Category Archives: Retail

How can an Organization ‘Come Alive’ !? Simple Consulting/Learnings from a Cell can help !!

From ‘The Crucibles’ of Justplainandsimple™ Consulting …..

Simplest form of life is a single cell.

It is also works like an organization !? It has a Mission for its Existence and Structure (nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria …..) with well defined roles, relationships and boundaries

What makes it alive is the way it organises its ‘life’ processes …..

– Each part works for development, maintenance and regeneration of other parts and of the cell as a whole ….. collaboration

– This is a self perpetuating creative activity of the cell ….. continuity

– It interacts with the environment outside its boundary and ‘adjusts’ internally while maintaining its structure and integrity ….. fluidity and learning

If these are built into the DNA of today’s organizations, it can ‘breathe life’ into so many organisations that can ‘Come Alive’ !!

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Optimall Solution !?

From the Crucibles of JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Create Customer Value

The Indian Optician, March-April 2011 Issue

The last decade has seen a mushrooming of malls across all city classes in India. It has been a revolution in retailing. Retailers of all types rushed to find their space in these malls and customers thronged them. Results have been mixed though and so are opinions on whether the malls are an alternative to traditional Indian retail.

There sure is a novelty value and an initial surge of visitors leads to quite a substantial footfall. People have rushed in for all sorts of reasons ….. to get a feel of the new ambience, to stay indoors and spend time in cool/dust free environs, to hang around in restaurants/coffee shops, to visit the multiplexes, or for plain window shopping. The initial debate of sales not being commensurate to rentals and/or footfall continues, though in various measures, for different cities and retail types. What is the reality; where will the system reach a dynamic equilibrium !?

As with all other retail categories, so also have our very own optical stores, and rightly so, moved in to occupy their rightful place in such malls. Speculation and debate is very much alive for this category also. But compared to any other category, be it foods and grocery, fashion accessories, shoes, garments or bookshops, the debate on how opticals are faring, or will fare, is probably a little more tricky.

Questions abound ….. the neighbourhood optical store is more convenient; malls have a lighter/fun environment and hence not suitable for an eye check up; when in a mall, frame of mind is different; eye-checkup is more serious stuff; impulse purchase or non serious purchases are OK in a mall; specs are a predecided/pre thought out decision and hence one goes to a predecided regular destination store …..

For various categories, the ambience of malls has broken old habits. One sees foods and groceries and vegetable buying habits also in for a change. Internationally, where mall penetration has been high for quite a long period of time, opticals and even pharmacies have had a decent and profitable presence. The trend is also, in the recent past, towards even medical clinics coming up in malls ….. these, however, will ride on the convenience provided by a pre-existing mall culture/habit. They promise speed, transparency and convenience, though the ‘regular same’ doctor concept may not be fully practiced as yet.

But what does all this bode for opticals in India ? Will it be a tough ride going forward ? Will it be a game changer ? Will serious eye checkups never pick up in malls ? Will only impulse/less ‘serious’/fashion led products like sunglasses do well ?

Whatever be the case, one thing that optical stores will have to gear up for mall presence, beyond ambience (which has been mastered), is staff quality, to be able to match the type, style, spending ability, mood and aspirations of a mall customer. This is one area which leaves a lot to be desired.

While optimism rules and there is every hope and reason that hygienic and clean ‘mall’ shopping habits should build up, there also is likelihood of a shakeout and as the old saying goes ‘survival of the fittest’. In the meanwhile, it may not be advisable for any multi-store/multi location optical store to miss a presence in the malls ….. lest they miss the rise when the wave sweeps high !!

J.P.Singh,

Justplainandsimple Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

JPSConsulting

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Realise Potential

JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Create Customer Value

Blog :http://jpsingh.wordpress.com

Website : www.justplainandsimple.com

Twitter : @jpsingh55

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People Power in Retail ….. What, Why and How ?

From the Crucibles of JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Create Customer Value

Progressive Grocer, March 2011 Issue

Why Right People :

An owner is fully conscious of his roles and responsibilities and why and how he has to do what he does ….. that is why we have a term called ownership. So, I guess, that is the first step in understanding why it is important to have The Right People at each level and what they should do to be like the owner himself, when it comes to key elements of customer service, continuous improvement, team work, integrity and passion !!

Retail in India is clearly poised to grow. The last decade has seen the growth curve take a definite upward swing. With growth, come newer challenges and newer ways of looking at business. New players enter the market, as also, stakeholders from different domains, who, obviously, may not have been, or rather, definitely would not have been exposed to professional retail processes, considering the absence of opportunities to learn from ….. organised retail was not there and hence also, experienced professionals and education programmes to offer know how.

Each stakeholder brings a background and know how and definitely adds valuable contribution to the growth story. Each also has its own perspective and its own strategy on how to ‘create value’. This diversity in skills and knowledge is definitely a good thing as it brings the much needed basic skills and discussions to enable the evolution of a healthy new knowledge/skill base.

With multiplicity of players in retail, there will also be increased competition and that should be, for sure, good for the customer. Hence, Customer Value Offering will necessarily become extremely critical. Survival of the fittest will therefore be linked to whoever is able to master ‘what the customer really wants’ & ‘what adds most value to the customer’.

What is contributed towards a customer’s satisfaction by retail, is essentially through operational efficiency. Most products are sourced and hence, apart from a retailer’s role in sourcing the right type, mix (after having studied customer preferences) and depth of inventory, the biggest value add a retailer can do is through efficient operations i.e. serving according to customer preferences, efficiently. To a large extent, customer preferences at a macro aggregated level, can also be thrown up on an ongoing basis by an operationally efficient system, which ‘tracks’ the same accurately and hence, if the system is sensitive enough, records and adjusts inventory accordingly ….. very much like the dynamic equilibrium in nature, through an efficient feedback loop of an open system !! And if there is a robust enough system, it can provide micro level individual customer preferences at the store ….. allowing the floor executive to mimic the ‘intimate’ understanding of customer preferences, that an individual owner like Kundan Uncle could manage so beautifully !!

What will Right People do :

Strategically, a key differentiator that will emerge therefore, is operational efficiency ….. which includes cost, process efficiency, service cycle times, continuous improvement, width and depth of inventory etc.. This will be an important input towards achieving high levels of customer service/satisfaction/delight.

Technology will be a key element and an accelerator in winning this game to cater to the huge mass of population. And for that matter, there is money to be made at all levels of the income hierarchy and geographic spread. But how does this get unlocked ?

One point which cannot get over-attention in this, is the importance of Right People and Right People Processes. It is people, across all stakeholders and across all domains, functions and levels, who fundamentally drive all the strategies, decisions and operations. Ability to select, develop, retain and grow The Right People will probably emerge as the single most important Success Factor. Any of the players in retail, definitely spends a large percentage of its revenue in people cost. This is probably the biggest expense in the P&L, after cost of goods ….. and just consider how much attention goes behind purchase of inanimate goods compared to selection, development, retention and growth of The Right People !!

Development of skills and talent, specific to retail itself, maybe an investment worth making in the business. This one activity could be the biggest value and profit enhancer, from the top end paying customer to a no frills outlet in rural areas, where also, as they say, there is a lot of fortune lying !!

It is people at all levels who will become critical to success.

Functional skills will and should vary to bring in diversity and different dimensions to the table/organisation. However, a base level of skill sets and behavioural norms is a must and that should be ensured. The key lies in the owner (or Top Management ?) to have confidence that the last person in the last store, will behave, act and serve customers as she would have done if she could be at all locations and with all customers all the time. Hence, is a base level ‘cloning’ good !?

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
— Jack Welch

How to get, retain, develop and grow Right People :

However, having said that, there are ways to ensure that uniform levels of ‘operational efficiency’ are maintained. Processes, SOPs and continuous training are important elements. But all these are also decided and run by people/employees at all/different levels and locations in the organisation. Hence, also, what becomes important is evaluation norms that can be used at recruitment and development stages. The first things which have to be checked (and which non negotiable), are alignment to organisational values, Integrity and team work. Everything else follows …..

What then needs to be kept in mind, has three levels, to keep it simple at this point :

1) Skill Set :

Functional Skills
Customer Orientation
Coaching Ability
Ability to take tough calls
Adequate IQ level

But 1) above is a base qualification. It is a necessary but not sufficient condition. What are to be looked at, alongwith 1) ?

2) Execution Excellence

3) Passion

The guiding success equation is quite simple :

1) = Base Condition

1)+2) = B grade

1)+3) = C grade

1)+2)+3) = A grade

It is only at that A grade that ownership, accountability, trust, customer orientation and motivation, all come into play naturally.

Leadership Challenge is to build bridges into the future …..

For those who think operational efficiency may not be as important, it may be appropriate to share here that “Fielding historically has been seen as a Service Function in cricket for too long, till Jonty Rhodes changed the game and showed that a Fielder can win matches !!”

J.P.Singh

Justplainandsimple Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

JPSConsulting

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Realise Potential

JPS Customer Value Academy

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Create Customer Value

Blog :http://jpsingh.wordpress.com

Website : www.justplainandsimple.com

Twitter : @jpsingh55

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When God was ridiculed …..

The Indian Optician, October, 2009

A few weeks back, I was with a big group of dealers from the optical trade. Various topics of common interest were brought up and the discussion moved towards how one could maintain and increase customer footfall. There was, and rightly so, concern and anxiety about the issue. Everyone was genuinely involved and interested. Increasing competition, organised players, mushrooming of shops, improved ambience, price cuts etc. were indicated as being factors that played an important role.

At that point, someone asked for my comments. “In such a situation, one cannot compete on ‘pricing’ and/or by spending money on ‘advertising’ alone. Each of these can be matched or overdone by other competitors, draining everyone’s resources, leaving everyone’s efforts ineffective or yielding suboptimal results”, I said. My view is that ‘customer experience’ becomes important to create a difference under these circumstances. One should not only look at ‘customer satisfaction’, but beyond that, at ‘customer delight’ ….. leading to loyalty, repeat visits and referrals !! See whether you have a ‘delighted’ customer walking out of your door !!

“How does one know that the customer was delighted ?” asked someone. While there are techniques and ways to find this out (like calling up the customer, having a feedback form, tracking repeat visits or just plain and simple asking the customer there and then) your sixth sense helps you know, feel and realise within yourself after you have dealt with the customer …..

At this stage of discussion, someone in the group stood up and said “Where does this lead to ? The other day I had a customer in my shop, who was bargaining for Rs.20/- for a solution bottle. She would go to a parlour and spend Rs.1000/-; she would spend Rs.200/- at a chaat shop without asking any question. But for a solution bottle she was bargaining for a mere Rs.20/-“. At this, the whole group broke into a hearty laughter and applause, as if each one was saying “Yes, I can understand this so well, it happens so often at my shop too”.

This reaction was quite shocking. My question to the group was “Do you have a plaque in your shop with ‘Customer is God’ written on it ?”. Everyone acknowledged having similar quotes put up at some location or the other. All I could say is that it was belief in that quotation that would make a difference in ‘customer experience’, leading them from mere ‘satisfaction’ to where they would know for themselves whether they were giving delight or not. It is one’s conscience which plays back the ‘truth’ in all such situations and that they should go back and ask themselves whether the ‘applause’ really showed that they ‘cared’ for their customers and ‘respected’ them ….. This was the time I thought God was ridiculed …..

Care and Respect are the initial and very basic conditions in the long and tough journey towards customer satisfaction, delight, loyalty, repeat visits and finally referrals, where the customer becomes your ambassador ….. helping you create your very own ‘Distinct and Unique Brand Identity’, which no one can match or replicate.

How or why should one then expect the customer not to bargain for Rs.20/- ? If the customer happily keeps feeding on ‘gol gappas’ without asking a question, she definitely sees more value creation and a better experience from this ‘chaat’ seller, compared to what she is paying !! One necessary condition for creating this ‘experience’ is that the ‘perceived value’ by the customer, should be higher than what ‘price’ she pays. This is the only way the equation will work !! And The Only Way to create a distinction and acceptance, is to ‘Step into The Customers’ shoes and see how things look from there …..

There is saying in India ‘Atithi devo bhava’ (A Guest is to be treated like God). In any case, even if a customer does not buy anything, he/she is a guest in our shop, to be treated like God !!

Would the person, whose comments about his customer brought an applause from the group, buy from himself ?????

If ‘Customer is God’ the least one can do is answer the following :

Do I truly care for and respect my customer ?
Do I feel good about representing my organization – and its products and services? Why / why not?
Why should customers invest their time and money with us?
If we were the customers, would we want to do business with us? Why / why not?
What can we do to improve the experience our customers have with us?
Why should we bother? What are the benefits for us?
What do we need in order to make that improved experience happen?
What can we do to help each other be more successful in that effort?

God is about love, and we can dialogue with Him and ask Him anything we want to know. Same is true for customers as well.

Have a delightful journey ….. but DO NOT RIDICULE YOUR GOD, ever ….. remember that he feeds your family too !!

J.P.Singh

JPS Consulting

Just Plain & Simple

….. Helping Realise Potential

JPS Customer Value Academy

….. Helping Create Customer Value

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Luck is the by product of Continuous Improvement

The Indian Optician, August, 2009

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
— Eleanor Roosevelt

This is a short story that dates back to the 1960s but the wisdom expressed by the principal lead is very much relevant in today’s fast-moving world.

Not even two full decades had passed since India’s exciting independence and the traumatic partition, which resulted in a state of affairs wherein positive and negative aspects occurred together, just like two sides of the same coin, as happens so often in life.

We were staying in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area. Kundan Sahib ran a small bakery shop, called Kundan Bakery, in the local market.

In 1947, the then very young Kundan Lal Sahni had migrated to Delhi with his family, leaving all material possessions behind in Lahore, where the family had seen great times and plenty of wealth. Armed with perseverance, capability and willingness to work hard, he landed in Delhi as a ‘refugee’ and set up a bakery shop – not a simple task during those trying times – but the ingenious Kundan Sahib took his work seriously and as a reward for good service and honesty, gradually, step by step, the volume of business increased and people flocked to his store to enjoy his delicious fare.

I still recall how as kids we often used to go to Kundan Uncle’s (that is how all the neighbourhood kids called him) bakery to buy bread, cakes etc. It was always a pleasure to go there, whether in a group or alone, as Kundan Uncle always had a kind word, a joke or a sweet for everyone. We used to play pranks with him and he enjoyed with us. He was like a family member to all of us. When adults went to buy something at the bakery, they and Kundan Sahib would have discussions on all sorts of issues – politics, Nehru, Raj Kapoor – anything. Kundan Uncle used to know what each of his customers liked. “Mrs. Mehta, I have this fresh bread that came in just now, the type Mr. Mehta likes. Should I pack this also?” or “Mr. Sood, it is your son’s birthday next week. Shall I bake that special cake he likes?” The best part was that throughout the day one could enjoy the fresh and tasty products. Personal requests regarding different kinds of products were also easily taken care of and we could not even dream of ever going to another bakery. Kundan Uncle was a part of the ‘ecosystem’ there and an integral part of our daily lives !!

Years went by. Our family moved to West Delhi. I went out to study and then for work to various cities. We stayed in touch with Kundan Uncle though – sometimes through telephone calls and occasionally, visiting his shop to share a cup of tea while passing by that area. It used to be about a once a year contact. His son’s Rajeev and Manoj were of the same age as me. We had played together as kids. Kundan Bakery continued to flourish. Clientele grew and a very loyal clientele at that !! Customers still would not go anywhere else for their bakery needs. Rajeev and Manoj also joined the family business. They opened more shops : one to start with, then two, three, four and five, in nearby localities of South Delhi. Kundan Sahib and his sons learnt to manage the business, shuttling between shops. They continued to have one central bakery where everything was baked and then distributed to different locations in the city.

Two years ago, I got a surprise call from Kundan Sahib. “Son, you have a management degree and have worked in big companies. I need to talk to you about our business. Can you come over?” he asked. “Sure”, I immediately agreed. We fixed a time to meet at his shop – the first one. I reached there at the time agreed. Rajeev and Manoj were also there. After some pleasantries and a cup of tea with the usual cakes, Kundan Sahib, now in his mid-seventies, said “Son, business has been going well. We have expanded and now have five shops. Rajeev and Manoj have been managing the business with me. Their children are also growing up. Lately, our family discussions have centred around finding a future direction for our business and we thought we should take your views also.” Manoj, the younger one, added “A few years back, a national company called Montana Bakery, started opening bakery shops all over the country. Montana has opened thirty shops all over Delhi, out of which fifteen are in South Delhi. They offer a wide range of bakery products : cakes, pastries, breads etc. Montana has a huge central bakery and distribute products twice a day, through temperature controlled vehicles. Our business is doing well, but Rajeev and I are worried that we may start loosing out to Montana going forward. We are telling Papa that we should look at some other businesses and reduce our risk, otherwise Montana could take away our business. It is a big brand. How can we match them? What do you suggest?”

“Kundan Uncle,” I said, “you have seen life. You have a lot more experience than all of us. While I may have an opinion on this, what is your suggestion?”

Kundan Sahib : “Son, I started this business from nothing and with nothing in hand. Over the years, I nurtured it and worked hard. I have tried my best to keep my customers happy. I have personally interacted with them, and by God’s grace, Kundan Bakery is a much respected name today. I am proud that my children Rajeev and Manoj continue to follow my tradition. Now, my grand children have also started getting involved in this business and I am happy to share the knowledge gained through my personal experience, with them. I am aware that Montana has brought in new technologies and business practices and that this has made them more effective in today’s business world. They are fully equipped to meet the changing needs and requirements of customers; they have hired professionals to look at logistics, marketing, selling techniques, human resources, customer care etc. But although we may not have all the resources that Montana has, we do know a lot about our customers. My suggestion is that perhaps we should look at upgrading our processes, that is, the way we do business. This would mean a new way of approaching marketing, technology, inventory management, customer service skills, our people and hence our business outlook, while building on our customer relationships. This will make us more efficient, profitable and competitive enough to not only survive, but to come out stronger in the coming days. We have to upgrade and look at new ways of doing business in these new circumstances. Son, I have seen tougher times and I have always learnt new ways of doing business with changing times. That is what made me successful in my life”.

I was amazed at the way this man in his seventies looked at situations and circumstances !! He was willing to ‘relearn’ and change even at this age. I was reminded of a well-known personality, who, I am told, in his late eighties used to start a discussion with, “Twenty years from now …..” . He was always living in the current context with a dream for the future !! Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals”.

Kundan Sahib concluded by saying “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t. You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. The mind moves in the direction of our currently dominant thoughts.”

I was immediately reminded of a popular saying, “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction”.

I thought to myself, “What advice can I give this man?”

“Kundan Uncle, you are very wise indeed, and have truly understood the situation. You have obviously given a great deal of thought to this impending threat but I am sure your way of tackling this problem is probably the best option and I am sure, your business will emerge stronger and more competitive going forward. Efforts at brand building, newer techniques in logistics and inventory management, investing in employee development and customer service, so that your employees take care of customers as well as you did ….. are things that will definitely pay dividends ”, I declared after much consideration. After all, as another time-honoured maxim goes, “Luck is the by product of Continuous Improvement”, I reflected.

Note : This is a true story. Names and some facts have been modified for reasons of confidentiality.

J.P.Singh

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