The Only Way is Up

Recovery 2010 & Sales Culture Re-Design 

As well as losing many high street names in the last 18 month we are also seeing rising unemployment in the public sector and further cuts in major households names.  It is difficult not to see a string of SME’s struggle if they cannot borrow the necessary funds to expand their operations.  But cash is not always the problem. Cash is often not the answer because what lies beneath the problem of poor revenue streams is a fundamental problem.  Providing finance for the short term is often only a temporary reprieve when what is required is a transformation in how the company organises itself for how it does business.  Let’s look at an example.

Northern Rock & the Bad Banks

It is not the cash that will restore the bad Banks and help in their sale in to the open market in 2011 – it is the relative health of their business culture and performance which is reflected fundamentally in the design of the organisation and its core processes.  For instance, anyone undertaking due diligence with such an Institution has to focus on the organisations ability to operate and commit to best management practise.   

Customers Preferences, Habits, Attitudes & Markets Change

While we know that markets change do businesses anticipate and react fast enough to these changes through how they design the delivery of services to their clients and customers?

Customer Focused Business Thrust 

Not enough businesses create a strong and sustainable thrust into the market place.  They 'forget' that without ongoing sales growth, repeat and loyal purchasing they would have no business at all.

What is critical is ensuring that the organisation is designed specifically to service existing customers, and promote the sufficient growth of new ones. 

Fundamentally most organisations need to have sales culture.  Organisations need to be designed to be strictly customer facing, geared totally to delighting the customer and winning loyalty and with that sales and profitable growth.

Design of a Sales Culture

Many organisations are designed around traditional functional responsibilities resulting in poor integration between specialist silos.  Organisations that will survive beyond 2011 will have to think seriously about organisational design and engineer their business around two key processes.  Winning new business and servicing the customer cost effectively.

Organisation Design around the Customer

This requires an in-depth understanding of the customer and the motivations and emotions that drive the customer to you.  If the customer  makes purchasing decisions with you only because you are the lowest cost supplier, you are in deep trouble.

Process design around Customer needs & wants

You have to satisfy as many of the emotional needs of the customer as you can if you hope to win their life time value.  All processes have to be designed with this end in mind.

Processes designed around Transactions

In too many businesses, the process and the organisational structure is designed around the business doing business with itself!  They are too inward facing.   In these organisations the majority of staff never meet or actively transact with the customer they are too busy servicing administrative functions. Organisations need to be outward facing and proactive.  And if the majority of staff never meet or talk or greet the customer then they should be 100% focused on those who do.

Customer-Facing Organisational Design

Organisational redesign is about making as many staff as possible becoming customer facing, and proactively anticipating their needs.  Those who don’t interact, add value, and face the customer, need to develop strong internal supply chains and be much more proactive in anticipating what the customer wants from what they supply.

Organisational Re-Design Issues & Principles

• Really understand your raison d’etre – ask why do we exist as a corporate entity – and what do we deliver and to whom?
• Do we have a focused business plan geared to delivering your strategy?
• Are  processes optimal in delivering to the customers wants and needs?
• Do we have a sales culture that supports the customer, and retains and grows high potential people at the same time dealing with performance management issues?
• How advanced are you in creating a seamless matrix structure and culture which anticipates and enables you to react swiftly to threats and opportunities in your marketplace?
• How confident are you that you can sustain and maintain this culture through your change management strategy.
• Do you have the right leaders in place to deliver this vision contained within these questions?

Organisational Redesign

In Genetics››

In Construction and Agricultural Equipment››

In Financial Services››

Fuller Explanation of Recovery from Recession through Organisation Re-Design››