Hands0n
12th November 2006, 05:38 PM
An interesting little write up that some Mobile Network Operators would do well to take heed of. There are those that treat their customers with near disdain, either at their own hands or through their franchised Customer Services centres in foreign lands. Such detachment from the Customer will inevitably lead to alienation of the very lifeblood of the company, the Customer's cash each month.
For sure, the Kmart tale is one that has been repeated many times before. By ignoring others' and your own history there is bound to be repetition of failure.
The Day Kmart Died
Looking beyond the symptoms…
The headlines on January 23, 2002 screamed out with the news that Kmart had become the largest retailer ever to seek bankruptcy protection. From there, story after story cited the reasons for the collapse - declining market share, margin erosion and pricing pressures with increasing competition from the likes of Wal-Mart and Target, an ineffective merchandising strategy, and the lack of a brand identity that resonated with consumers.
All seemed to make sense, but for anyone really paying attention, the reasons mentioned above and repeated in media reports were merely symptoms of a much larger cause.
When did Kmart really die? Well, the exact date is somewhat ambiguous. But let’s just say for sake of this article, it’s safe to assume the occurrence happened much, much earlier. Maybe it was the day in 1999, when you drove into your Kmart and the sign actually said “K art” because someone didn’t find it important to replace the bulb in the sign behind the “M.” Or maybe, it was that day in 2000 when you walked into the store only to find the floors dirty, the lights dimmer than usual, merchandise strewn across the aisles, worker outfits and the workers themselves unkempt. Or maybe it was the day you lost one of your hub caps in the parking lot because it was full of pot holes. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the day in 2000 when you left the store and felt like the whole experience was frustrating and no longer friendly or enjoyable.
No longer “Important”
The symptoms cited in all the news reports filed on January 23 and thereafter were certainly true but they weren’t necessarily accurate. For anyone paying attention, Kmart actually died the day that management stopped making things important. It died the day employees were not engaged in the business. It died the day the company stopped listening to customers. It died the day people at all levels of the company – from leadership to store clerks – saw their jobs as unnecessary not part of a larger purpose.
The death of Kmart occurred on different days for each of us. It occurred the day we decided the company was no longer worth our time, our money or our effort. In most of these cases, the death was completely preventable and provides lessons for other organizations.
What we’re talking about is something that pervades organizations of all shapes and sizes: indifference.
At the heart of this indifference is the lack of a coherent communications strategy that is aligned with the business strategy and brand purpose. An effective communications strategy provides a narrative for people to follow. An effective communications strategy allows for the business strategy to be accessible to employees at all levels and to be felt by customers. An effective communications strategy links all the respective functions of the enterprise – HR, Legal, Production, Marketing, Sales – knitting a common purpose and belief system in the culture and reinforcing it through decisions, policies and systems.
An effective communications strategy and approach that makes even the smallest things “Important” again!
Look Again
In today’s fast-paced environment, it’s very easy to overlook the real reasons why things succeed or fail. By addressing just the symptoms, organizations often make fatal mistakes wasting time, energy and resources when they are most essential.
As communications professionals, we have the skills, capabilities and insight to see beyond and around the picture in front of us. If done well and early, companies may be able to avoid the eventual plight of Kmart and others who waited too long to re-establish purpose, meaning and importance.
One company that was able to do just that was Continental Airlines. When Gordon Bethune took over as CEO, one of the first things he did was replace a worn out carpet in the airline’s Newark, NJ terminal. Why did he spend money on carpet at a time the company was attempting to rebound from financial disaster? Bethune knew that the carpet represented something more…it was a visible cue to people that how the airline treated employees and customers was extremely important to success and the underpinning of a culture that understood the little things. Bethune and his team understood the power of strategic communications and its ability to drive change if properly aligned with the business.
Fixing the Broken Windows
Perhaps this is the Broken Windows Theory of business – the idea that indifference to small lapses in business strategy creates an environment that allows for large-scale failure.
Each time management allows employees (or themselves) to become misaligned with business strategy, it makes it much easier for it occur the next time. A dead lightbulb one week quickly becomes three bulbs the next week. Ignoring a seemingly innocuous question from one customer can result in a pervasive attitude that customer service doesn’t matter.
Even the most well-constructed business strategy is doomed if it does not carry with it the credibility and accountability to make it a reality. Whatever the foundations of the business strategy are – innovation, customer service, quality, cost savings – they must come to life through employee behavior. When management allows behavior, appearance and operations to veer from business strategy, it sends the message the strategy is neither important nor legitimate. Ineffective communications foster indifference. An effective approach to employee communications makes the business strategy visible to workers; it sends the message that the company as a whole is aligned behind a uniform set of objectives.
Where does “indifference” exist in your organization? Is it a sign that your communications strategy and approach is ineffective or worse, your leadership no longer credible?
Editor’s Note:
Unlike people, of course, dead companies are often resurrected: the young billionaire investor, Edward Lampert, surprised a lot of people by purchasing Kmart in 2005 and merging it with another struggling retailer, Sears. Time will tell if Kmart has truly received a new lease on life or if it, as the philosopher George Santayana once observed, is doomed to repeat history by ignoring it.
For sure, the Kmart tale is one that has been repeated many times before. By ignoring others' and your own history there is bound to be repetition of failure.
The Day Kmart Died
Looking beyond the symptoms…
The headlines on January 23, 2002 screamed out with the news that Kmart had become the largest retailer ever to seek bankruptcy protection. From there, story after story cited the reasons for the collapse - declining market share, margin erosion and pricing pressures with increasing competition from the likes of Wal-Mart and Target, an ineffective merchandising strategy, and the lack of a brand identity that resonated with consumers.
All seemed to make sense, but for anyone really paying attention, the reasons mentioned above and repeated in media reports were merely symptoms of a much larger cause.
When did Kmart really die? Well, the exact date is somewhat ambiguous. But let’s just say for sake of this article, it’s safe to assume the occurrence happened much, much earlier. Maybe it was the day in 1999, when you drove into your Kmart and the sign actually said “K art” because someone didn’t find it important to replace the bulb in the sign behind the “M.” Or maybe, it was that day in 2000 when you walked into the store only to find the floors dirty, the lights dimmer than usual, merchandise strewn across the aisles, worker outfits and the workers themselves unkempt. Or maybe it was the day you lost one of your hub caps in the parking lot because it was full of pot holes. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the day in 2000 when you left the store and felt like the whole experience was frustrating and no longer friendly or enjoyable.
No longer “Important”
The symptoms cited in all the news reports filed on January 23 and thereafter were certainly true but they weren’t necessarily accurate. For anyone paying attention, Kmart actually died the day that management stopped making things important. It died the day employees were not engaged in the business. It died the day the company stopped listening to customers. It died the day people at all levels of the company – from leadership to store clerks – saw their jobs as unnecessary not part of a larger purpose.
The death of Kmart occurred on different days for each of us. It occurred the day we decided the company was no longer worth our time, our money or our effort. In most of these cases, the death was completely preventable and provides lessons for other organizations.
What we’re talking about is something that pervades organizations of all shapes and sizes: indifference.
At the heart of this indifference is the lack of a coherent communications strategy that is aligned with the business strategy and brand purpose. An effective communications strategy provides a narrative for people to follow. An effective communications strategy allows for the business strategy to be accessible to employees at all levels and to be felt by customers. An effective communications strategy links all the respective functions of the enterprise – HR, Legal, Production, Marketing, Sales – knitting a common purpose and belief system in the culture and reinforcing it through decisions, policies and systems.
An effective communications strategy and approach that makes even the smallest things “Important” again!
Look Again
In today’s fast-paced environment, it’s very easy to overlook the real reasons why things succeed or fail. By addressing just the symptoms, organizations often make fatal mistakes wasting time, energy and resources when they are most essential.
As communications professionals, we have the skills, capabilities and insight to see beyond and around the picture in front of us. If done well and early, companies may be able to avoid the eventual plight of Kmart and others who waited too long to re-establish purpose, meaning and importance.
One company that was able to do just that was Continental Airlines. When Gordon Bethune took over as CEO, one of the first things he did was replace a worn out carpet in the airline’s Newark, NJ terminal. Why did he spend money on carpet at a time the company was attempting to rebound from financial disaster? Bethune knew that the carpet represented something more…it was a visible cue to people that how the airline treated employees and customers was extremely important to success and the underpinning of a culture that understood the little things. Bethune and his team understood the power of strategic communications and its ability to drive change if properly aligned with the business.
Fixing the Broken Windows
Perhaps this is the Broken Windows Theory of business – the idea that indifference to small lapses in business strategy creates an environment that allows for large-scale failure.
Each time management allows employees (or themselves) to become misaligned with business strategy, it makes it much easier for it occur the next time. A dead lightbulb one week quickly becomes three bulbs the next week. Ignoring a seemingly innocuous question from one customer can result in a pervasive attitude that customer service doesn’t matter.
Even the most well-constructed business strategy is doomed if it does not carry with it the credibility and accountability to make it a reality. Whatever the foundations of the business strategy are – innovation, customer service, quality, cost savings – they must come to life through employee behavior. When management allows behavior, appearance and operations to veer from business strategy, it sends the message the strategy is neither important nor legitimate. Ineffective communications foster indifference. An effective approach to employee communications makes the business strategy visible to workers; it sends the message that the company as a whole is aligned behind a uniform set of objectives.
Where does “indifference” exist in your organization? Is it a sign that your communications strategy and approach is ineffective or worse, your leadership no longer credible?
Editor’s Note:
Unlike people, of course, dead companies are often resurrected: the young billionaire investor, Edward Lampert, surprised a lot of people by purchasing Kmart in 2005 and merging it with another struggling retailer, Sears. Time will tell if Kmart has truly received a new lease on life or if it, as the philosopher George Santayana once observed, is doomed to repeat history by ignoring it.