Pitch your New! Improved! version of the business to the customers…and to as many staff as possible, so that the spectre of doom reaches the opposition clearly enough to keep them awake at night, says Mario Pretorius. GK
Half of your efforts to the outside world should enamour your target market.
The other half should scare the pants off your competitors. Don’t fail in either.
Talking to the competition is difficult, if not downright illegal in some countries. Except that your secrets and goings-on are leaking like a sieve through the tech department. People who are predominantly left-brained (and this may be a classification myth) tend to share their common interest easier with other techies. No wonder they are so non-garrulous at the office.
This is the ideal channel to get word out to the market. Always include as much of the staff as possible in describing the details of your new assaults. People need to share the excitement with their spouses; what it could mean to their careers and the corporate prospects. Spouses need to drop the word at social gatherings.
You need to pitch the New! Improved! Version of the business with two audiences in mind: your esteemed customers and your irreverent opposition.
Sometimes things do not work out so well on the money interface; the offering needs an overhaul, an adaption – as noted before. But the spectre of doom must be ingrained in any opposition that reads between the lines; if this works, you’re all toast. Or something that at least get them thinking and staying up at night.
Your innovations and restructured benefits will be unique for a while. If sufficiently disseminated amongst the opposition you may find that there is little appetite to imitate – they have egos too. The field is secure for a while, and you may have an unopposed run until Darwin strikes.
This tip is an extract from the manuscript of “The Unconventional CEO: Common sense outside of conventional Management thinking” (by Mario Pretorius).
