmed. More refinements are expected. 

Both the Federal Government and the Reserve Bank have indicated they will not be prime movers or catalysts. However, the latter will readily accept the changes and their consequences as forces for good. 

GLOBAL AND UNIVERSAL 

Global shipping freight rates are increasing. Container availability is declining. Insurance premiums are on the incline and coverage is being selectively reigned in. 

Compounding those challenges, an increasing number of global suppliers are now invoking minimum container-full orders, longer production lead times and greater time allowances for transport. Each is, and will put, pressure on margins, profits and prices. 

Increments in prices are evolving in wholesale, distribution and all retail. 

Anecdotal evidence suggests that consumer awareness of, and sensitivity to price increasing is broadening. There are few signs of widespread pushback – at this time. 

CONSEQUENCES 

A strong measure of tolerance exists among consumers and corporate clients. That should not be confused with understanding. At some point in time, possibly in the near future, there will be an awakening, a sense of deprivation and calls for fairness and equity. 

At the forefront will be mortgage stress, which will be highlighted and reinforced by increases in periodic repayments. Fixed term interest rates will be a short-term cushion or buffer. However, those terms have been progressively curtailed, particularly since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Consumers who live mortgage-free will be contaminated by the infectious nature of attitudes, perceptions and subjective value of judgments. It is difficult for lenders, all lenders, to argue for, substantiate and justify increases during a period of inflation, when income levels are static. 

SCENARIO ANALYSIS 

The vagaries of the current economy, make long-term and intermediate-term planning complex, difficult and in many instances misguided and ineffective. 

Unknown unknowns and known unknowns tend to dismantle facts into suppositions and guesses. 

Structured, disciplined and documented strategic plans have been replaced, in the main, by contingency, in its many forms. 

Malleability and responsiveness have become valued and virtuous characteristics. 

Thinning ranks, extended working hours and complex (often conflicting) demands make the scheduling for and conduct of group meetings difficult, if not out of reach. 

However, for the committed, those deliberations are energising, confidence building and directional. Margins-of-error and miss-steps are accepted as givens. 

Accepting, learning from, and moving on from, errors are essential features of life and commerce in these times. 

Believe me, facilitating those events are educational, reassuring and, often, life changing. 

Timely action now, neutralises, if not deflates the inflated. Taking the wind out of inflation ensures it does not become an ongoing renewable energy force. 

Barry Urquhart

Marketplace Analyst

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

“GET REAL. AUSTRALIAN SERVICE STINKS”

Confronting. Effronting. Offensive. Challenging. Honest. Heartfelt. 

All of the above are themselves real. The word from consumers is that, in general, present Australian customer service standards fall well short of expectations and needs. Negative experiences are widespread, deep and repetitive. 

Opportunities for revenues and relationships are lost. So too are sources of referrals, repeat business and advocacy. 

The recognition and realities of concerns appear to be distant from those of business owners, managers and team-members. Chasms between the two broad perceptual bases represent a pitfall for brand management. Reputations and images are being crushed. For a majority of customers, clients and consumers the most common, recurring deficiencies are the lack of human service providers who can and will provide answers, solutions and satisfaction – now and locally. 

A lack of dealing with experienced, qualified people, who have the authority and drive to resolve issues without referrals to others, is another concern and frustration. 

Automated responses via technology, online, and AI (artificial intelligence) are judged to be impersonal, insensitive filters which do not engender sentiments of reassurance, understanding, care and value. 

Absences, continuity and lack of consistency, in follow-up and follow-through once the deal has been concluded, possession taken and use made of products, services and applications are registered by, and frowned upon by customers. 

WHAT’S NEW 

The stark reality is that consumers have changed. Expectations are rapidly evolving. Expressions of disappointment are more direct, personal and emotive than in the past. 

Front-line service providers are unsettled. Many feel inadequate. Morale is impacted. Mobility in employment is on the rise, productivity is lapsing, momentum is difficult to sustain. It is a cost being borne by commerce, employees, consumers and society at large. 

Clearly, many existing processes are failing. Initiatives to improve internal efficiencies are having profound, often negative, consequences for external effectiveness. 

Countless business development initiatives falter at the very first service delivery encounters. Their effectiveness is compromised because of poor and inappropriate attitudes, rather than because of inadequate aptitudes. 

In many instances, the need exists to develop greater sensitivity, appreciation and understanding of the dynamic context in which a service excellence outline must be formulated, documented and implemented. No-one is excluded in the key audience. Business owners, management and team-members need to be educated, extended, challenged, supported and where appropriate, applauded in pursuit of the immense potential to promise and deliver great value-based customer service. 

 Barry Urquhart

Keynote Speaker

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

LOOK FOR AND FIND “LOST” CUSTOMERS

Businesses burn customers. 

Often unintended. A considerable percentage are not recognised or registered. 

In all cases it is expensive and a cost of doing business. Lost customers, their revenues and contributions to profits need to be replaced – and fast. Demands on cash-flows dictate it. Aspirations for growth in overall numbers of customers, transactions, revenue, profits and the like have to overcome the contractions inflicted by customer attrition. 

Interestingly, few entities have formulated, documented and implemented strategies and tactics to address, neutralise and redress these realities. 

Truly, this is a drag on commerce, efforts and growth initiatives.

Customer attrition is typically not planned. Disturbingly, the presence and consequences are equally not addressed and redressed in a disciplined, planned manner. 

ACCELERATING REALITY 

COVID-19, the pandemic declaration, lockdowns and social distancing have, collectively, impacted society at large, lifestyles, buying patterns and commerce. It is reflected in many statistics. 

As a sweeping generality, many sensitive trading entities have long forecast and budgeted for a “churn-rate” (read client attrition) of around 20% per annum. The actual figures vary between sectors, entities, geographic localities. However, a doubling of traditionally accepted rates has not been uncommon during the pandemic. 

Some in business accept such as a reality – an inevitability. Their attendant focus tends to be client/customer “farming”, enticement, canvassing and development. 

Seasoned and hardened professionals accept the intensive and extensive investment required to “win” and to establish positive relationships and the maintenance of new customers and clients. 

At the turn of the millennium (the year 2000) and at the time of the release of my two books on service excellence, “Serves You Right! and Service Please!”, detailed research established that it was some six times easier, cheaper and faster to retain clients than it was to induce new customers onto the books. 

The vagaries of the coronavirus and the innate transactional nature of many online transactions have elevated that ratio to ten times or more. 

Estimates on the lifetime value and the duration of mutually rewarding ongoing relationships have changed significantly. In many instances interactions are appropriately measured transaction by transaction. 

Forlorn and low expectations of loyalty, referral and repeat business abound. 

DEFENCE STRATEGIES 

Notwithstanding the high velocity and volume of client attrition, it is evident from consumer (individual and corporate) feedback, behaviour, perceptions and expressions, that many service providers lack disciplined, structured and supported follow-up and follow-through initiatives. 

Many business leaders readily accept the loss of customers as a reality of doing business. Few conduct exit interviews to identify key causal factors and to isolate the scope and opportunities for formatting, documenting and implementing remedial and recovery campaigns. 

The presence and power of the known unknown is facilitated and accentuated by a lack of investigation, analysis and counter-business development initiatives.

Ignorance is not a virtue. It is expensive. And, above all, unnecessary and should be avoided. Initiating personal contacts is a sound first step. 

RE-ACQUAINTANCE 

A concerted effort to reacquaint with past clients who have been “lost” during the past 12, 24 and 36 months can be fulfilling, rewarding and financially beneficial. 

It is usually a rich pool of “new” demand, revenue and profits. Many past acquaintances have been exposed to poor, lesser and unsatisfactory experiences. Their assessment of relevant values and service standards can be in one’s favour. 

Encouragingly, that suggests buying cycles are shortened. Responses are quicker and more definitive. Hence cash-flows are accelerated. 

As a further interesting aside and insight, there is the rapid obsolescence of client lists and data bases. People do change addresses, mobile numbers, employment, and life circumstances. Within 9 months active client lists and data bases can be reduced by as much as 60%. 

Hence, be sensitive and responsive to the attrition of company records and information. Aging occurs to accounts, Big Data and general information. 

EMOTIONAL RESPONSES 

Like past clients, a significant percentage of market research respondents are flattered to be asked about their opinions, values, beliefs, perceptions and intentions. They are emotional responses, and foster self-belief of personal importance and relevance. 

That can be a pure subliminal force, which fosters and encourages conversations. Indeed, word of mouth can, and should be a deliberate strategy. 

Regularly talking to, and interacting with existing, prospective and past clients, do that. Marketing is, after all, founded on opportunism, communication and satisfying needs. 

Customers need to be valued, respected and listened to. 

PLANNED ACTIONS 

Strategies, tactics and actions that seek to address and redress high and increasing customer attrition rates need to be planned, monitored, analysed, refined, extended and supported. 

Moreover, they should ideally be scheduled, reviewed and measured for efficiency and effectiveness. 

Customer attrition is a cost of doing business, with little or no returns. Remedial actions can be resource-intense and relatively expensive. However, the returns are typically substantial and ongoing. It’s called cost/benefit equation. 

All strategic plans need to be reviewed, to ensure that these essential elements have been considered, documented, integrated and implemented. It is invariably a rewarding experience. However, those initiatives can’t afford to be random, casual and considered time-fillers during downtime periods. 

DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSION 

Client attrition should never be assigned to being an attribution circumstance. That is, being part of the nature of doing business.  “Churn-rates” represent opportunities and scope for retraining, broadening and extending customer bases. Indeed, given the cost/benefit ratios addressed earlier in this text, they can reasonably be deemed to be an attractive primary target audience. History and countless case studies have established that, retrieved “lost” customers can typically and readily be converted to be strong advocates and ambassadors. 

On sporting arenas, coaches are inclined to loudly and repeatedly recite “the game is not lost until the final siren is sounded”. 

Play on. 

Barry Urquhart

Business Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

EMBRACE THE CROWD

It’s getting very crowded. 

New products, processes, payment systems, delivery services, communication channels, competitors, substitutes and, yes, new purchase criteria are rapidly evolving, transitioning and fracturing. Pandemic-infected commerce is accelerating change. 

Clutter is apparent, albeit not recognised and addressed by all. Losses in enquiries, transactions, revenue, cash-flows, sales conversions, competitive rankings and advantages are mounting. 

Consequences can be immediate, expansive, expensive and ongoing. 

OUTSIDE THE HUB 

The coronavirus pandemic has been responsible for the widespread application of WFH (working from home), social distancing, hubs, Zoom conferencing and other isolating and alienating practices. 

Countless businesses, individuals, networks and clusters have lost touch, and with it empathy for and among, those whom they seek to be of service. 

Hubs have developed many characteristics of the mythical “clone of silence.”    Those inside become deaf to changes, innovations and the dynamics of a very fluid marketplace. Subtle variances and nuances are not being “heard”, recognised, addressed and redressed. 

Assessments of comparative and competitive advantage are often ill-founded and quickly become outdated, irrelevant and widely inaccurate or non-quantifiable. 

Reasserting a presence in the marketplace is becoming an imperative. 

BEHIND THE HEADLINES 

Repeated media references to economic surges, “bounce-backs” and the like are disconcerting to sectors, markets, entities and active individuals who are encountering inconsistent, indifferent and extremely price-sensitive circumstances. 

Increasing top-lines are not necessarily being reflected in bottom-lines, relationships, loyalty, repeat business, referrals and advocacy. 

Transactions are an essential nature of the current crowded marketplace. Everyone, it seems, has or is open to a deal. A significant percentage are, single interactions. 

Submissions, proposals and contacts offering deals are literally “just around the corner”. Shoe leather is being worn out, as it complements online social media communications. 

Individual human beings and entities are making their own headlines. Audience selection is seemingly non-discriminatory. After all, a sale is a sale. 

Rapier-sharp messages and targets appear to have elapsed in currency. “Shot-gun” approaches are more common, than in recent years. 

LANDING A PUNCH 

In the fight to win customers, business, relevance, profits and market-share, it is difficult to enjoy uncontested and advantageous presence in a crowded marketplace. 

Recent corporate failures suggest some entities, products, services, apps and segments are being subjected to “king hits”. Cascading and multiplying effects of failures of one stakeholder do have telling impacts on others in supply chains and networks. Hiccups being experienced by global fintechs are having profound and immediate impacts on associate mining groups, retailers, manufacturers, logistic operations and payment systems. 

Unexpected and unintended consequences can be, and are, difficult to address, redress and overcome. Sympathetic and deep-pocket governments are less conspicuous, receptive and generous. 

Collaboration is, and will remain, a key attribute in the operations and success, of an increasing number of businesses, small-to medium sized in particular. However, financial prudence and independence will remain core issues for Boards of Directors, senior management and business owners. 

During hard times, crowded settings can thin out rapidly. 

STARTING OVER 

Declarations about the new marketplace, new consumers and new realities need not imply the need for new strategies, new tactics, new objectives and new goals. 

Crowded circumstances reflect the absence of space, “blue oceans” for adherents of that strategic planning philosophy, and scope of independent positioning. 

Indeed the prevailing reality underscores the fact that opportunities have never been better to get close to existing, prospective, and past clients. Physical proximity, complemented with psychological and social closeness promotes and facilitates better understanding, satisfaction and fulfilment. 

Figurative and literal hugs can be so rewarding, uplifting and fulfilling. 

So, business prospects can be within ready reach in a crowded marketplace, if and when one is prepared to reconnect, re-engage, embrace customers and value their mutual life-time worth. 

Barry Urquhart

Conference Keynote Speaker

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

BACK TO REALITY

HARD LANDING

Prior to COVID-19, and the declaration of a pandemic in February 2020, characteristics common to many small businesses were that they were under-capitalised, under-resourced, found it difficult to recruit and retain good staff-members and, because of limited budgets, were not well profiled online, in the mass media and the marketplace. In short: exposed, vulnerable and driven by cash-flow. 

Federal government actions, policies and legislation collectively brought economic activity and mobility to a grinding halt. Welfare systems, in multiple guises and aggressive large fiscal outlays artificially propped up many sectors of the economy, commerce, society and differing infrastructures. This persisted through 2020 and the early months of 2021.

Figuratively and literally, seemingly Zombie companies – large and small – lived on (or persisted on handouts).

In the final days of March 2021, government-funded initiatives concluded, were wound back or selectively applied.

A widespread lack of strategic and contingency planning highlighted countless operational deficiencies and underscored time was needed to address and redress the prevailing immediate, evolving and, yes, returning marketplace realities. 

Sadly, when you run out of time,

you run out of money, and

typically, you are run out of business 

What happened to the multi-layered government workshops on social media, innovation, creativity and disruption? Such buzz-words and concepts have little currency in the face of tectonic structural marketplace shifts. 

Numerous participants of such activity did progress from being unconsciously incompetent, to being consciously incompetent. That is, they are now aware and sensitive that they lack the capital, hardware, software, people, skills, resources and time to fulfil (or approach) “the potential’. 

Such gaps are hard to close, expensive to redress, typically labour – if not resources – intensive. 

It seems that ongoing record deficit-funded, government-funded fiscal recovery initiatives will be the exception for the ensuing generation. Somebody has to pay the piper. 

New corporate values and visions will be embraced. Margins – profit and risks – will be narrowed. Internal efficiencies will be driven hard. 

Capital investments will be strongly concentrated among better resourced and capitalised medium to larger entities. 

WHAT ABOUT ME? 

Owners of small businesses will be well advised to reconfigure collaborations, extend well beyond attendances at networking meetings and seek loosely-structured “strategic alliance partnerships”. This is sage advice for the tens, if not hundreds of thousands of small business owners who saw their superannuation funds, in the form of the worth of their small businesses, rapidly evaporate. 

Value retention and optimisation will be best achieved through a measure of independence and control. 

Individually and collectively, these are key issues that should have been addressed during the periods of the pandemic-inflicted lockdowns and social distancing. 

Reality is back. The landing could be hard. 

Regardless of size, certain fundamentals apply, including: 

KEY PRINCIPLES:       

• Establish, isolate and maintain sufficient working capital to fund operations for at least 6 to 12 months. It provides time, control and choice.

• Generate immediate, ongoing cash-flows to off-set operating and variable costs.

• Determine optimal size and growth rates, based on working capital and cash-flows. Do not fear contraction.

• Monitor and manage fixed and variable costs, sustaining a balanced ratio between the two.

• Seek, recruit, induct, train and develop select team-members, ensuring they are well paid, recognised, celebrated, trained and involved. Being singularly indispensable is expensive.

• Plan and plan to - conduct regular participatory strategic audits and, progression, revisions and refinement analyses. Plan long, manage short.

• Formulate, document and implement an integrated branding and positioning strategy, to profile and enhance the presence of the company, product, services, apps and people profiles.

• Ensure that multi-channel marketing facilitates and expedites effective and efficient supply chains, high interactivity with existing, prospective and past clients.

• At all times respect and value the importance and nature of communications: they create and foster opportunities.

• Dispel the label small business, it is meaningless, limiting and irrelevant.

• When asked: How big (or small) is your business?

Answer: It’s about the right size, for now. That is, don’t be defined by the size of the business. Think big.

Barry Urquhart

Business Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

COME TOGETHER. RIGHT NOW

Corporate cultures, group dynamics, ambiences, internal and external relationships and personal commitments have each been impacted, compromised, marginalised, stripped bare and exposed by the ravages of the COVID pandemic. 

Momentum and critical mass have been lost, particularly in some key life-style, discretionary and economic-driving sectors. 

A progressive drift to online operations has accelerated into a rush. So too has the introduction of new payment, and rapid home-deliveries systems. 

Many processes have been trimmed, refined, sped up, with consequential increases of internal efficiencies. 

Consistent with such focus, the number, frequency and size of group team-member, distribution network and client meetings, gatherings and celebratory events have been reduced. 

The important aspects of fun and emotion are less conspicuous, influential and managed.  Where recognised, such are often rationalised and justified because of “the unprecedented times” of the coronavirus environment. 

Enjoyment appears to have been largely replaced by enduring in the current reality. 

Significant changes are also evident in communication strategies. Expenditure increases with online channels have overwhelmed contracting budgets for the traditional mass media of television, print, radio and out-of-home (outdoor). 

Emphasis is given to single, often time-specific offers with the orientation to product, price, place and promotion. A striking return to the pre-1963 sales era. 

Investments in brand-names, ongoing relationships and the life-time value of clients and customers are now secondary. Cash-flows and their immediacy rule. 

Among the natural consequences are substantial decisions in customer loyalty, repeat business, recommendations, referrals and advocacy. The value of, and payments for the latter two have become more isolated, modest and questioned. 

BIG WINNERS 

The standout high performers in sales and profits during the 2020 calendar year were typically larger scale operations and networks. 

Deep pockets and a willingness to invest on marketing, sales, promotions and multi-channel advertising, ensured a dominate, conspicuous presence and competitive advantageous profile. 

“Share-of-mind” did, ultimately, equate to share-of-market. 

Some marketing lores retained their currency, relevance and effectiveness. Consistency and continuity were virtues in a marketplace where consumers were attracted to brand names that were familiar and trusted. Such stood proud in a sea of turmoil. 

DISCOMBOBULATED REALITY 

Confused? You’re not alone. 

At present, throughout commerce, standards, benchmarks and traditions are in play and very fluid. 

Absolute measures are seemingly meaningless. Move over Albert Einstein. The theory of Relativity is being revisited, and re-applied. 

In isolation, and with social distancing, everyone appears to be determining and working within their own reality. Unity, integration and cohesion are spoken about often. Implementing, maintaining and developing such is more complex and challenging. 

A steady and steadying hand is reassuring. We all appear to have come the full circle. 360 degrees. 

The time has arrived for recommitment to corporate cultures, group dynamics, ambiences and relationships. 

Retreat to the nature of tribalism, founded on personal presence and interactions are evident. 

Invitations and commissions to provide customised keynote presentations and facilitate high-energy, interactive workshops are important components for Marketing Focus. 

The intent is not to rebuild, but rather to refine, refresh and individualise the “new”. 

Interestingly, this includes sessions on critical visual merchandising, positive, personal customer service and integrative company cultures.  

Above all, it is time to come together. 

EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS 

In the current period of “belt tightening” and financial rectitude it is not surprising that outlays and investments in the conduct of events for internal team-members, contributors to supply chains, franchises, members of marketing networks, clients, customers and associates at large are considered, and celebrated as being exceptional. 

Exceptions to the rules and prevailing norms standout, are recognised, often appreciated, valued and are recalled for extended periods of time. 

The reasons and rationale for the conduct of exceptional events are wide and varied.

Their resonance among invitees and participants are more pronounced than in the past, when such occasions were anything but exceptional. 

Such initiatives project a sense of confidence, which can be, and often is, infectious. Cash-flows are adversely impacted in the short-term. However, sharing goals, ambitions and offers are usually warmly received. 

Follow-up and follow-through practices maintain momentum and achieve critical mass. 

Success, like winning in sporting pursuits, is not a part-time thing. It becomes a habit, an expectation and it sets minimal standards. 

Australian long-distance running champion, Herb Elliott, is a fine example. He was never beaten in a mile-length event.  Or the metric 1500-metre adaption. 

Herb maintained his winning style in commerce, with sports equipment, and on Boards of Directors – particularly in the mining sector. 

Exceptional? Not really, just expected. 

Like Herb, we all need to put in the hard yards.

THE AUTHOR:

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

BEWARE: AIMLESS FUTURE

Lesson one.

The COVID pandemic has taught commerce many salutary lessons.

Philosophies, practices, structures and policies have all been reviewed, refined and above all, questioned.

The inherent rationalisations and justifications contained in the statement; we have always done it this way, carry no charter and little credence.

FIRST STEPS FIRST

Enforced social distancing and WFH (Working From Home) have necessitated business owners and leaders to embrace and implement delegated authority, trust and enhanced multi-channel communications. Interestingly, some subordinates felt exposed and vulnerable.

Centralised decision-making and micro-managing have rapidly, if not instantly, become obsolete, to the shock of many.

The measures and monitoring of efficiency, productivity, accountability and transparency are difficult and subjective in such isolated circumstances.

Regular and periodic on-time Zoom meetings have produced their own by-product, Zoom fatigue.

Unexpected and unintended consequences have gone viral. Mandatory participation has ensured individuals have connected. Engagement is quite another thing. Follow-up and follow-through have been in many instances forlorn hopes.

All long-standing rules seem to be up for negotiation. By necessity, corporate values are being finessed.

CONSEQUENCES

Career-paths appear to now have short horizons. Navigating such is difficult – finding “true north” on life compasses is challenging.

Achieving and sustaining a power-balance is difficult to measure and qualify. The very art and practice of collective bargaining group negotiations are impacting the roles, images and perceived worth of professional associations and unions.

That alone has put a question-mark over, or intense scrutiny on the innate value, worth and future roles of such entities. Memberships have fallen in countless cases, and renewals are difficult to secure.

Commerce, as known and experienced before January 2020 at the time of the pandemic onset – has not been destroyed. However, in varying degrees, it has been de-constructed. The essential parts, expertise and experiences and, yes, intellectual property, remain.

Reconstruction is underway. Barriers, impediments and filters have been marginalised, or eliminated.

“New-world” is a somewhat trite but accurate label.

Jim Collins’s contention that Good is the biggest enemy of Great has become to some extent redundant. In this new world nothing should be holding one back. Figuratively speaking, the arrival of COVID-19 paralleled “The Big Bang”. Accordingly, there is no past, in a literal sense.

Original thought is omnipotent – for those who dare to think big.

That which was until recently thought to be impossible is now possible. The allocation of sufficient funds, resources and cerebral energy are imperative – but not necessarily stiflingly expensive.

Success (or the degree of success enjoyed) will be influenced, if not determined by time and timing. However, in these “unprecedented times”, control is difficult to acquire, exercise and maintain.

Therefore, goals, objectives and outcomes will need to have some flexibility and tolerance. Being philosophical may be more relevant than being type A – bad news for work-a-holics.

TOUCH DOWN

Tom Brady, the 42-year-old quarter-back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL football team in the USA is a refreshing case study which highlights that chronological age accounts for little.

He now has seven Super Bowl rings, as evidence of his ongoing and recurring success. But he’s not finished yet. He intends playing next season. After all, he does have eight fingers – suggesting unfinished business.

He brings to the table experiences, expertise, discipline, commitment, passion and self-belief. Tom thinks big and has been rewarded for it.

Nineteen years of top flight is generational, ask any actuary. Repetitive? No way. Malleability ensures durability, sustainability and resonance, which collectively creates an aura of leadership.

Clearly, he looks through and beyond goal-lines.

THINK, ACT BIG

Incremental change counts, and accounts for little in the current volatile marketplace.

Risk tolerance is not mitigated with an attitude of “more of the same”. Competitive advantage is difficult to maintain, or attain, in such circumstances.

Break-free. Be bold, daring and different is an appealing and seemingly, an appropriate mantra.

Think, talk and act big – then deliver such promises, hopes and aspirations.

Guilt-free errors, mistakes and underperformances will, in the main, pass rapidly. It’s an exciting set of learning experiences, which is energising, exciting, fulfilling, rewarding and motivational.

Imagine. Accelerated growth, performance and satisfaction – edict-free organic innovation, creativity and possibly, a little disruption. The latter is qualified because precedents and established practices, perceptions and perspectives are not constraining considerations.

In the purest sense, delegate, trust, support, recognise, celebrate and reward ... because,

                        We are all in this together.

Barry Urquhart

Cultural Change Consultant

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Effect.

Outcomes often extend beyond what was intended, or expected. They underscore the inexact nature of targeted communications and marketing, and a lack of understanding and specificity of primary audiences.

In an increasing number of instances the size, worth and responsiveness of secondary and tertiary target markets exceed those which have been identified, isolated, analysed and focused upon as probable and preferred customers and clients.

The allocation and deployment of scarce resources, to reach out, connect with and engage all appropriate cohorts is a perplexing conundrum for business owners, managers and service providers.

Prospect-leakages are common and profound, impacting on and compromising effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. It is a recurring cost borne by most commerce. It provides explanations, in part, for the unattainable goal of maximising sales, market-share and profits. Moreover, it provides currency, understanding and a differing measure of rationality for optimising endeavours.

The current global digital economy consumers – corporate sector and individuals – tend to be more assertive and active than in the past. Previous strategies, which were founded on mass media, analogue channels, passive audiences and intrusive messages and initiatives, are necessarily being subjected to review, refinement and recalibration.

Selective perception, message rejection, and subjective, emotion-based evaluations persist. However, in a grossly over-communicated society the “communication fog” is more enveloping. Seemingly, boundless information exists and is being projected and articulated, but to less effect.

It is not that the intended recipients are immune. Rather, they are more oriented to specific platforms and channels. Influences and influencers are more self-determined, often of questionable credibility, transparency and integrity.

Long-established, traditional mass-media sources have been subjected to intense and repeated scrutiny. Negative and qualifying fallout is inevitable with repeated references about “fake news”, “social-bias”, “left-wing”, “right-wing” and “after-dark” commentaries.

Truth, balance and objectivity seem historic virtues.

The accuracy of the mass-media commentary is considered to parallel that of economists and weather forecasters (or meteorologists, who are deemed to be in a parallel universe).

Against a background of popularist politics, personified with the pretence of Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (President of Turkey) and Rodrigo Duterte (President of Philippines) and unsubstantiated tweets on social media, the causes of unanticipated consequences are difficult to source, and therefore to analyse, influence and implement.

REPETITION

Effective initiation of conversations and the guiding of narratives can be a function of repetition and volume. Getting above the clutter of “white noise” (unobtrusive background ambient sound and messaging) requires concise, specific, attitudes, opinions, values, perceptions and intent, which are consciously “packaged” as “authorative”, “authentic facts”. Really? Well not real, but executed with intent.

Endorsers, ambassadors and advocates who pass on, share and “like” communications, multiply the exposure and acceptance of key messages. However, the original initiator loses control of the distribution process.

Unintended and unknown audiences typically result in unintended and unknown outcomes. Philosophical acceptance is understandable. One can only do what one can do, and what one intended. The consequences are in another realm and are another dimension.

INTERDEPENDENCE

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the interdependent nature of businesses and demand. In many, if not most cases, such relationships overlap and integration were not recognised nor considered in the formulation, documentation and implementation of strategies and tactics.

For example, retailers of homeware have learnt that a long-standing competitor was the tourism industry. Week-in and week-out sales, revenue and opportunities were lost to self-indulgent expenditure which was centred on interstate and international travel, accommodation, dining and experiences.

Hard-border lockdowns imposed by governments narrowed options and channelled both attention and expenditure on “hard-products” from the homeware (among others) sector.

Alas, a further case study of unintended consequences.

Who would have thought? Who would have, and did know?

It’s time to awaken to the realities and complexities of the contemporary (probably not new) world – and to the many unintended consequences.

SELF-LIMITING

Self-belief in one’s ability to discerningly and discretely target narrow-based audiences, limits the scope to generate widespread interest, demand, sales, revenue, profit and ultimately repeat and loyal business.

Cascading exposure and impact should be accepted, welcomed – free from the desire to justify and explain such unintended consequences. Be philosophical.

 Such does not fall within the bounds of chaos theory.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

A butterfly flutters its wings in the Amazon basin, Brazil, South America.

Meanwhile, on the plains of Africa...

Consequences. Unintended.

THE AUTHOR:

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

“LITTLE ME” BRANDS

Shrinkage. It’s the antithesis of the mindset of the last 29 years, a period of continuous buoyancy and growth.

Contraction in numbers of outlets, product/service ranges, inventory levels and the size of premises first emerged and progressively developed during 2019. The onset of the COVID-19 and the pandemic simply accelerated, rather than caused, the trend. Retailers, Australia-based in particular, have been at the forefront. No-one in that sector it seems is immune. Long-established, recognised and preferred brand names are conspicuous among the down-sizing, including:

·         Noni B                                    Target

·         Portmans                               Big W

·         Rivers                                     Myer

·         Peter Alexander                   David Jones

The fate has also fallen on leading global brands in the dynamic fast fashion sector, including H&M, which has announced the pending closure of some 250 stores, which represents around 5% of the 5,000-outlet network.

THE BIG SQUEEZE

Senior executives and Board members have justified store closure decisions on “unreasonably high rentals” and leakages to online sales.

Both are strategic factors which have long-term implications. Other important issues are at play. In the digital era, consumer mobility is not limited to geographic constraints.

Instant and ready access is convenient, tempting and an efficient generation of enquiries, transactions, revenues, profits and the foundations of ongoing, mutually rewarding relationships.

Multi-channels are effective in communications, supply-chains and service delivery.

Multiple new payment systems have democratised business – consumer interactions and repeat transactions.

Deliveries, home deliveries specifically, have remodelled and prioritised buying decision criteria.

How do you transact? And, when do you deliver? Such questions are primary discriminators and differentiators. They have both evolved, from being virtues to imperatives.

In all instances, geographic considerations and constraints have been marginalised.

The productivity attainable, and supply-chains, networks channels and apps, are not necessarily determined by size or physical presence.

MILITARY PARALLELS

What-ever happened to “pocket battle ships”? Their value was to qualify the power of the punch rather than the size of the puncher (user).

Military forces, Australia’s as an example, are not necessarily growing. Prime focus is on specialisation. Drones, remotely controlled, are examples. So too is the deployment of special-forces, like the SAS (Special Air Service) and commandos.

The charge of the Light Brigade, Waterloo and the Western Front in World War 1 will remain on the pages and chapters of history.

The need for extensive distribution networks (retail footprint) has waned in recent times. Access to digital channels, online transactions and sophisticated logistics satisfy intending customers.

Impulse and spontaneous purchases, stimulated by exposure to retail premises, have been overwhelmed by mobile phones and like instruments.

Share of market is now often a function of share of digital (rather than physical) presence. Bold statements about being big, bigger or biggest are largely outdated, irrelevant and ineffective.

The distribution, deployment and support of resources can now be achieved with, and by “Little Me” brands. Shade of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and one of its most popular rides;

                                    “It’s A Small, Small World”

All one needs to do is to stand up, speak up and stand out.

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

OUT OF REACH – SUSTAINABILITY

Time. It is a fundamental aspect which differentiates marketing from sales.

Sales are typically transactional. That is, the product, service or app are available, accessible and, often, consumerable now.

The strategic nature of marketing requires investment in, and the allocation of multiple resources – people, branding, positioning, supply chain, service delivery and support, as well as follow-up and follow-through. Those all take time.  

Sales performances can readily be tracked, monitored, qualified and monitored. Charts, regardless of format – pie, bar and trend – are graphically descriptive. 

Unanswered in many instances is the question, why? Price alone provides limited, possibly two-dimensional responses. If only life, and commerce (in the digital era) were so simple. 

Determining, analysing and quantifying the returns from a strategic marketing investment into branding are more complex, and usually evolve over varying extended periods of time. 

The clock is ticking. Stopwatches are typically restricted to specific time-constrained events – sales, promotions and new product releases. 

Time horizons tend to be contracting. Sustaining momentum and presence on the way to achieving critical mass is difficult. It is a genuine challenge. 

WHAT TREND LINES? 

The art of forecasting, projecting and budgeting is becoming increasingly questionable. 

Demand, foot traffic, revenue, profits and costs oscillate, often in pronounced manners. 

Maximising margins and profits seems to be a forlorn hope. Even optimising, upon reflection and projection, appears to be beyond reasonable reach. 

The “dark art” of economics is increasingly under review. An allocation of scarce resources is very subjective. 

An evolving consensus is developing about economics and economists. Both are typically wrong. The only point to ponder and to seek concurrence is, to what degree or measure. 

The common attribute to most trends today is that there is no trend. So much for maximising, optimising and achieving ultimate productivity. And then there is the question of... 

SUSTAINABILITY 

Hold on. What are we writing and talking about? Maintenance, survivability and sustainability. 

Common among those who have, and will, endure is that they will do so in a very changed state – physically, psychologically and operationally. 

Hence sustainability differs from resilience, which, essentially is to “snap-back” to an original form. 

That very reference conjures up images for “politician-speak”, about a hoped for undetermined post-pandemic period in which the economy, society, commerce and health will, “majestically”, snap-back to a resilient state. Hope springs eternal. 

A NEW DAY 

Existence and persistence in a new day will require a new form, in its many dimensions to “best-fit” the new environment and circumstances. 

All measures, time horizons included, will need to be recalibrated. In all probability the new reality will have limited sustainability. Alas, that is the nature of the prevailing and rapidly evolving marketplace, economy, society and set global forces. 

HOLD ON 

Little value will be assigned to an attitude of “hold on”... on several counts. 

In the first instance, decisive thinking, decision making and implementation require a sense of immediacy. Don’t hold on, or procrastinate. Act now. 

“Holding on”, physically and metaphorically, will have little credence in periods of quantum change. 

An answer lies in cutting ties with the present and the past. Adaptability is the key and the pathway to sustainability. 

The implications for branding, supply chains, communication channels, marketing, sales, strategic and tactical initiatives are profound. 

Adjectives, like “contemporary” will take on different and important meanings. For example, the customer experience of today will, in all likelihood, be different to the customer experience of tomorrow. Such adaptability, malleability and fluidity will be the initial stepping stone to sustainability. 

CONCLUSION 

Lineal thought has been, is, and will be, redundant in pursuit of sustainability. Lifetime learning will take on refreshing new perspectives. Embrace both principles, and sustainability could well be within reach. 

Chorus line please, Elton John:

                                                            “I’m Still Standing”

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

WHO DO YOU TURN TO?

A rush to the doors has been evident during 2020, with pandemic-fuelled retrenchments, dismissals, business failures and unforced closures.

Years of expertise, experience and training have been lost to entities, sectors, commerce and society. The subtle art of nuances, understandings and corporate cultures have been shelved and compromised.

Customer service standards and consumer expectations have been adversely affected.

GROWTH INDUSTRY

Generous, loosely defined structures and administrated incentives, training and support initiatives, funded by Federal, State and local governments have been catalysts for a growth industry. That is, the creation of not-for-profit entities, whose primary beneficiaries appear to be their own employees and sub-contractors.

Under-resourced micro-small businesses, typically employing two or fewer people (in some instances up to five), are targeted for basic, introductory and rudimentary 2,4,6 and 8-hour courses in social media, finance administration and other detailed  issues.

As if such complex issues could be resolved with limited exposure, led largely by subcontractors who have graduated in the past two, three or four years with  little practical experience and expertise in managing departments, leading teams and operating businesses. Reality often strikes with telling force. Participating small business owners soon realise that applying newly-learnt skills requires time, money and resources. Priorities need to be set. Time spent at a console forsakes the opportunity to speak to, influence and enthuse, existing, prospective and past clients. Cash-flows? What cash-flows?

WHAT MESSAGE?

Small business cohort members have learnt to despair at the exhortations of trainers about the need to be creative, innovative, original and disruptive. Words! Merely whims.

Such urgings, well intentioned as they may be, represent little value and provide sparse substance, foundations and directions.

Motherhood statements are not bankable in the prevailing locked-down local marketplaces, state economies and commerce at large.

Moreover, in excess of 80% of prospective customers, sales, revenues and profit lie with past, often established customers. In the main, they are not seeking, or demanding, creative, innovative, original and new products, services at standards.

Re-establishing, supporting, complementing and celebrating relationships are greatly valued.

MORE EXPERTS, THAN EXPERTISE

A striking characteristic of the growth industry which has rapidly evolved because of and during the pandemic is the presence of countless experts, espousing often pre-packaged resolutions and actions.

In many instances the targeted small business owners are the means to gain access to government funding, which is essential for the employment of the experts and their subcontractors.

Like so many things in the digital era, the clients have become the product. Look no further than the marketability of the privacy details of the applications and platforms on social media. Access to these (and to the social media users) is marketed and sold to advertisers.

A lack of precedence, experience and past lessons learnt dictate the need for customisation of unique and varying situations that especially confront individual small to medium-sized enterprises.

Generalised concepts, campaigns and strategies will typically lack the capacity to achieve impact and to resonate with primary, secondary and tertiary target audiences.

BE BOLD

Collaborative endeavours by grouping the owners and managers geographically “local” businesses are laudable, but largely ineffective.

Many skill-sets and experiences are not readily transferable and applicable to a broad spectrum of entities, sectors and precincts.

Scant funding inhibits capacities to perform, to recruit and to deploy. Some things similarly need to be paid for. That is the nature of investments.

Copy-cat marketing abounds in the prevailing challenging economy. Anecdotal evidence show success rates are isolated and marginal. Customisation is an imperative to address, satisfy and fulfil unique needs and expectations.

Implementing idealised outcomes and goals, free from operational, financial and established constraints can be energising, accelerating and educational. Defining quantifiable measures instils appropriate measures of structure, monitoring, reviewing and refinements – the essential nature of WHAT.

The issue of HOW should only then be addressed.

CONTEXT FIRST

To win back and retain customers requires businesses, big, small and medium to provide, promote and extend compellingly attractive ambiences and positive experiences. That is, context precedes the importance and sequential flow of content.

Managing expectations, and delivering the promise are effective means to generate and to enhance traffic, be it foot, social media, telephone, text and yes, even mail-based.

Energy and urgency create emotion, which still represents the largest force for demand, selection and transactions.

RETURN TO ME

It is inevitable that most businesses, having endured the coronavirus pandemic, will be smaller, with reduced team-member numbers, narrower and contracted product ranges and restricted supply chains.

None of these should impact on the ambience, experience and customer service extended to existing, prospective and past customers.

Achieving an increased rush to the ingress lane of the doorways will require an initial focus on winning and welcoming back key frontline service providers.

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

“BLANKET” COVER SUPPRESSES ACTIVITIES

Much of Australia and the world has gone to sleep. Many have pulled up the doona, rolled over with no intention of charging forth, to “take on another day”. 

Consumer and corporate confidence have tanked. Actual capital investment has in recent months declined appreciably. Plans and expenditure budgets have been trimmed. 

Discretionary purchases have been reined in, many because of government regulatory constraints. Interestingly, for those who are active in the marketplace, indulgent purchases abound, to the relief and financial benefit of a host of vendors. 

Entrepreneurial and creative marketing spirits continue to encounter barriers, filters and impediments. 

Some commentators contend that they shouldn’t take it personally. The policies are being applied to all. 

Therein lies the dilemma. Cascading consequences will deepen downturns and extend appreciably extend recovery rates and periods. 

Tolerance of risk among banks, financial institutions, seed capitalists and investors at large is low. 

Opportunity costs are escalating and opportunities forsaken. 

“One size fits all” is not an attitude of mind or policy framework that fosters enterprise or endeavour. 

Individualism has been marginalised, if not lost in many instances. 

RAIN ON MANY PARADES 

The visions, aspirations, beliefs and hopes of countless business leaders and consumers are being dampened. 

Even those with commendable long-term track records of high performance are being marginalised, and in many instances rejected. 

Dramatic reductions in marketing, advertising, promotions and merchandising budgets are widespread. Momentum, revenues and profits are being constrained as a consequence. 

Each are “victims” of blanket assessments. 

Stereotyping is omnipotent, and reflected in common phrases: “Baby-boomers aren’t buying”. “Millenniums can’t afford first homes”. “Everyone is working from home”.  “Buying online is the only way”. 

Truisms are flawed, typically misleading and can be greatly influential. 

SEGMENTING STRATEGIES

Since its genesis in 1947, the marketing discipline has significantly influenced, determined and reflected consumerism. 

Brands have been developed, networks established and fortunes made by astute applications of a broad spectrum of marketing philosophies. Foremost among those has been “market segmentation”. 

Audiences, target groups, clients and consumers were segmented, differentiated and communicated to with customised messages, offers and opportunities of on-going relationships. 

Over a period of some 50 years segmentation regressed into fragmentation. Groupings and clusters became too small to be economically viable to service and satisfy. 

In more recent times, ironically within the digital era, cohorts overwhelmed segments. The generalising of mass markets in the global economy has created noticeable divides. “Males”, “females”, “SUV owners”, “conservationists” and “vegetarians” have become ill-defined classifications. 

Not all males or females act, think or consume in unison. Conservationists have divergent beliefs, systems and values. Vegetarians are not a monolithic block or market presence. 

It’s a complex society and marketplace. “Blanket” covers, policies, strategies, tactics and campaigns seldom achieve and sustain optimal performances. That is true in business-to-business and business-to-consumer interactions and relationships. 

Therefore, centralised decision-making may well reduce exposure to and the cost of risk.  However, it will come at a cost; that is, opportunity cost. 

Delegated authority. Nuanced communications. Onsite value assessments. Each has been a cornerstone of dynamic, responsive and developing free enterprise. Failures, percentages of losses and lessons learned have been, integral parts of the complex web of commerce. 

Remember,

rules are for guidance, not obedience 

That principle does, or should, apply to blanket covers. 

And finally, don’t be patient. Impatience drives activity, productivity and typically leads to profits and wealth accumulation. 

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

UNSOCIABLE SOCIALISM

You’re on your own.

A sobering realisation of maturity, independence and private enterprise is that, of varying degrees in western societies (Australia included) one has not and could not expect to be reliant on the support, often financial, on others, government included.

Capitalism is founded on the principle that market forces prevail. As a result, there are winners and losers.

Those tenets changed with the on-set of the coronavirus, COVID-19, and the declaration of a pandemic. Government decisions, legislation and regulations impacted commerce, society, lifestyles, families and individuals. Businesses were rendered unviable. Many were literally and figuratively closed down.

Compensatory payments and support were extended to businesses, employees, communities and sectors.

Such largesse softened, but did not avoid, the consequences. National recessions were registered, unemployment rates soared, international travel was all but eliminated and personal, social habits changed – possibly forever. More money and increased deficits will not, in isolation, achieve a growth economy.

Social distancing, hand sanitising, social isolation and working from home became the norm, and accepted as the expected.

DISTURBING

Increasingly, the public expressions of business leaders have reflected significant changes in attitudes about, tolerance of and desirability for SOCIALISM.

In Australia, venture capitalists have stated that the market-worth and sustainability of a large, full-service and wide ranging private airline will be dependent on some degree by continued payments of employee wages support by the Federal Government. Is that contradiction writ large?

The creeping hand of socialism implies a widening acceptance of dependence on the public purse. Risk tolerance is in play.

These values are philosophically different and distinct from social conscience.

Free enterprise and independence will be compromised.

ACTION REQUIRED

Recovery from the Federal Government-induced recession will be long. Increases in taxes receipts will be needed and inevitable.

New, more dynamic and malleable business models will be required. Supply chains will be refined, product (service/application and sources) will be increased, as will payment, communications and home delivery systems.

Partnerships and collaborations will be established, to mutual benefit.

Doubtless, considerations will be given to involvement in “public-private partnerships”. The recent track-record of such in infrastructure developments has been less than laudable – and short of being financially rewarding.

ROCKY ROAD AHEAD

Overall, the path to the future is strewn with boulders, a few pot-holes, and a number of twists and turns.

The need exists for attention, hands-on-the-wheel, and measured acceleration. Being a ‘four-on-the-floor’ entrepreneur was for another time, economy and marketplace.

A one-pace or two-paced economy is unlikely in the immediate and intermediate future. Forecasts and long-term navigation will have questionable veracity and accuracy. Those seem simplistic.

Rapid-response opportunism will be rewarded, certainly in the shorter-term. That proposition alone marginalises the probable positive role for government intervention, participation and support. “Creeping socialism” is, seemingly an apt term of phrase.

The scope for such collaborations will be extremely limited for an overwhelming majority of small to medium enterprises. Scale alone will bias the focus and participation of government to larger entities.

REVENUE-GENERATING ADVERTISING

Public sector-funded mass media advertising campaigns seldom generate and sustain widespread increases in revenue and visitations.

Well-intentional campaigns imploring and promoting the virtues to “buy, visit and support local” are laudable, but marginally effective.

Initial responses to such missives are positive. However, in the longer-term and final analysis consumers are driven by self-interest.

FORCED CHOICE

Aspirants and advocates value choice and control.

Creeping socialism, no matter its scale or nature, impinges upon those attributes.

Pursuits of agility and mobility are compromised by the presence, influence and processes innate to bureaucracy.

The stark choices confronting commerce at present are not binary. Free-wheeling, unencumbered laissez-faire enterprise is, at present, rare. So too, is over-powering ubiquitous socialism.

Locating an optimum-point on a scale between the two extremes is somewhat arbitrary. However, it is necessary.

Tolerance, understanding and compromise will be important.

SOBERING REALISATIONS

So, as in life, failure is often an orphan. Success tends to enjoy extensive maternal and paternal relationships.

Going forward, it is advisable that business owners, leaders and managers accept the challenge that in pursuit and attainment of success, they accept that to a great degree, “they are on their own”. But not alone, exposed and vulnerable.

 Barry Urquhart

Business Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

AFFORDALE CONFIDENCE

Be careful. 

Signs from the marketplace can be, and are, confusing, conflicting and misleading. 

A recent national nine-week series of surveys revealed a consistent growth in confidence of Australians. It attracted national headlines, particularly the figure 98.3. 

For those statistically-illiterate, and those who simply scanned the media release text, many interpreted the quantum sum to imply, if not declare, that 98.3% of Australians were confident. Not so. 

Indeed the study nominated the national “norm” to be 100. Therefore, 98.3% was a negative numeral, albeit marginal. Alas, some things are relative rather than absolute. 

The implications and application of these quirky characteristics of attitudes, perceptions, expectations and, yes, confidence are profound and widespread. 

BUYING CUES 

High and strengthening degrees of consumer confidence are not necessarily definitive and accurate measures of probable increases in demand, sales and revenues. 

In the same study, some 42% of respondents stated that now, in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic (and lockdown), was a “good time” to buy major household items. 

Those two dimensions only tell part of a complex story. 

A similar figure (42%) of people expect “bad times” for the Australian economy over the ensuing five years.

Indeed, there is a difference of some 64% in the expectation of it being a “bad time”, rather than a “good time”, overall, in 12 months’ time. 

Against the backdrop of the nation having the second highest personal debt levels (204% of average annual income) after Switzerland, probable double-digit unemployment and a pending recession for the first time in 29 years it is improbable that a mass surge of consumer demand appear in the marketplace any time soon. 

Not even big discounts, sales events and other incentives will be effective in initiating and sustaining enhanced demand. 

Those endeavours may in fact suggest a lack of confidence among the promoters. 

IT’S PERSONAL 

A significant feature of the research findings was the fact that a sizeable percentage of Australians were more confident about their own personal circumstances and prospects for the next 12 months than they were for the national economy at large. 

Self-belief and self-confidence are powerful forces. They can be, and often are, subjective and emotional. 

Therefore, the entrepreneurial flame will not be extinguished. The rate of business start-ups and growth initiatives may become more tempered and measured. However, the spirit will persist, particularly as retrenchments, furloughs and employment dismissals continue, as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. 

In marketing, personal and personable communications have the capacity and prospect of eliciting positive responses. Care needs to be taken, and details noted. 

The study findings highlight differing expectations for the time horizons of one year, five years, and beyond. 

Striking a chord will be a matter of the right message at the right time. 

CIRCUMSTANTIAL REALITIES 

It is inevitable that the one constant in the unfolding decade, as Australia and the world emerge from its first widespread recession in 29 years, is change. 

Individual and collective moods will oscillate, rapidly and substantially. Accordingly, responses to external variables and stimulants – including advertising, marketing and merchandising – will vary appreciably. Unpredictable? Yes. 

A rejection, dismissal or deflection today will not, and should not, be considered an emphatic, categoric and ongoing, NO. 

Moods change. So too do confidence ... opportunities, demand, sales, revenue flow and consumption. 

VERY SAUCY 

In many respects, confidence can be, and should be deemed to be the sauce that lubricates the wheels of commerce. Without it there is friction, heat and adverse consequences. 

Like COVID-19, confidence is infectious. Once the factors of being able to afford expenditures, employment security and income stability and continuity are addressed, redressed and neutralised, confidence will overcome or overwhelm apprehension and risk tolerance. 

Presuming and asking for the business reflect and project confidence. 

Has there ever been a better time to invest or buy? Repeat after me: 

I confidently believe... 

Barry Urquhart

Marketing Strategist

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

FROM “THE OTHERSIDE” - A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

Make a mark.

Recent statements and projections by the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, are interesting, upbeat and questionable.

The core focus, if not primary cause, is COVID-19 and the related lockdowns and self-isolations.

References about “the otherside”, “spring-back”, “snap-back” and “bounce” are essentially subjective, and probably hopeful.

Australian business leaders may well recall, and be drawn to memories of  the late media magnate, Kerry Packer, at the time of a massive heart attack, when he reportedly “died” for some 20 minutes.

In a subsequent press conference and in response to a question about his experience, he declared, in his own imitable style:

“Believe me, son, I’ve been to ‘the otherside’, and there is nothing f**king  there.”

So, Prime Minister and all in commerce, once we arrive at ‘the otherside’ if may need a lot of “greenfield” construction. Achieving and sustaining “snap-back” and “bounce” will doubtlessly take time, money and resources.

In this journey there will be no definitive answers to the perennial question, which typically emanates from the rear seats:  Are we there yet?

Many entities will not survive the transition.

Among the casualties will be established rules, conventions, relationships and supply chains.

Clients and consumers will have been exposed to differing choices, experiences and value-propositions.

Accordingly, new purchase routines and criteria will have been embraced and applied.

PRESUME NOTHING

A total change is unlikely, and improbable. However, most aspects and variables will be subject to review, refinement and development.

There will be little point in, “Scomo, from Marketing” (the Prime Minister) reprising his often touted past advertising campaign, when employed at Tourism Australia.

Having Lara Bingle, or any other attractive bikini-clad model hollering: 

Where the bloody hell are you? 

will highlight that, on the otherside, many will be lost – consumers and businesses. 

Re-acquainting with clients and customers will be advisable, if not imperative. They will be an essential element of change, and the change process. 

Realignment of philosophies, values, missions, goals, objectives and targets seems inevitable. In all likelihood the changes will be structural, strategic and, in many instances, substantial. 

Supply chains, payment systems, service expectations, policies and practices and people will be, or should be subjected to forensic analysis. 

Capital adequacy, risk profiling, expected internal rates of return and inventory levels (and distribution) should, ideally, be assessed, determined, documented, declared and adhered to. 

ZERO-BASED PLANNING 

It will be prudent and appropriate to begin the planning process with a clean slate, free from the encumbrances and limitations of past practices, but influenced by experiences, training and expertise. 

DON’T WAIT FOR GOVERNMENT 

The lock-down scenario and its many and varied consequences provide a sound basis for reforms to business tax, superannuation, negative-gearing and GST by the Australian Federal government. 

Sadly, it will be a forlorn hope, unrealised, for those looking for government leadership. 

Therefore, certain fundamental characteristics of the economy and marketplace will persist because of inaction, inattention and a lack of resolve within the political fraternity. 

Individuals businesses and leaders may not be alone, but will do their best if they go for it on their own. 

REVIEW, REFINE RESTRUCTURE 

On the otherside, nothing will be immune to detailed analysis within organisations, big and small. 

All twenty elements of the marketing mix will, or should be, subject to study. 

THE PRODUCT/ SERVICE RANGE 

It is noticeable that throughout the world, department stores, supermarkets, motor vehicle manufacturers, manufacturers, media groups, accountancy practices, profession associations and service centres have all declared an intention to reconfigure (and in many instances, reduce) product/service ranges. 

Proposed smaller, narrower, and leaner offerings reflect the importance being assigned to relevance, productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, financial prudence and longer-term viability. 

Supply-chains will be revised, with greater emphasis on local production and sourcing. National and individual security will demand no less. Globalisation will begin to wane and nationalism grow.

The concepts of cross-subsidising and ambitious financial gearing are being assigned to history in many cases. Products, categories and clusterings, and space allocations will need to be closely monitored profit-generators. 

Attendant structures, disciplines, philosophies and practices will be needed to ensure adherence and optimisation.  

TARGETED AUDIENCES 

A logical extension will be the need for determination of the profiles of, connections with and the servicing of primary, secondary and tertiary target audiences. 

Old-style, long-established demographic and psychographic determinants will inevitably be obsolete, and replaced with more relevant common characteristics. 

This aspect alone will isolate and highlight to many management teams, just how little they really knew about previous preferred clienteles. 

Better, more detailed appreciation of clients and customers will contribute to better understandings, more effective communications and interactions, and enhanced, more resilient and profitable relationships. 

Standardised, sector-wide “value-packages”, which contribute to widespread commoditisation will be, or should be, cast aside. 

COMMUNICATIONS 

The principles of multi-channel and omni-channel communications will be revisited. Over-reliance on, or a bias to one or few of those channels will be corrected. 

The strengths and weaknesses of ubiquitous social media will be identified ... if not quantified. Poor returns and low conversion ratios will be noticeable. 

Complementary and integrating tactics will strengthen the previous overriding deficient strategies. The power and evocative, emotional nature of the spoken word will, in increasing number of cases, be recognised and deployed (or perhaps redeployed). 

THE WORD IS “SUPPLY” 

Well articulated case-studies of empty shelves because of panic-buying resulting from the perceived threats of COVID-19 highlight the need for, benefits of and rewards for short, malleable, efficient and effective supply-chains. 

On reflection and in balance, it became apparent that surges in purchase demands exceeded both short-term supply and consumption. Consumers simply “hoarded”, in fear of a lack of supply, or an inadequacy of the supply-chain. 

The other sixteen elements of the integrated marketing mix will be dependent upon, and need to both contribute to and complement the key pillars. 

Deficiencies in, or the absence of, any, will ultimately result in sub-optimal performances and the inability to be competitive and compellingly attractive and different. 

It will be well to reflect on the philosophy:

                        The objective of marketing is to make selling superfluous 

NO ECONOMISTS’ RATIONALISATIONS 

Foremost among the realities on the otherside will be that there will be no currency in the attitude on the otherside. 

That is, there will be no scope for a fall-back position to “old established ways”. 

In the initial period, measures of relevance, productivity, efficiency and effectiveness will be absolute. There will be no comparative measures in the exciting new normal. This is zero-base management real-time. 

He, she, or they, who are first will be best, preferred and winners, on the otherside. 

Imagine, if you will, there will be no purpose or capacity of looking back because many will conclude:

                        The past. That’s where I’ve been, and

                        there’s nothing f**king there (... of relevance) 

Barry Urquhart

Business Strategist

(and sardonic scribe)

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW…

Clarity and decisiveness are what society, commerce and people want and value. In the COVID-19 infected economy uncertainty and change prevail.

The immense chasm which exists between those two sets of pillars impinges upon and stifles confidence, capital investments and expenditure.

Guesses, at present overwhelm considered projections, forecasts and budgets.

Volatility, variability and procrastination become the norm, and sadly, the expected.

The steadying hand of strong, assertive leadership, conspicuously absent in numerous nations, placates anxiety, emotions and apprehensions.

Clarity, of mind and in communications, facilitates decisiveness. Confidence mounts. Commitment to decisions, processes and outcomes are a natural and progressive consequence.

In a figurative sea of turmoil, the calming waters which appear to envelope contemplative, objective leaders enable reasoned and reasonable courses to be charted. It is a settling sense of pacification.

In the eye of the storm – which is coronavirus – belief will overcome. Clarity, decisiveness and brevity are by nature short in supply and presence.

Less, shorter statements and exaltations are appealing, and will, in all likelihood, be effective.

It’s what the world needs now…

Barry Urquhart

Managing Director

Marketing Focus

M:        041 983 5555

E:        Urquhart@marketingfocus.net.au

W:       www.marketingfocus.net.au