New ways of thinking and acting globally

The Internet has resulted in a completely different world where all of us are or rather can be if we wish so connected in the cyberspace and we are totally integrated on all fronts; the social, the business, the financials, the educational, the geographical the Internet is a new universe with no limits in time and space. Since I am in the business world, I will try to paint a small picture of how I have forced myself to get some insight in the digital new universe with many new rules, a cascade of new IT technical terms in the modern management language. Terms we have to understand completely, we need to identify the implications of the new management tools. However, some of them are just old wines in new bottles.

Today owners, top executives and daily management have to face the numerous challenges posed by globalization, the demands of the market, product development, and level of service delivery, business development, innovation, financial management, human resources development, and adaptability.

We need to understand and accept the new rules for International Business, the Internet forces companies to completely do a rethinking of their marketing strategy and renew all previous business models. In a certain way, we have all become partners in the intranet and extranet age. The Internet forces us to pay much more attention to rapid adjustments of strategies and tactics. In order to keep up with the competition we need to have fast access to all kinds of information needed to produce a new Business Design. A company needs to capitalize on the new opportunities offered by the increasing global integration. I use the term Business Design because I see the necessity for CEOs to establish a new business platform taking advantage of the possibilities to form a network of expertise that work globally.

You may have a producer in the Far East who wishes to penetrate new markets. The company I talk about is a great producer with a lot of solid business within South East Asia but now wanting to expand the business.  Previously it was costly and time-consuming to get complete and reliable market analysis and the changes in the markets took place over a longer period. Today the markets move fast. For many products and services they move so fast that often the time 8.o’clock AM for some is 3 weeks in the past for others. It is imperative to understand that marketing today is the key engine driving the business forwards based on vision, mission and strategies. The marketing function is more important than ever and consequently needs very qualified management. At the same time, it has become less expensive, much more efficient to obtain reliable market information and on top very fast.

In order to move swift the producer in the Far East may now considers some new avenues to meet the present challenges or in other words implement a new set of concepts. The key words are profitable global strategy and execution of it. The implementation of the new concepts necessitates alterations of the basic instruments for marketing management.

No strategy can be determined without a proper homework so to make it simple we will all work in a building of three storeys by the name of Knowledge Warehouse

The ground floor accommodates a team of expertise focusing on Customer Insight and Understanding in short CIU. Services compiling data and information from selected markets with all relevant details by using an advanced market research plan.

The second floor hosts a team of experts in analyzing and evaluating all data and information from the ground floor and present results, suggestions and alternatives for a global strategy to the Marketing Executive Team. I call the second floor team in short AAE.

The third floor accommodates a team of top qualified persons, responsible for the final decision on profitable strategies, but much more importantly overall responsibility for the execution of marketing strategies. I call the third floor team in short EMS.

A fact that can cause some concern is the negligence of the importance of the reliability and quality of step one. Do not try to make quick moves in order to save time or money. Do not make decisions based on impulses or a high degree of uncertainty. Today it is more important than ever to have a deep insight and understanding of the components in the decision process.  The need for qualified collection of relevant and reliable data is exceptionally high and the process will be time demanding since we work across borders and cross functionally. It is imperative with stringent working disciplines and an advanced market research plan. If the tasks on level 1 are not carried out in the best professional manner the result will be inadequate analysis and recommendations for the decision of a marketing strategy and then consequently a catastrophic execution as well as bad image, waste of time and money.

We often talk about ROI and that is understandable. We should focus more on the highest possible return of investments in activities from staff and services from networks as well. We all need to add value to our capabilities and work constantly to improve them. Other facts are that the introduction of the Internet has changed completely the sales and marketing parameters from “the good old days” since the transparency of the Net has made the consumers the kings of the game. A few years back when EU introduced rules to protect the consumers by laws of forcing companies to disclose relevant and important information about their products, the concept aimed at enabling consumers to compare products based on facts.

The speed by which the Internet moves has surpassed the set of regulations as mentioned making it possible for consumers to know from where the products are coming, who is the producer and what is the content of the product. So a few years back a consumer would have to pull down a product from the shelf then another one, compare the two, and then make the decision. Today he will get any kind of information of almost all products he is looking for and then decide. He does not need to move, he just sits behind the monitor and all he is looking for is just a click away.

In order to introduce advanced working methods we will take the 3-storey building a step further. We of course still need the same management tools, but we use a circular concept. We take advantage of The Round Table inspiration, let the 3 teams meet with regular intervals face to face and invite the customer to be the center, the guest of honor. We place him in the center, so we all can focus on him; he is the only one who can tell us about the benefits he is looking for and he plus the ones looking for same benefits form the market. The huge advantage by having a round table conference is that the decision makers are not sitting on the top of the building far away from the reality, the market place where all what the executive management is looking for is present. It is not on the top floor of the building.

This new world makes it increasingly difficult to maintain “old style business”. Previously products should have a long lifetime in order to cover high innovation costs for the producers. Here in 2009, close to 2010, we know that these rules have changed. Innovation must be fast because the consumer patterns and behaviors focus on updated features, some products like mobile phones have a very short lifetime because the markets require brand new advanced communication tools with sophisticated gadgets.

The producers act in a smart way. They will develop a basis model that covers the whole range of various consumer needs and then sell in maybe 50 different models each with specific benefits to meet market demands. In this way, the innovation costs are distributed on a massive amount of products and make the products pricewise competitive.

The producers must understand the consumers and the markets making Consumer Insight an extremely important discipline to manage. The modern consumer buys benefits and is less concerned about the product itself. Consequently, the use of advanced marketing tools is more necessary than ever making marketing management a primary managerial tool.

Chonburi 23rd October 2009

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The meaning of consulting is to provide advice in a special area of expertise. A better way to translate this definition is to facilitate companies and or organizations improving their performance by analyzing the present situation and developing plans for improvements.

Business advices fall into many categories: General Management, Organizational Changes, Development of Coaching, and Implementation of new Technologies or Operational Improvements, just to mention examples from a broad selection of relevant issues, all of equal importance to all business regardless of size.

Business (or Company/Organization/Enterprise) is legally defined as a vehicle providing goods or services to customers/clients with the clear goal to make a profit or in other words to receive a financial reward in return for working and for taking risks.

As you may see from my website www.occo.asia, I have a fair amount of experience in consulting over the years and have chosen to function as a so-called Boutique Operation aka a Niche Operation focused on small and medium sized Industries. However, maybe more importantly I have hold positions as CFO or CEO in large international companies, which add to the quality of my consulting since I have many years of practical Business Experience. On top, I have a theoretical background on MBA level.

Based on a solid theoretical education plus experiences from 20+ countries, and from various industries, I have developed some excellent management tools among them a Simulation Program (in cooperation with KPGM) that enables me to calculate the financial consequences of various tactics/scenarios before they are implemented as part of the Over All Strategy. So today, this is then what I can offer:

Provide advices in order to help senior management and or owners to improve effectiveness by the help of a workable strategy, process or operation by accessing the realistic needs, reviewing the existing business plans, functions and directions, furthermore to add values to your Business.

I am 100% independent and work today based on simple methods developed over the years and consisting of 3 important steps; Step 1 all historical data related to the present state of affairs, Step 3 a scenario of how the management sees the company’s position on the market place in 2 to 3 years. Steps 1 and 3 are easy to generate, but step number 2 is the most difficult because it has to provide the answer to this important question: How do I get from step 1 to step 3? This is better known as an Integrated Business Solution. I describe it as how to build the bridge between Visions and Reality.

The answer is in general terms found in the term STRATEGY. The definition is clear; Strategy is the direction/scope a company takes in order to over a period to gain advantage over the competition or to meet the market needs and to fulfil the financial expectations of the shareholders. The name of the game is like playing chess one needs to make accurate and well-considered choices:

To produce all the answers in Step 2 is not easy and involves analyzes of many important elements that normally structure the complete Business Plan. Some small companies especially if owned and operated by entrepreneurs do not care too much about plans, before it is too late, and sometimes produce their plans by looking into a crystal ball like a fortune teller.

It would be nice if that was possible, but unfortunately it does not work that way and I am grateful for that for had it been the case I would be out of business. So again Step 2 involves taking a closer look into these areas: In which markets should we operate, with which products, allocating the necessary resources (organizational, financial, technical competences, facilities and relationships), the competition, the USPs for your products and same for the competitors USPs, how strong are you compared to the competition, where are your weakness? (SWOT analysis). These are just some areas that need cautiously studies and you can add many more.

A clear STRATEGY is necessary for any business. It is the planning and execution of the actions you need to take in order to achieve your goal. Strategy must be combined with a careful resource allocation, intelligence, logical thinking and leverage. However, it is important to realize that all goals should be determined based on down to earth visions. After the Over All Strategy has been defined, next steps are to work out the tactics. To participate in the battle for maintaining or improving the bottom line is like play in a soccer game, you must put together a team that wants to win. If the team does not win the Coach is fired most likely because he did not choose the right tactics. These must be integrated with the Over All Strategy.

My Business and Management services are targeted at medium sized companies (small is beautiful) that show some of these signs:

• In need of Restructuring
• Have an unacceptable profit situation
• Underperforming activities
• Leadership that is not focused on the profitability

So in concluding my comments: I can assist you building the Bridge between Visions and Realities. My favourite Management Guru is Peter F. Drucker who once stated:  “It is not the question of doing things the right way, it is the question of doing the right things “.

On the personal note: I work based on solid and proven business principles adjusted by modern thinking. I keep my head high but my visions and expectations are down to earth. I never lose focus, I work hard and dedicated and never give up before I have delivered what I have promised and I always aim at delivering more than expected.

I am a strong believer in quality rather than quantity and I am a student of Ayn Rand thus strongly believing in Science and Philosophy. In all modesty, I think that the combination of strong ethics and future oriented business scenarios shape the services, which I offer you, that will contribute to establish a workable Strategy resulting in a greatly improved situation for your company.

Chonburi

October 12th 2009

Some observations about marketing and its effects on consumers and social structures.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of MARKETING is a very interesting subject. It is a tool having a tremendous influence on all of us, which do not always realize. There are two sides to this argument; we use the positive elements when looking for a product to cover a specific need and we are at the same time victims of marketing campaigns. I divide these campaigns into two groups, the first one consisting of factual and honest information about a product or service I need for an explicit purpose, the second group I have named unscrupulous manipulation unfortunately used to day by some companies, organizations, churches and governments.

The full study of the marketing field is comprehensive as it involves economics related to private businesses as well as the execution of public policies. Marketing is integrated in our lives used by our communities as well as by companies producing or selling merchandise or services we need. In exchange we today pay for products with money and for the social services we pay with either money or contribute with other means to the development of the social structure.

In order to form an opinion you need to know just a little about the history and I find this very motivating to look at since the development from the early days until now in 2009 in itself is a topic with an unlimited number of angels, viewpoints and methods used for both groups as mentioned above. It is actually an academic field that did not become perceptible worth studying before many years after the Second World War.

DEFINITION OF MARKETING

There are many definitions and they have changed in tune with the development. One I like is this one: Marketing is the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods or services from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling. So far so good. But when did it actually begin? It is of course not possible to determine an accurate point of time, so let me just stroll through the various scenes as I see them.

SHORT REMARKS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF MARKETING

Did it actually start with Eve and Adam? Eve had the apple, Adam was hungry, so Eve was able to deliver him a product he needed. Rule number one; you can only supply what the market needs. The question is of course, how did Adam pay for the apple? Or had he already done that by giving one of his ribs? All right I know I am not correct and I do not intent to offend anybody with this remark.

However for centuries to come marketing took place as an exchange of either goods or services and when the process was systematized the business took place on local markets to start with, then when the infrastructure improved the markets started to exchange on a much broader scale first locally later internationally. Often products were exchanged for products maybe better known as barter and money was considered a commodity much later to become the recognized parameter for value of commodities, products and services.

In summing up above remarks the previous ways of trading on markets offered excellent personal contact, fast and solid information from the customer (you faced him), so no need for sophisticated market analysis, he would tell you right away what he thought about your product. So at that time it was easy to realize rule number one, you can only sell, what the market needs and two you can only get the price for your product the customer is willing to/or can afford to pay.

MARKETING TODAY

Today the human contact is replaced with the INTERNET that has become the biggest marketplace in the World and products are made in huge quantities and moved from one end of the World to the other with limited problems. The Marketing Tree has become a forum for top educated scientists in mathematics, statistics, business economies, national economies, physiology, sociology and finally communication.

So today I see MARKETING as an old tree, a huge trunk with a lot of branches each one representing a specific marketing tool to be used in the whole marketing process. But the branches have all twigs. So I give a name to each branch and twig and since I work much with modern communication tools I will shortly list up some important steps: Gutenberg, magazines, advertising in magazines and newspapers, billboards, trademarks, radio and television, telemarketing, E-commerce, guerilla marketing and the dot.com fever.

Information is the keyword since information equals know-how and knowledge equals power. Information has always represented a power base first used by priests to control the herd, influencing the social environment and is still today used by all religions. So how did we get from the information flow supplied by the priest on the pulpit to the Vatican using the Internet? The business world has also taken advantage of the technical development in the communication tools.

The significant change in the development is due to the consequences of the industrial revolution. The marketing process became the link between the producers and the users. This is logical and understandable, but what I do not appreciate is the methods used in modern marketing through which now many organizations and companies manipulate with people. Modern science forms part of the new methods, which are influencing persons, their core values  and more importantly trying to change consumers views on what they really need resulting in different consumer behavior. I often have this picture in my head: We are objects living in a house with windows all over and being studied from the outside by super-engineers, who feed the Internet Robots with sophisticated music and we all dance as they like. I am the opinion that Maslow is very accurate in his description of our needs. And I get annoyed when some try to convince me that they with help of the Internet can “create” needs. That is pure manipulation to which I strongly object. In another article I shall give my views on some companies’ manipulations with kids watching TV. Adults can make observations and protect themselves kids cannot and are easy victims. Any marketing operation must be fair and not violate moral and ethical codes.

PROFITABLE MARKETING

OK I do acknowledge the fact that if used in the approved manner Marketing can make wonders. It can help an IDEA to be realized, no need to give examples of that. I also acknowledge the fact that for many products the total marketing costs are often more than 50% of the selling price, so marketing has a tremendous influence on any country’s GNP. Per se marketing forms a vital part of the modern society; it keeps the consumer spending “running” and as a consequence a high production both of equal importance to the turning of the financial wheels.   So marketing is essential, it costs a lot but executed in proper manners it will result in a good ROI.

If you wish you can read more about me here

CHONBURI

October 12th 2009

If you want to secure a long-lasting and profitable Online Marketing program then forget all about Search Optimization and a top ranking in the Search Robots at least for now. They are merely tools that form a part of the complete marketing program while management tools such as Business Insight, Market Insight and Consumer Insight are the most important instruments. How do I form this opinion?

Too many SEO companies focus entirely on keywords or search terms related to the core business of the client. They do think that the most important issue is to get a high ranking on the Search Engines, but that is not very difficult by the means of all the advanced tools available today. At first sight seems to make sense but if the client digs a bit deeper he will soon realize that most likely one of the most important rules for being in business is ignored. All investments must result in the highest possible return better known as ROI. The fact of the matter is, that companies today compete on the Internet, the world’s market place number one and it is extremely competitive. Rule number 1 is then to be visible on the Internet now a necessity but unfortunately most companies will find themselves situated as the well-known needle in a haystack.  The state of the art is to generate traffic and convert this into profitable business. To do this you need much more competence than merely being an IT expert.

I would venture to say that many SEO operators do not have sufficient knowledge about the market conditions under which their clients are operating. So how can an SEO company assist a client in promoting a product about which it has no knowledge? In spite of this, every day I see more than 1,000 companies showing complete confidence in SEO operators believing that they can generate miracles for them on the Internet.

By now, many companies have realized that it is better to pay an SEO company hundreds of dollars per month than to advertise in trade journals and magazines or participate in various trade fairs. The problem is however that only a few SEO companies are 100 % focused on a specific industry. The result may be improved traffic but with a low conversion rate resulting in an unsatisfactory ROI.

Another neglected issue is the complete overall picture of the financial consequences of alternative possibilities. Not many SEO operators sit down with their clients and try to uncover the most vital facts for the actual business; the industry, product mix, services, which products generate the best margin contribution, the competition and an overview of the marketing tools being used right now? Then a very important question “Is the client’s organization geared to handle the marketing tool Online Marketing”? Without a solid knowledge the product’s USPs and the marginal contributions for same, how can SEO companies produce the platform for the optimal Online Marketing for their customers?

When promoting products on the Internet a company should rank its products according to profitability, analyze the actual market conditions (now changing rapidly) have a clear profile, strategy and tactics and relate this picture to selected keywords and search terms and of course establish how often, where and when they are used on the Search Engines. If increased traffic results in a higher conversion rate, the company must be able to handle this professionally.

My advice is to focus 100 % on the marketing alternative that will result in the highest return on the necessary investments and maintenance costs (also called a cost/benefit analysis) compare an SEO job with the traditional marketing tools and go for the one with the best ROI. Focus on your target group shoot sharp and target with a rifle instead of using a shotgun with pellets hoping to hit something. The first proposal will prove to be the best. We have solid proofs from cost/benefit analysis.

Furthermore, I would like to stress that a 100 % SEO solution is not sufficient in order to obtain the targeted results especially today when the Internet represents an international marketplace marked by heavy turbulence. In order to be able to offer my clients proper solutions, I have formed a network of specialists and the total knowhow of my network contributes to the high quality level of all services I offer.

I do however admit that the whole SEO industry is undergoing a rapid change that segmenting is necessary and that standard SEO solutions do not work anymore. Consequently, my network does not promote only low priced standard solutions just in order to make some business creating cash flow. We select qualified assignments only and make it a condition that the client gives us access to his entire marketing platform so we can work out the most profitable marketing tool.

I also admit that this strategy is not easy to implement but today I know that it has proven to establish respect and confidence. Furthermore, we can assist our client in calculating the most important factors related to a high return of his investments. Finally, our goal is to find the compensation that serves both parties best. We do not use the “per click payment method” as we consider this unfair. Understanding the interactions between all advanced tools needed combined with a reliable network of international partners and research teams have resulted in profitable business for our clients and us. Our working methodic is based on simple business principles; define the potential markets by using competitive market intelligence and implement strategic market decisions in order to ensure the best ROI under the prevailing financial circumstances. We also base our services on updated expertise and understanding of the new dynamic Internet industry resulting in offering our clients cost effective services. We focus on increased number of leads resulting in reduced costs per contact. In this way, we contribute to our client’s ability to enhance their position on the global scene, where the life cycles undergo rapid changes forcing the companies to innovate instruments to ensure best possible positions in selected markets.

read more www.occo.asia

Chonburi Thailand

October 11th 2009