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Critical questions we must ask for business success

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Alex Ogundadegbe

By ALEX OGUNDADEGBE

We often shy away from asking the right questions before we make decisions. So, today let us look at some questions we can ask that will serve as a guide and a plan in our business activity. The first thing we have to consider is the nature of our business. You must be willing to ask yourself and your colleagues the critical question: “What is our business?” The purpose of business and the very function are not given proper thought in many circles. The customer defines the business; a business is not necessarily defined by the name of the company, its articles of incorporation or its aims, goals and objectives. The question: “What is our business?” must be answered thoroughly and thoughtfully! The greatest mission of any business must be to satisfy the customer. Therefore the question we have posed can only be answered from the outside! The perspective of the customer that is coming to purchase goods and services is very important. So is the angle of the market in which our business resides. We must thoroughly consider the customer, the market and the value we provide when we are defining our business! What aspect of life are we making easier, pleasurable or more convenient? Critical to the purchase of the customer is the value that our good or service adds to their lives!

The next logical question is: Who is the customer (in this order of things)? In identifying our customers, and knowing them, like the banks like to profess, we have an advantage of being able to tailor the product to suit the tastes, nuances and preferences of the customer. In many cases there are at least two categories of customers: Those who purchase to resell and those who use the product directly. A large number of beverages have been stretched to meet the tastes of various consumers around the world. The varieties of Coca Cola are a very good example. From being packaged in the classical bottle mode, to the plastic and canned varieties on to the zero sugar and diet versions, Coca Cola is arguably the soft drink with the most varieties in the market.

We must thoroughly consider the customer, the market and the value we provide when we are defining our business!

Large companies do demographic analysis and seek to understand population changes, but smaller companies only need to know and understand trends that are unfolding around them. Every product goes into different trends over time. Clothing companies cater for the changes women prefer in their dresses; the adjustments young people want in their T-Shirts and jeans which are being altered rapidly. From torn jeans variety to the shorts, baggy and knickers buckers, the changes keep occurring. Keeping up with trends is viable strategy. Our customers could swing between adults and youth, old people and very young people. Knowing who they are and what they like to buy is always a valid starting point for stocking goods and providing services.

The next logical question is: Where is the customer? His location and the location of our store or outlet whether it is physical brick and mortar or online must allow us access. Are my customers surfers online? In 2019, the World Bank through a survey predicted that more than half of the world’s 7.8 billion people will access the internet via a mobile device in 2020. They were wrong! The number exceeded half because of the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic. Massive numbers of people began to surf the web and virtual software like zoom and Microsoft meetings became prominent. Walmart, the world’s largest supermarket has opened an online function that enables shoppers conduct virtual buying. The point is whether the customer likes to come to the physical store or simply browse the web and shop via an app, it is our duty to be available to meet their needs.

“What does the customer buy?” Well, he doesn’t just buy the good or service! If a customer buys a Mercedes Benz or a BMW for personal use, he does not just buy a form of transportation. There are some kind of value that he is after. Depending on what product we provide for the customers, it is important that we have a deeper understanding of what the customer buys. Some customers like prestige and quality put together. High grade cars are not just a means of moving from one point to another, the customer requires prestige. He wants to be noticed. If we have focus on those kinds of customers, then the goods and services we provide must be above board. The customer who prefers the regular Toyota Corolla salon car is after economy and fuel efficiency. His views of what quality and value is are completely different from the prestigious person. So customers buy prestige, value and quality depending on what their focus is.

Yet another critical question we must ask is “What is changing in the environment?” We already mentioned trends. But it is important to stress that we must be sensitive to changes that could have an impact on our business. The impact could either be negative or positive. If the regulators change the rules overnight, how would it affect us? What vital changes can we make to our operations that will keep us in business? A pen knife company ran into trouble after 9/11. The strike on the twin towers in New York City had hit them so hard because the purchase of their star product went down drastically because of the “no weapons to be carried” rule enforced by American airline authorities. The research and development department of the company instantly recommended a change to travel bags manufacturing. Before long, the company was able to transform its major production into luggage and back pack production for travellers, making a success of it over a very short period of time.

We ought to ask them as frequently as possible so that we do not get lost in our own world and believe that we are doing fine, when in reality, we are not!

Finally, it is important to consider the question: How large a market can we project for our business? In these modern times, the brick and mortar store has so many limitations. In considering how quickly we can expand our customer base, we ought to focus on making purchases as easy as possible for the customer. Nobody likes to be kept waiting; nobody likes to go through an ordeal to buy his favorite product.

In the 1980s at the height of the feud between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola in the United States, both products sought to outdo each another and it took different thinking and asking the right questions for Coca Cola to edge ahead. Coca cola executives were originally of the opinion that Pepsi Cola was the major reason why their product was not selling. On conducting a little research, they discovered that milk, water and coffee where actually their major hitch from increasing sales. The solution was simply to make the vending machine available on every major street corner, so the public could reach for a Coca Cola whenever they wanted to. If the demand for your product increases, how do you meet such a demand? This has always been a question that growing companies overlook until they are faced with the challenge. So, every company with the prospects of expansion and increase in demand of its product base, must, as point of duty, have a strategic plan in place for increase and expansion. Such a venture must be controlled and phased so that quality and status of the organisation do not dwindle. There is one last question: What will our business be in the future? If you want to spend lengthy amounts of time in business it is good to look at five to 10 years ahead and think about where you will be and what you will be doing.

These questions seem to be run-of-the-mill. But they are critical to the very existence and survival of the thriving and growing company in this century. We ought to ask them as frequently as possible so that we do not get lost in our own world and believe that we are doing fine, when in reality, we are not!

*Ogundadegbe is a renowned management consultant. He trains managers and executives in the arts of Customer Service, Human Resources Management and Management strategy ([email protected]).

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