Navigating the Changing Winds - 6 Master Strategies to Building Customer Loyalty
By Kellie D'Andrea

The winds - "they are a changing my friend".... The current state of the economy, a new President, failing financial systems, fluctuating prices and high unemployment have caused many of us to pause and evaluate opportunities to reduce expenses and to optimize our performance. As our economy continues to fluctuate, controlling expenses and optimizing service levels from partners and vendors is going to become the focus for all of our customers. We all must be sensitive to these "changing winds" and enhance the experience of our customers each time we interact with them. We must go back to the basics of serving our customers and take the actions that make a difference. The simple actions - a patient ear, a please, a thank you, a quick update on status (even if you don't' have update to give - the fact you are reaching out to let them know you are working on their problem goes a long way) and a smile that can be heard over the phone are all simple things that we can do each and every day to stand apart from our competition.

The art of hospitality can be very profitable, but it does take some practice and effort. To succeed, you must be dedicated to customer service first, always demonstrating that you care about their issues. Although customers may not always be right, we all must agree that it is okay for them to be wrong. Treat everyone with concern and compassion. After all, our business is not about us - it's about the people we service and that single fact is more critical now as we navigate the changing winds... Below are 6 strategies that when applied, will evolve your customer service to the next level - customer loyalty.

Never Ending Fight for Market Share
By Edward McMahon

"The Red Queen told Alice that she must run as fast as she knew how just to stay where she was."* And so it is in business.

Bruce Henderson of the Boston Consulting Group** was a thoughtful pamphleteer in the late 70's. He often provided meaningful challenges to those of us in the marketing game. He talked endlessly of market share, market segmentation and market differentiation. Most of what he said is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) focuses on developing products that meet customer needs with very low defect levels.

Most business people want to see improvements in sales and profits. But how do you get there? What choices do you have?

To build your business there are four strategic options that must be considered:
1) Sell existing products to existing customers.
2) Develop new products to sell to existing customer groups.
3) Expand existing products into new market segments.
4) Develop new products for new market segments.

Strategy in a Competitive Landscape
by Subramanian Ramachandran

Management Strategy - A Beginning

Many of the concepts used in strategy were developed during the late 1970s and 1980s when underlying competitive conditions evolved within a well-understood model. Japan's manufacturing success with its emphasis on operating efficiency challenged some of the traditional assumptions - but it is only in the last decade that a new competitive landscape has emerged and the rules of engagement have changed. While the canvas available to today's strategists is large and new, companies will need to understand global forces, react quickly, and innovate when defining their business models. C.K. Prahalad in "Competing for the Future" sets out to define the new paradigm.

It is hardly surprising that the conceptual models and administrative processes used by managers often outlast their usefulness. It takes researchers time, after all, to identify new problems and emerging solutions before they can produce theories about them. Then there is the time lag between the development of these theories and their conversion into common business practice.

Blocking and Tackling in the Game of Business
by Tim Fulton

My dad used to love the old Green Bay Packers. Coach Vince Lombardi was an icon in his mind. The reason he was so enamored by the Packers was the way that they won football games. “They won the old-fashioned way”, he used to say. That meant that they won games because they did two things better than their opponents: blocking and tackling. They had players like Jerry Kramer on the offensive line and Ray Nitchzke on defense that were the best at their respective positions at football basics. As a result they didn’t have to rely solely on their skilled players at quarterback, wide receiver, or a kicker to always make “big plays” to win games. The games were won in the “trenches” the broadcasters would always remind us.

As the pace of global business accelerates, and customers continually become more demanding and sophisticated, companies are finding the competitive landscape dramatically changing. Markets are moving so quickly that is very difficult for one company to stay current on all technologies, resources, competencies, and information needed to attack, and be successful in those markets. Strategic alliances offer a means for companies to access new markets, expand geographic reach, obtain cutting-edge technology, and complement skills and core competencies relatively fast. Given a good framework is followed, this can usually be done far less expensively than if the company tried to develop that capability internally. That is why executives consider strategic alliances a value driver and make them integral with their growth plans

Strategic Outsourcing for Competitive Advantage
By Leonard Hook, Kairos Group

Outsourcing, once used mainly for downsizing and cost reductions at major corporations, should be used as a strategic tool to deliver a forceful impact on corporate growth and financial stability. By outsourcing non-essential work, the corporation can free valuable resources and focus on its areas of competitive advantage. To achieve that result, the corporation must know its core competencies, the type of work within the organization, and manage the outsourcing process.