Posts Tagged: Change

Business Transformation / Cash Management / Keep Calm & Keep Marketing / Marketing Mix Strategies / Pricing / Process Improvement — No Comments
24
Jul 12

Keep Calm and Keep Marketing Part 3 – Focus on Cash Management and Pricing

Recently I responded to a request to help small businesses that were feeling despondent because of falling sales and general feelings of frustration with marketing a small business in difficult, trading times.

This series of Keep Calm articles has been created to help improve feelings of confidence and personal power; Part 3 will focus on tips to improve Cash Management and Pricing:

Focus on Cash Management

Cut expenses and track cash flow carefully.  It is extremely important for you to understand your monthly cash position.  Determine where you can cut costs, and make sure on a weekly basis that you understand what money is coming in. As you cut costs use this formula, for every $2 dollars you cut in business expenses, invest $1 into your marketing investment.

Start collections at 7 days past due. You need your money now. Once a customer gets to 7 days past due, get on the phone and track down whoever pays the accounts for an update. Be sure you are ready with payment options to get paid faster.

Focus on Pricing

Time to raise your prices? It’s a new financial year and with the cost pressures of the last year, it’s reasonable to consider your pricing. If you raise your prices by 1% that will give you an approximate 11% increase in income. In comparison, you would need to increase sales volume by 1% to yield a 5% increase in income. One warning though, don’t tell people you are raising your prices because of the Carbon Tax – as you have seen, this is not good PR.

It’s important to add value, when increasing prices! Continuously adding value to your products and services is the best way to get repeat customers and new business through referrals.

The secret of pricing is this knowledge: When the right customer sees your product or service in the right context – price will not be the primary element in their decision to buy!

If you need support from someone who can guide you – a coach or mentor who can look at your business and your progress with an honest and objective eye; guide you away from costly mistakes and head in a direction that may challenge you, but also helps you to survive and thrive – please contact me.  The next Keep Calm topic will be “Mindset” – how to stay positive and outcomes focused!

Let me know if find you find these tips helpful?  Please leave a comment below:

Author, Teresa Bassham principle Marketing Coach at Zenworkz Marketing, inspires small businesses to foster a positive marketing mindset and develop a empowering marketing plan for business profitability. See full services at http://www.zenworkz.com

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Leading Change & Transitions / Online Survey — No Comments
2
Apr 10

Change and Transitions – How to lead “Cave Men” and “Mussels”

Managers or leaders implementing large change and transitions know that their probability of success is built on successful planning, communication, execution, and trust.

Of these factors trust in the direction, trust in planned results and trust in individual benefit from the change, is a key component for realising success.

Zenworkz observes that Trust is a basic currency of business success.

Any business’ success is directly linked to the degree that executives, managers, and team leaders in the business are trusted, together with confidence in the business direction.  This is particularly true for medium to large businesses.

We have also observed that the building of trust can be easily eroded due to a variety of human factors.

A manager we know once described some of his people as Cave Men. When we enquired further he said that in their response to change they were best described as Citizens Against Virtually Everything, hence the description Cave Men!

While we appreciated both the wry humour and the difficulties this manager had in establishing trust, we noted that naming and shaming or creating a “them and us” mindset, is rarely effective for rebuilding trust or introducing change initiatives.

We should also be realistic and understand that some people [either deliberately or as an automatic response] exhibit what is known as the ‘mussel syndrome’ in their reaction to change and transitions.

In his book The Leadership Mystique (Prentice Hall, UK 2001); Manfred Kets De Vries, defined the Mussel Syndrome as:

“the mollusc has to make only one major existential decision in life, and that’s where it’s going to settle down.  After making that decision the mussel cements its head against a rock and stays there for life.  Many people are so resistant to change that they might as well be cemented in place.”

Business conditions, markets, technology and industries change with enormous speed.  This requires effective responses to stay competitive.  This in turn leads to changes and transitions which are built on trust and understanding.

We have observed that where leading change and transition is most effective; individuals and groups reach a stage where they can put aside their fears, discard old behaviours, realise changes, absorb new skills and approaches; and build new capabilities.  All are built on trust about the change, the impact of the transition, and those leading it.

How do you build trust in a business or organisation?

You need: clarity of purpose; clear expectations about behaviour and required results; expression of cultural values; making and keeping agreements; continual dialogue between groups; and the development of leaders who inspire trust and desire to be worthy of trust.

What is your trust rating?

Zenworkz Online Trust Rating Survey can establish your trust rating from surveying the difference between your perceptions and the perceptions of your people in the following categories:

  • Personal qualities
  • Keeping your word
  • Integrity

Zenworkz services delivers market, customer and human factors research that help you understand and improve your trust rating.  Please contact us if you would like more information.

Author: Brian Bassham, Principle Consultant, Zenworkz

Zenworkz – informed business transformation and evaluation

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