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Why Your Business Needs To Be Amazon, Nordstrom And Walmart Rolled Into One
Shopping is becoming more and more easier for customers, and doing business is becoming more and more tougher for the companies. This is mainly due to the high level of competition that businesses have to face today. However, they can certainly learn from some of the most popular and successful retail and e-com companies.
Patrick Lafferty, President of NYC-based advertising agency Translation LLC, believes that in order to scale beyond a small and narrow niche today, every company must have three different teams to work on building a customer-base and pushing the profits. These teams can do a case-study on 3 of the major retail companies and mirror what these are best at- Amazon(innovation), Walmart(scale, speed, and value), and Nordstrom(high-end service). However, the good news is that all these elements can be successfully incorporated in an average company’s business model without disrupting the budget.
The following are the three elements:
- Amazon’s “World Changing” Methodology
Every industry, mainly retail, has become largely dependent on innovation today. Customer needs are rapidly evolving, and to improve the quality of customer service companies are now forced to adopt new-age methods and technologies. Drone-based delivery system, accurate and relevant suggested shopping items, assorted digital payment methods, etc. are just a few of the elements that Amazon has not only successfully incorporated into its system, but also executed well.
Thus, you must have an “Amazon-style” team which will be the head of creativity and innovation. The employees forming this team will ideally be from an entrepreneurial background, and have a good command on emerging technologies and trends. Not only they will be able to grow and thrive in real-time in accordance to increasing customer demands, but also bring in fresh and creative ideas for giving the business an edge.
- Walmart’s “More for Less” Approach
There is no dearth of clients who are always looking for products and services that are readily available, at lowest price possible. Thus, there must be a dedicated team in place that can serve these clients. The members of this team should be able to implement a super-lean budget that doesn’t compromise the company’s profits. The team should also be able to communicate with the clients seamlessly and get required information without wasting valuable company time.
To successfully deploy your “Walmart” team you would need to teach the employees how to have the products at a price lower than standard. This won’t be a mean feat in any way, granted, and of course, the profits will take a beating. However, since the team will be delivering in high volumes, the thin margins will together amount to a considerable profit.
It is important to ensure the “Walmart” team doesn’t compromise with the quality of the products, which is often the case when a company ups the production considerably. You can prevent this from happening by limiting the strategic gyrations and iteration, and increasing the action and delegation.
- Nordstrom’s “Premium” Service
As it is expected, your “Nordstorm” team will be catering to the high-end clients. Thus, their approach will be quite different from the other teams. For starters- they will spend plenty of time with the clients/leads, as even few conversions will result in terrific profits. The team will also be articulate and intuitive enough to understand what a client wants, without having them to say so explicitly. Most importantly- they will be able to convince the clients to invest in your products or service, by stating of facts and showcasing the capacity of your company.
Another distinct quality of the “Nordstorm” team will be understanding that high-end service has changed a lot today. The members will be able to adapt accordingly and deliver. Due to global competition a number of premium services have become general commodities today. However, customers will still pay for a product that delivers quality, meets their expectations, and gives reliable customer support.
For your success trio to work it is critical to have three excellent leaders in all of the three teams. They will ensure that each team performs to their best efficiency, and retain quality talent. If need be, they will also play a major role in the training and requirement process, mainly because they will be well-versed in their kind of work profile, and can have a better understanding of what their team needs in comparison to other leaders.
Even if yours is a small company, or a startup even, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of a three-team structure. You don’t have to hire dozens of employees to establish such teams. You just need to hire the right leaders for each team, and they can hire virtual employees such as freelancers and consultants.
The thing that will cost you the most during the team development is time. Finding the right leaders is the most critical aspect of the process. Fail in that and you’ll have built a weak foundation, with which it will be unlikely to get the desired results.
Thus, give as much time to it as possible, for in the end it will be time well spent. If you are not confident or lack the expertise in finding the right candidates then don’t shy from professional consultation. Remember- you are planning for the long term benefits, and thus, short term efforts must not be compromised with.