Are You Evolving at a Pace Equal to Your Key Accounts?
Over the last couple of weeks I had the opportunity to sit through several customer change management related meetings. These meetings involved issues with key account management, major account teams, and large channel management programs. The one undertone that continued throughout all of the conversations was the idea of “pace of evolution”.
A term you may be familiar with, if not, you will be is Digital Darwinism - the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than some companies’ ability to adapt.
Brian Soli, the author of The End of Business as Usual and principal analyst at Altimeter Group, was recently quoted as saying “Identity, persona, essence and promise, are the new kings and queens of the branding kingdom, thanks to technology and the deeper connections it creates between brands and consumers”.
Are you evolving at a pace equal to your customers? Take this quick 10 question survey here to determine whether your evolving fast enough.
The question of evolution focuses on almost every aspect of the business; marketing, automation, sales talent management, decision making, speed, product, customers etc.
Pace of evolution is a cultural shift and something that should be driven from the top down. Here are 5 behavioral changes you as leaders should look to adopt in order to influence and promote change within your organization:
- Purge and delegate – stop allowing subordinates to delegate up
- Move with speed – never end a meeting without clarity about who will do what by when
- Speak with passion – relentlessly talk about the need to move, adapt, and stay ahead of the competition
- Match words with deeds – don’t just talk about the external world, look at it constantly
- Let them all see it – do all of the above and make it as visible as possible
For many of you, you’ll read this and say I’m evolving, my company is evolving but then stop and think about some of the major brands that have failed over the last few years.
According to 24/7 Wall Street, these are the 10 Brands expected to disappear in 2012: 1. Sony Pictures, 2. A & W, 3. Saab, 4. American Apparel, 5. Sears, 6. Sony Ericsson, 7. Kellogg’s Corn Pops, 8. MySpace, 9. Soap Opera Digest and 10. Nokia. Not exactly a list of unknowns.
Another article you should review is Why Brands Die published by the Washington Post.
If you have questions regarding whether your evolving at a pace equal to your customers, contact me to discuss a Sales or Marketing Productivity Benchmark project (12 weeks).
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