Many of our competitors brag about the different awards they won in the last few years. The application and qualification processes are time consuming. Is it really worth it? Do customers actually care about companies who have won awards?

Breaking News: The security guard in your apartment building won the “Super Security Guard of the Year” Award. Sweet, but it’s not something that will make you decide to stay if you were not satisfied with the property management standard of service. However, let’s take a look at your security guard for a moment. Knowing about the award, he became familiar with the rules and started to improve his performance, appearance and efficiency so he’s ready for the committee’s review. The security guard’s real benefit was the journey he was on to up his game. Even if he didn’t win the award he gained a better performance.

If participating in awards will help your business improve internally, then by all means, select the one that will have the most significant impact on your processes and go for it. Keep in mind that improving your working standard to comply with the award’s terms and conditions is the ultimate reward because it will reflect positively on your employees, customers’ experience, and in return, boost your returns. Simply, it’s about the journey, not the destination. So, winning the award should always be looked at as the icing on the cake; but without the cake the icing is just not as tasty…and that’s just my two cents.read what others have read

• two cents: promo in wonderland
• two cents: new franchise.
  location ‘unknown’
• two cents: one size fits none

Almost for the entire retail market, summer season means sale, discounts and promotions. The financial crisis forced us to lower our prices below the norm. We can’t afford to go lower one more time. And if we don’t, competition will. We’re stuck. What do you think?

Once upon a time, there was one grocery store in each neighborhood selling soap, cheese, bread and oil. When customers wanted soap, they asked for… you guessed it, soap! There were no ‘brands’. But then, competition got involved and ‘brands’ were developed to help customers differentiate between products. With time, customers couldn’t see the difference between these products so they went by price. This is where the first war price was ever born. As prices started to go down, maintaining healthy margins that can help the companies to grow became almost nonexistent. When the situation got so unbearable, brands focused on adding more value to their products so they can justify increasing the price.

Slowly, the rest of the market started to follow and before you knew it brands were competing on benefits and features, value, lifestyle and experience. This cycle repeats itself every now and then for different reasons and influences. This time, it’s the financial crisis that caused the dip in margins. If you want to get out of it, don’t focus on price. Focus on introducing new products, adding more value and on developing unique customer experiences. And if you feel that a promo is an avoidable, make them fun and engaging so that customers gladly pay you…and that’s just my two cents.read what others have read

• two cents: sales target blues
• two cents: I say quality, you say price
• two cents: crisis? freeze

My partners and I want to bring a Smoothies & Sandwiches franchise to Kuwait, but not sure on location. A mall brings in traffic, but rent is expensive and competition is intense. What if we follow the ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ and open it away from competition to gain competitive advantage? What are your thoughts on that?

Competition wouldn’t be in this or that mall, if they were not profitable, right? Not always. Some businesses stay where they are because they don’t know where to go, they don’t have a strategy or they’re just waiting to sell their location for BIG key money. Blue Ocean Strategy doesn’t only mean staying away from where the competition is but going after the same target audience. It also means having a new business model that targets a different type of customers altogether. Besides, being in a mall doesn’t guarantee you success either. As more malls becoming hangout places, people are spending more time, but not more money.

Let’s say you decided to focus on employees in a central location among office towers or in a campus to serve university students. You need to find out if the demand in that area is enough to sustain and grow the business; and if the franchiser’s operational setup is scalable to fit such locations. A British entrepreneur started his own lunch sandwiches delivery near the City Hall area to busy employees who can’t leave their offices to grab a bite. He started with a small preparation space in one of the office buildings’ basement. In no time his monthly revenue reached £8,000. But he had only two part-time staff and no franchise fees or royalties to pay and he closed his business after lunch. Wherever you decide to go, have a business model, research the area, get your numbers straight, and follow your main customers, but the hype…and that’s just my two cents.read what others have read

• two cents: two brothers, a location &
  a restaurant
• the lion is hungry. now what?
• two cents: promo in wonderland