What business are you really in?(SELECTED * TOPIC)

Imagine people not knowing what business they are in! Sadly, that is not all that unusual. First, staff members in today's organizations, like their clothes closets and garages at home, tend to lose their focus over time. Secondly, markets change little by little, day by day, which can--over time--mean that an organization is no longer focused on the right customers or customer needs.

Consider the following real life case:

People were too busy to get their jobs done. Customer service people struggled to serve small businesses, which had been their first customers when their business was founded. Commissioned sales people strove to generate larger sales orders from larger customers. The plant employees were caught in the middle, unable to serve either type of customers without delaying orders for the other.

Fewer than 15 percent of the company's customers represented 85 percent of its sales. These customers also represented the company's future growth potential. Sales to the remaining 85 percent of the customers consisted of small and unprofitable orders.

Hidden in the company's product line was a simple but vital product used in emergency health care. This product rode in the back of every ambulance in North America.

In summary, the company needed to refocus itself to serve its most valued clients and to capitalize on the product that represented its greatest potential for growth.

Ask Yourself, "What Business Are You Really In And Why?"