商务英语.docx

商务英语.docx

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商务英语

One

BillCockburn,freshfromreformingtheBritishPostOffice,isthenewChiefExecutiveofW.H.Smith,oneofthecountry’slargeststationers.Lastweek,whileissuingaprofitswarningalongwiththeinterimresults,headmittedwhateveryonehasalwaysknown,thatthe200yearoldW.H.Smithisunbearablysmug.“Thereis,”saidCockburn,“acultureofcomplacencyandacultureofexplainingwhywehaven’tdonewhatwesaidwewoulddo.”Ifhegetsthisway,allthatisabouttogo.“Weshouldwelcomereformasanopportunity,notathreat.Ican’tunderstandpeoplewhoarecontentwithmediocrityandacceptsecondbestwhentheyhavethepotentialtobeterrific.”

W.H.SmithchairmanJeremyHardieledthesearchtofindCorkburn.‘Ihaduniformlyfavorablereportsfromeveryonewhohadworkedwithhimassomeonewhogetsthingsdoneandcanalsobringoutthebestinhisstaff.’CockburnmayhavelittleexperienceofretailinginitspurestsensebutheisanexcellentchoicetoleadSmithoutofthecozyworldoftraditionandbureaucracy.

HerosetopoweratthePostOfficewhileitwasrecoveringfromthe1971strikeandsubsequentlossofimage.Hedidmuchtoimproveoverallperformance,cuttingoutunprofitableservicesandshakingupanold-fashionedmanagement.Heiswellawareoftheparallelsbetweenthetwobusinesses.‘Theold,matureoperationofW.H.Smithhasacultureandworkingpracticesthatgobackalongtime.ManagingchangeinayoungbusinesslikeoneofoursubsidiariesiseasierthanmanagingitinSmith’s549-storeempirewithallitstraditionandresistancetonewideas.Becausetheyhavebeenthereforsuchalongtime,thereisanexaggeratedsenseofprominence’

Corkburnisfamouslyshortofsentimentwhenitcomestomanagement.‘Itisaverypoliteenvironmenthere.’hesayswithamischievoussmile,‘Iwantittobemorechallenging,sopeoplecandisagreewitheachotherbutareunitedbydrivingthebusinessforward.IhopeIambreakingdownthebarriers.’TheshareshavealreadyrespondedtosuchdaringtalkbyjumpingconsiderablyinvaluesinceCorkburntookovertherunningofthecompany.

WhatdoesCockburnsayabouthimselfandhiscareer?

Washeambitiousfromthestart?

‘PeoplewouldassumeIwasambitiousbecauseofthespeedatwhichIprogressedthroughthePostOfficeorganization.ButIdidnothaveaviewIwouldendupanywhereinparticular.ItookeachjobasitcameandIhadtremendousbosseswhoencouragedme.Ilearnedfromthemhowtotakepressureandtoworkfastandhard.InthejobsIhaveaimedtocreatesuccessbecauseit’sgoodforstakeholders-customers,employeesandnow,intheprivatesector,shareholders.’

Hismanagementstyleisamixtureofenthusiasmandtoughness.‘Ibelieveyougetthebestoutofpeoplebymotivatingthem,supportingthemandsettingchallengingobjectives.Itseemstometheonlywaytoworkistobeopenandhonestandspeakyourmind,’hesays.Twenty-eightdaysintothejob,hehasdonetheeasypart.HehastraveledaroundtheSmithgroup,identifiedtheproblemsandpresentedhisfirstfinancialresults.Nowhehasjusttotransformthecompanyculturetooneofoneofstrivingforexcellence.‘I’mveryoptimistic,ofcourse,’hesays.‘Thebasicsaregreat.’Heseemslikethelightmanforthejob.

Two

Theexpressionbenchmarkinghasbecomeoneofthefashionablewordsincurrentmanagementdiscussion.ThetermfirstappearedintheUnitedStatesinthe1970sbuthasnowgainedworldwiderecognition.Butwhatexactlydoesitmeanandshouldyourcompanybepracticingit?

OnestraightforwarddefinitionofbenchmarkingcomesfromChrisTethermanagingdirectorofaNewZealand-basedconsultancyfirmspecializinginthisarea.“Benchmarkinginvolveslearningaboutyourownpractices,learningaboutthebestpracticesofothers,andthenmakingchangesforimprovementthatwillenableyoutomeetorbeatthebestintheworld.”Theessentialelementisnotsimplyimitatingwhatothercompaniesdobutbeingabletoadaptthebestofotherfirms’practicestoyourownsituation.

Insteadofaimingtoimproveonlyagainstpreviousperformanceandscores,companiescanusebenchmarkingtoinjectanelementofimaginationandcommonsenseintotheirsearchforprogress.Itisaprocesswhichforcescompaniestolookcloselyatthoseactivitieswhichtheymayhavebeentakingforgrantedandcomparingthemwiththeactivesofotherworld-beatingcompanies.Self-criticismisattheheartoftheprocessalthoughinsomecasesthismayupsetmanagerswhoarereluctanttoquestionlongestablishedpractices.

Theprocessofidentifyingbestpracticeinothercompaniesdoesnotjustmeanlookingcloselyatyourcompetitors.Itmightalsoincludestudyingcompanieswhichusesimilarprocessestoyourown,eventhoughtheyareproducingdifferentgoods.Thepointistolookattheprocessratherthantheproduct.Forexample,ItaliancomputercompanyAritawantedtoimprovethequalityofitstechnicalmanualsandhandbooks.Insteadoflookingatmanualsproducedbyothercomputercompanies,Aritaturnedtoapublisherofpopularhandbookssuchascookerybooks,railwaytimetablesandcarrepairmanuals.AsArita’sTechnicalDirectorClaudioBencliisays,“Allofthesehandbooksarecommunicatingcomplexinformationinasimpleway-exactlywhatweareaimingtodo.Andinmanycasestheysucceedfarbetterthananycomputercompany.”

Thereissomedisagreementbetweenbenchmarkingspecialistsastothebestmethodstofollowwhenstartingabenchmarkingexerciseinyourfirm.Everyoneagreesthattheprocessmusthavethefullapprovalofseniormanagementbutthatitisbestcarriedoutbyacomparativelysmallteam.Someconsultantsfeelthisshouldbeassmallasthreepeoplebutmostfavorateamofbetweenfiveandeightatleastoneofwhomshouldhavesomepriorknowledgeofthebenchmarkingprocess.Inpracticethisoftenmeansbringinginanoutsideconsultant–atleastatthebeginning.Oncetheteamisassembledtherecanbeanythingfromthreetofiveformalstagesintheprocessdifferentapproachesbutwhatevertheexacttechniquebenchmarkingcanonlyworkifeveryoneinthecompanyfromtoptobottomiscommittedtochange.

Three

Althoughitisnothingnewforcompaniestobuildrelationshipswithcustomers,ithasgenerallybeendoneonaone-to-onebasis.Inrecentyears,however,technologicaldevelopmentshavemadeitpossibletobuildupindividualrelationshipswithclientsonamuchlargerscale,andthismoresophisticatedkindofoperationisknownasrelationshipmarketing.Relationshipmarketingaimstoincreasesalesthroughdeliberateeffortstoretaincustomersandpromotetwo-waycommunicationwiththem–andnewtechnologyhasmakecommunicationpossiblewithaforlargercustomerbasethanbefore.Theinformationgatheredformsthebasisofhighlytechnicalanalysesofcustomerpurchasingandprofitability,whichcanbeusedtoincreasesales.

Thebuildingofgoodpersonalrelationshipswithcustomersisusuallyintegraltothemanagementofsmallbusinesses,andownersofsmallcornershopsclearlyillustratetheessenceofrelationshipmarketing,althoughthetechnologyavailabletothemisfarlessadvancedthanthatavailableto,say,asupermarketchain.Smallshopkeepershavedirectknowledgeofregularcustomersandbecomefamiliarwiththeirneeds,likesanddislikes.Theshopkeeperscanthenprovideservicestailoredtoindividualneeds.Overtime,abondofloyaltyislikelytodevelopbetweenshopkeepersandregularcustomers.

Thebenefitsofrelationshipmarketingenjoyedbysmallbusinessesarenowavailabletobigbusinesses,thankstoanumberofdevelopments.Firstandforemostistheincreasingrecognitionoftheimportanceofprofitabilityofretainingexistingcustomers.Secondly,technologieshavebeendevelopedwhichenablethecollection,manipulationandanalysisofhugebanksofcustomerinformation.Largeretailerscanusestorecardstoobtaindetailedbackgroundinformationaboutcustomer’sages,salariesandlifestyles,andpoint-of-saletechnologycanbesuedtotrackpurchasesmadebyeverycustomer.Electronicstorageenablesallofthisinformationtoberetained,manipulatedandintegrated,whiledetailedanalysescanbecarriedoutonevermorepowerfulcomputers.Companiesarethusabletotargetindividualsamongsttheirthousandsofcustomerswithuniquepromotionsorinformationmatchedtotheirbackgroundsandtotheirpurchasingtendencies.Thirdly,companiesfeelaneedtouserelationshipmarketingbecauseofincreasedcompetition:

amassingknowledgeaboutcustomersandbuildingupcustomerrelationshipsthroughinteractivecontactcanenableorganizationstodifferentiatetheirproductsorservicesmoreeasilyformthoseofcompetitors.

However,relationshipmarketingisnotalwaystherightroutefororganizationstotake,andisnotappropriateforallcustomers.Somebankcustomers,forexample,costmoretoservethanthebankactuallymakesformtheircustom,whileasupermarketcustomerwhospendsverylittleanddoesnotshopregularlydoesnotjustifytheexpenditureofseveralpoundsperannumonrelationshipmarketing.Inaddition,customersmaynotalwaysbeinterestedinarelationship,evenwheretherearedemonstrablebenefitstobehad.

Overall,successfulrelationshipmarketingdependsuponselectingandtargetingthecustomersyouwishtoretain,andidentifyingsalesareaswheretheinvestmentandeffortwillbeworthwhile.Manyorganizationshavefoundtheapproachtobeveryrewardingintermsofcustomerretentionandrelatedprofitability,butrelationshipmarketingisstilladevelopingfieldandisneithercheapnoreasytooperate.Itinvolvesanintegrativeapproachwhichdrawsmarketing