Brand Performance – the Supreme Discipline
When we think of business mobilization, we tend to look at new opportunities, projects, products, or services rather than unfolding the existing ones.
Unfold existing and new forces
Mobilization is all about unfolding existing forces, which are already implied in your brand’s DNA and your business. This may include further opportunities in existing and new activities. Notably the first category – the existing forces – are often perceived as too difficult or uninteresting to unfold, especially because of the hard market, strong competitors or our experiences and familiar behaviours. «The grass is always greener on the other side…», at least it seems so, and yes, it is much more demanding to question and improve ingrained behavioral patterns.
Find uncountable opportunities to improve
Once you start to focus on your existing business, you inevitably find uncountable opportunities to improve. This implies e.g. exploiting sales potential with existing partners and clients, increase your product range efficiency, questioning the pricing model and sales conditions, improving the distribution and so on.
Create your Formula 1 environment
You can compare this to the Formula 1, where they are challenging – in an existing setup – continuously the status-quo and striving for greatness in every detail. The details here are the facts and figures in all management fields of the brand.
It is demanding because you have to be extremely focused on details, question everything, and take nothing for granted. This is how you improve, by questioning, prototyping, testing, and learning. This is where business becomes a Formula 1 experience. And you can measure your improvements – from A to Z.
Test the waters
Mobilization is also about discovering new ways of unfolding your business. Did you ever dream of experiencing the role of a market leader with your brand? You can do it. Try out new activities and ideas in a narrow circle – a city, a region, a country, or a distribution channel and test the waters for your business model or new idea. It is incredible because you get straight feedback on your concepts and measures. This requires of course a reliable feedback system and culture, which brings us back to our Formula 1 analogy. Once you have set it all up and start to operate in this focused field of activity, you learn what it takes to get the best results. A valuable source to calculate the investments needed for a further roll-out.
Believe nothing
Everyone knows everything and yet nothing. That is why it is crucial to question everything and especially the first five answers. With more than 1k+ workshop experiences there is one essential learning: if you want to know what is really going on, you have to believe nothing and make up your mind. How often did I hear what could not be done? «You have to understand, our market is like this, our competitors are much stronger, our customers want only the cheapest price and the consumer has anyway no money.» All talk – and no action.
Look out for positive examples
Even in the most challenging business situations, you can find positive examples of how the world could look like. May it is in a rep in your sales organization, a customer or a special region or country, there is always something to find, to explore and understand and use for your mobilization program. These positive examples show what could be possible. What you might discover is that most of the existing perceptions of your people are only views and not observations. But these perceptions can paralyze your sales force. So use positive examples to break with resistant mindsets.
Ready your team
Mind shifts are essential. To propose a new brand attitude your market requires substantial preparation. It has to be well planned and executed. Otherwise, you will feel like a trainer in a lion’s cage, who is unfortunately slipping. Your team and your customers have to be well trained to leap into the self-determined world – a world where you apply your business rules and not follow the mainstream.
Be persistent
Mobilization is never a one-shot, it is an attitude and persistence is key in shaping your future business environment. As soon as you lay back, things become sticky again. If you want to stay ahead, you have to be able
to rethink everything all the time. Of course, you should be faithful to your brand’s DNA but brand evolution especially in today’s speedy and complex environment requires constant improvement.
Just start today
There is never a good moment to start. So why wait? It is an endless journey to business excellence anyway. The best position to start is from here and the best time is now. So – Here and Now is the best mantra to start and to follow your journey and your discipline. Make it a supreme discipline!
