Let me spend a moment on the value of focusing your business against the right thing.
For almost any company there is only one of two ways to “direct” focus: you either “add” stuff to the value equation (i.e. add to whatever it is you ‘create’ or ‘sell), or you “take away” from it (i.e. scratch cost out of your p&l). And that focus on either one or the other leads to a belief system with employees, a culture in which they operate, and ultimately the chances of success you have versus competition.
My submission is that a company should always focus on NEQI ((c) Kurt Frenier 2012). Because it is the only strategy that will constantly strive to make your consumers happy; continuously!
What is NEQI? “Never Ending Quality Improvement“. Let’s be specific about what I mean by “quality”. It’s not about the product per se. Quality is all that you can see, touch, and feel from the brand. It is the quality of the (whole) experience, not just a part of it. Those who seek to constantly improve themselves will push the brand quality perception higher and higher. That will even create options to price up, and therefore create a positive and constantly improving margin.
Cost cutting focus on the other hand kills brand value. There is almost no way around it. It’s the seed that is planted in your employees’ minds. It blocks marketers from thinking in extreme ways to draw in consumers, it hinders agencies working on those brands to go the extra mile (because their fees will be squeezed to the max), it goes as far as R&D justifying that “ok” is good enough, because doing more and going further costs money. Cost-focus is a “silent killer” !
What is your business focused on?
Adding value Or Cutting cost?
Growth Or Cuts?
Adding Or Taking-away?
Empowering or disempowering?
Obsessive about the consumer or obsessive about the p&l?
That focus on NEQI creates a very different mindset in the business as compared to a company focused on managing the balance sheet. I would go as far as saying that a NEQI-focused company is more energetic, pumped-up, innovative, successful, consumer-tuned. It’s counterpart is driven by fear, costs, processes, maniacal reporting, …
Imagine what the consumer thinks when he sees a company always delivering products, services that are every time better, faster, smarter, cooler, …than they were a while back. That is truly aweing consumers! Here are some strong “brands” that do that job well:
-Apple
-Lionel Messi (yes, a brand as well!)
-U2
-Richard Branson/Virgin
-Mercedes, technologically
-Amazon and Zappos
-Innocent drinks
-Dubai (yes, a brand!)
-B&O
-Emirates airlines
-Samsung
Those are companies and brands that are consistently and constantly reshaping their brands with continuous incremental changes, driving consumer experience to a next high time and time again.
And guess what? Where would people want to work? Where they are constantly starved for money, hitting the wall of impossibilities, turning and twisting and justifying every dollar, or, in a jazzed-up consumer centric business that wants only the best; a NEQI-company … I know where!
Of course it is all about balance. The above is black/white to make a point. The financial health of the company is obviously a necessity to get anything done -i’m not discarting that. The point I want to make is about the first thing that comes to mind when you ask employees what their task is. If it’s anything other than the pursuit to constantly delight and dazzle consumers, then something’s wrong!
I will drill this topic later. Let it sink in for now, and check in again in a few weeks time for more!
Thanks for stopping by!
