Dodo Loves Marketing

Working creatively with wrought iron could be a means to starting a lucrative home-based business in your area. Projects could include: table and chairs; fire screens; wall-mounted pot-plant holders; brackets; candlesticks; name- signs for business premises and private homes; lanterns; door knockers; gates and gardenware; wind vanes; boot scrapers; toasting forks; magazine racks, and lamps. You could also accept commissions for larger items. Designs may be simple or you could specialize in fancy scroll work. ..more

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This desire for peace is surely understandable, but it can lead to trouble. If unchecked, the hope for conflict to disappear brings the expectation that if mediation is successful, my client’s relationship will be free of conflict in the future. If that is my mission, I am doomed to failure.

A Fantasy

Our fantasy is that conflict should be absent in ‘good’ relationships. We regard conflict as a social disease, and assume that there must be a cure. ..more

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In a process-orientated company, many of these new performance indicators used in benchmarking and elsewhere are non-financial. That is, they will focus management’s attention upon the truly critical areas of performance — i.e. those that drive profitability and align the business unit with its strategic goals. In the case of marketing logistics, we might expect to see metrics that capture such things as customer satisfaction, flexibility and employee commitment. Management meetings should therefore begin their agenda not with the financial review — that will come later — but with a review of non-financial performance indicators. These will necessarily differ between organisations, but may include: ..more

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Whilst there can be no argument that long-term, sustained profit has to be the goal of any commercial organisation, there is a growing realisation that if profit is the end, then we should spend more time examining the means whereby it is achieved. So many management boards begin their weekly meetings with a review of the financial position — in other words, before anything else is discussed revenues will be examined and costs detailed at some length. Ratios, production efficiencies — these are the currency by which the business is measured and therefore controlled. ..more

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Achieving global synergies

The concept of synergy is simple: the whole should be more than the sum of the parts. It is often described as the ‘2 + 2 = 5′ effect. The search for synergy is one of the main drivers of the trend towards the globalisation of industry, particularly in manufacturing and logistics.

It has often been suggested that there can be significant benefits if R&D, product development, manufacturing and marketing can be coordinated in order to avoid ‘re-inventing the wheel’ country by country, and also through economies of scale in procurement and production. ..more

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Developing a global logistics strategy

A number of issues arise when global logistics strategies are being considered. One key concern is the question of the appropriate degree of centralised direction as against local autonomy. Traditionally many companies have preferred to devolve decision-making to a local level, yet almost by definition it is difficult to see how global supply chains can be optimised in terms of service and cost if they are planned and managed on a fragmented, local basis. On the other hand the attractions of local autonomy are clear, in terms of responsiveness to the market and the ability to ’stay close to the customer’. ..more

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One of the most striking trends in recent years has been the globalisation of markets, organisations and industries. Its impact can not only be seen through the global reach of well-established brands like Coca-Cola, Marlboro or Gucci, but it is also apparent in markets as diverse as computing, automobiles and consumer electronics. Nor is the trend towards globalisation confined only to products; we see similar transformations in services such as banking, retailing and satellite TV. ..more

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Required steps are useful only if they do not obscure the desired outcome.

Mark B., a manager in a large consulting company, was taking the four P.M. flight from New York to Chicago. His plane had already left the gate and was lumbering over to its designated runway. Suddenly_ the captain’s voice crackled over the intercom, announcing: “There is a weather ground stop at O’Hare. At this time, no planes are taking off or landing. Some delays may be possible. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything.” ..more

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Before televisions combine with computers, you would think TV sets would combine with videocassette recorders. You can buy combination TV/VCRs, of course, but most people don’t. Recently we visited a consumer electronics store that had a wall full of such products.

“How are sales of your combination television/VCRs?” we asked the clerk. “Infinitesimal,” he replied.

Nor are many combination washer/dryers sold. Or microwave/stoves. Or telephone/telephone answering machines. Or copier/printer/fax machines. ..more

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Shyness affects just about everyone under certain situations. While most people cope reasonably well with occasional shyness, there are some who live in a personal prison, unable to reach out and make friends or relate positively to others. Being shy at work can severely limit work effectiveness, unless of course, you work generally on your own with little or no contact with others.

Shy people present themselves at work in many varied ways. There is the quiet wallflower who fades into the background and is not often noticed. At the opposite extreme, there is the raging extrovert who can be loud, aggressive and abrasive, but who finds it difficult to relate on an intimate level to others. In between, there are many other people, such as the knocker, the person who knocks or degrades others. ..more

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Market research is also invaluable in pricing your product or service. Ron Flounders, of Hertfordshire Business Link, which offers free advice to start-up businesses, says that all too often people work out their pricing ‘back-to-front’. They ask themselves how much they need to earn, what their costs are, and then price the product accordingly — regardless of what the market will pay. In fact, what you need to do is market research to establish what price the market will pay, then work out your costs and from that see whether it is worth going into business at all.’ ..more

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There are thousands of grants and low interest loans available for small businesses. The problem is finding out what they are and whether your business qualifies. Some fields are more liberally provided with grants than others. For instance, the Crafts Council has a setting-up scheme which allows selected craftspeople to receive a grant of £2,500 for maintenance and up to £5,000 for equipment (they pay half of equipment costs), provided they apply within two years of setting up. While this would not cover your start-up costs entirely, it could certainly be a very useful addition. Other areas where grants may be forthcoming include : ..more

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Most manufacturing and commercial concerns that hold trading stock find themselves having to write off a certain proportion of their stock value at the end of each financial year in respect of slow moving and obsolete stock. The strange thing is that, although the goods and materials were probably purchased by profit-responsible executives of the comapany, it is usually the financial staff who determine what and how much should be written off each year.

Accountants usually make provision in their accounts for stock which everyone agrees is definitely obsolete and unsaleable in the normal course of business. They also determine the write-off in respect of obsolete and slow moving stock on the basis of the age of the stock or perhaps a percentage of the stock value. Such arithmetically conceived write-offs are in accordance with accounting standards and conventions which require that accounts are drawn up on a reasonably prudent basis. Very often the detail of these various provisions is invisible to other members of the company. Perhaps greater visibility would help your company to establish sensible policies with regards to using or liquidating such stocks. ..more

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Managers enjoy being involved in success and so will be full of enthusiasm as sales of a new product start to take off. Expansion and sales development from an increased range of products or a wider geographical area will not find enthusiasm or hard work wanting.

But how do we foresee the end of a product’s lifespan? Be prepared for it with a policy for new products and product improvements.

1. Prepare a product improvement plan

If your present products are selling well you cannot be blamed for feeling satisfied. However, your competitors are watching you with envy and will not have been idle. They are probably working at this very moment on a product with a few advantageous features, so don’t ever think that your current product design is the ultimate. There will be changes in style, custom, fashion, new technology etc. Ensure that your programme of product improvement keeps you ahead. ..more

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Often when we decide we want something, we want it now, and when we do not get it straight away, we feel that life is unfair, that we have been treated unjustly, even cheated. Sometimes we convince ourselves that it is because others, and even forces beyond us, do not want us to have what we want. In choosing to believe that we have been singled out, we may rationalise that we must do unto others before they do unto us, or, at the very least, get in first before others, rather than adhere to the Golden Rule of treating others as we would wish to be treated. In taking things personally, we convince ourselves that the acquisition of our desires is at the mercy of the inquisition by others. ..more

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Now that we have examined some of the negatives of expansion from a very small business to a medium-sized small business, let’s give equal time to the potential benefits.

One of the most important components of gross profit is the degree to which you’re able to set your selling price. Your ability to set that price is largely a function of your control of the marketplace. At one extreme, you may have a patented product for which there is no substitute, and for which there is totally elastic demand (people will buy it at any cost). If that item costs you a dollar, you may be able to sell it for ten dollars, one hundred dollars, even one thousand dollars. At the other end of the spectrum, you may be selling wheat in Nebraska. In that case, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to command one-tenth of one cent over the market price on the day you sell. ..more

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Being primed and ready for the unexpected has always been a valuable talent. In today’s turbulent business environment, where mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations are changing the face of American business, managers need that adaptability more than ever. What are the skills that allow good managers to respond readily to change? There are five principal ones:

1. Problem-solving ability. Because we’re a global economy dominated by multinational companies, problems are appearing much more quickly and they are more severe than they were before. There is a lot of ambiguity and there are many paradoxes. Along with polished business smarts, you must also be problem-smart. Your antennae must detect problems early and be sensitive to potential difficulties before anyone else’s. Your intuitive powers must be razor-sharp so you can detect a problem’s early warning signals. Once found, you can determine the appropriate solution. ..more

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