Digital leaders are driven by challenges and change. The leadership skills required to navigate different times change with time. A few decades back, leadership skills were different compared to what is needed today. As times change, the best leaders learn to move ahead with things they need to learn, help others grow and create results that make a massive impact. Whether it is Abraham Lincoln who led the US during the Civil War and held it together or Gandhi who was synonymous with India’s freedom struggle, every leader shares some common skills and traits for his time.

While the digital world is driven by machines, algorithms and data, but human beings are still the center of everything. Digital leaders who understand this and pay attention to things around them excel more than others. Here are skills all great leaders share for succeeding in the digital world:

1. Build Networks & Collaborate

No one succeeds in a silo. Digital leaders are well equipped at building their own networks and collaborating with others. They know when and how they need to collaborate. They are proactive at managing their relationships in the digital world and navigate boundaries to connect with others.

These networks and collaborations often bring about surprising opportunities. As the pace of change is fast, new opportunities can arise from unknown quarters. Successful digital leaders have an open minded approach to collaborate, seize valuable initiatives and never rest on what’s been achieved.

2. Think Ahead

The future comes faster than you can imagine. Thinking ahead is the only way you can survive as a leader. You have to know which way things are moving and play the lead role. You cannot be successful in every attempt, but great leaders are right more often than not. They are able to make the bets that pay off in the long run.

Thinking ahead and being proactive is a more important skill than ever. Industries change at the drop of a hat in the technology driven world. If leaders are unable to maintain pace, they get left behind. Great leaders innovate, stay ahead and are involved in building the future.

3. Vision to Execution

You can have the best vision, but without execution it means nothing. Great leaders know how to execute their vision. Execution is what separates the best leaders. The ability to pick up finer details on what needs to be achieved is the hallmark of great leaders. No matter which field you’re working for, the ability to see things that others miss makes a difference.

Great leaders take responsibility and deliver what’s needed. They are able to rally teams, help and support them to meet the desired goals.

4. Unconventional & Original

The digital world rewards unconventional and original ideas that makes life easier for others. When Google was started, it had a brilliant idea to organise the world’s information. Amazon was an idea that made it easier for people to order things from their homes & Uber made taxi booking seamless.

Digital tools and technologies have made it easier for people to try out new things. Great leaders are driven by the ability to create, build original stuff and make an impact. Innovations that help others can reach people at a faster clip than ever. The tools and technologies have made it easier to touch more people in less time.

5. Inspire & Empower

“Leadership is no longer hierarchical – it needs participation, involvement and contribution from everyone.”
Apoorve Dubey, CEO, Kreyon Systems

The digital tools and technologies have made it easier for people to work from anywhere. There are a growing number of teams working remotely and across the borders of countries. In such a situation, leadership plays a crucial role. Great leaders are able to drive their mission by inspiring and empowering their people.

They let others take control and give them the freedom needed to achieve what they wish to accomplish. The digital leaders inspire teams, let them take control of things and willing to take a backseat for their mission.

6. Stay Informed & Upto Date

You cannot lead the future with the tools of yesterday. Digital leaders need to learn, stay informed and up to date with the world. The best leaders are aware of the trends that matter in their industries, at the same time they are also looking at other industries to learn the best ideas. The ability to connect ideas from various fields and bring them together is more valuable than ever now.

7. Understand People

A leader who understands all the technologies, but fails to understand his people will rarely succeed. As a leader, you need to know the needs and wants of your team. The ability to connect and understand your people is crucial to unlocking the best from your teams.

The growing number of tools for communication often don’t allow interpersonal relationship development. But successful digital leaders have a way to communicate, connect and establish bonds with their people.

8. Crisis Management

A leader is someone whom people can look upto in times of trouble. When the going is tough and teams are struggling, a leader needs to show the way forward. The ability of a leader to navigate crisis, hurdles and difficult situations is decisive.

The best leaders learn to develop mental tools that help them face challenges. They learn about applying these mental models to navigate problems. The digital leaders are not afraid to ask for help from their teams. Infact, they proactively involve their teams and brainstorm for finding the best way forward. Whether it is the technology, tools or people, there are oftentimes when you’re faced with uncertainties, volatility and hard challenges. Successful digital leaders are able to solve problems and keep moving forward.

9. Co-Create the Future

“Leaders must be able to build organizations that are agile and can routinely innovate. People don’t want to follow a leader to the future – that is yesterday’s model. They want to co-create it.”
Linda Hill, Harvard Business Prof

The digital world is different, the youth today want to be involved in something that is meaningful and make a difference. They want to be part of things that will bring about this transformation. They don’t want to follow, but co-create and build things together.

This is a remarkable step for leaders to understand the aspirations of their teams. Leaders want to empower their people, make them accountable and take lead roles in various activities. No one knows all the answers, but the team can always crack all the answers based on the strength of all. Innovations and building the future requires one to build a platform and let others take the center stage.

The toughest entrepreneurs make it feel seamless. Mental exercises for entrepreneurs are one of the sure fire ways to deal with the euphoria of success and downsides of failures. 72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues according to a study by NIMH US. The non entrepreneurs fare better with 48% of them afflicted by mental issues. The pandemic has brought in a world of change over the past one year. People’s lives have undergone tremendous changes, whether it is their work, office or day to day chores. Entrepreneurs have had to deal with impossible situations, take care of their employees and business, all this in the midst of health apprehensions to boot. 

There is a psychological price for entrepreneurship. The highs and lows can take the toll on people. Even the best and the most famous ones are not spared. Elon Musk shared, “The reality is great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress. Don’t think people want to hear about the last two.”

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of the heart, it needs strong mental muscles and great resolve to fight the challenges. The best entrepreneurs develop an attitude of looking at the possibilities to evolve, no matter what is thrown at them. The pandemic is no different, the top entrepreneurs have evolved, changed themselves and their business to deal with the challenges.

Here’s a look at some mental exercises & stress busting secrets of the top entrepreneurs:

1. Minimalism

Stress and anxiety are caused when you have to deal with too many things that need your attention. When too many things are cluttering your mind, it is hard to detach and find our zen state for peak performance. The best thing is to declutter. Do away with things you don’t need on a day to day basis. The fewer things you depend on, the more focused you become. 

Many entrepreneurs have experimented with minimalist approaches and it often brings out the best in them. Steve Jobs was a master at this. He built products that incarnate simplicity. But even in his day to day life, he removed the clutter to bring out his best. Whether it is your todo list or day to day things you need, removing everything that is not important helps you focus better.

Minimalism is the idea that you can do more with less. The best entrepreneurs do one thing at a time and do it with absolute attention.

2. Opportunities to Contribute

When you look at opportunities to contribute, it opens doors of greater possibilities for you. While it is natural for people to go into a shell, entrepreneurs need to train themselves to explore more avenues to help, service and make a positive contribution. The best entrepreneurs used the pandemic to stand for human causes they believed in, they gave helped their employees cope

The willingness to contribute in a difficult situation forces one to think positively. It changes your mindset from a problem focused to a solution centric outlook. Marc Benioff says, ““We started Salesforce because we so strongly believe that business is the greatest platform for change.”

Your ingenuity can find myriad ways of expression when you are looking to contribute. Great brands are built by standing for something that serves the way in a noble way.

Benioff has been contributing with his company, sending much needed medical supplies to India during the pandemic. He further elaborates, “This is a critical moment where every company has to do something. No one can do everything, but everybody can do something.”

3. Pursue Hobby Outside of Work

Great entrepreneurs have a wide world view. It helps when you can take away time from your work and pursue things that genuinely interest you. The best entrepreneurs cultivate hobbies and interests outside work. The hobbies give them a break from their monotonous routines & help them see things from a new perspective.

The hobby groups also help entrepreneurs develop networks. These networks could be useful to get feedback and inputs from people, especially from different & diverse backgrounds.

Phil Knight had a passion for running. Even after his long and grueling days in the early stages of building Nike, he still found time for running. He ran at night and that gave him the mental space he needed to transform Nike into a globally iconic brand. Entrepreneurs are good at finding ways to make things happen and beat the odds. Mental exercises for entrepreneurs
like running, exercising and meditation give ample space and time for self reflection.

Outdoor activities and hobbies are a great way to build physical stamina and strength. It is a surefire way to rejuvenate yourself mentally. Even indoor hobbies like music can do a world of good for you & relax your mind. Warren Buffett is known to play a musical instrument called Ukulele (like a Guitar) and loves collecting musical instruments too.

Pursuing a hobby can let you off your steam, come back recharged mentally and physically to handle your business challenges. Successful entrepreneurs understand that it takes time, patience and to build a great business. Tough times don’t last, but tough entrepreneurs do.

Continue reading “8 powerful lessons from the Effective Executive | Peter Drucker” →

The Goldilocks Rule states that humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.

The Goldilocks principle stems from an old children’s story “The Three bears.” There is a small girl named Goldilocks who tastes porridge from three different bowls. She chooses the bowl that is neither too hot, nor too cold, but the one that has the right temperature. This concept and analogy finds its application in many disciplines like entrepreneurship, psychology, economics and engineering. 

The right amount is the crucial thing. When things are too hard, people often give up and when things are too easy, they are not motivated enough to apply themselves. Growth happens when you attempt things that are on the edge of your abilities and push you enough to make progressive efforts.

Successful Entrepreneurs Are Motivated

Most overnight successes are a result of long strenuous efforts and persistence. Angry Bird was Rovio’s 52nd attempt to build a successful game. It was successful. But it came on the back of persistent efforts, learnings and hard work. Rovio created 51 games that failed, before it could develop Angry Bird, which was an overnight sensation.

Bill Gates started programming at 13. He was world class by the age of 19, creating Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen. They put in more hours learning programming, working at their craft and doing what hadn’t been done before. The rest is history.

Even the child prodigies and insanely gifted individuals are persistent in their efforts, which helps them achieve great success. The olympian athletes put in thousands of hours of rigorous practice for skill development, practice mental and dietary disciplines to be successful.

Michael Phelps won an Olympic gold medal at the age of 15. But even he wasn’t an overnight success. Phelps started swimming and training at the age of 7. He practiced relentlessly and held a national record for 100-m butterfly by the age of 10.

Bob Bowman who was his coach said,  “Phelps didn’t miss a morning practice from the age of 11 through 16 years-old. He would practice on Sundays, birthdays and Christmas mornings to keep his competitive edge.”

The trainings, daily grind and the tough work ethic is not glamorous. It takes a lot of commitment not to miss the training even for a single day for 5 years. Not a single day. It is the practice and discipline that helped him gain valuable speed, skills and the mental toughness to win. The years of practice helped him build routines that made him the champion. 

Michael Phelps went on to win 23 gold medals at the Olympics, the highest ever by an individual. The next best player has 9 gold medals. Great achievements need years of toil and persistence. 

Human beings are motivated by challenges. They love growth and progress. Incremental improvements compound overtime & change the fortunes of those who practice it. Great entrepreneurs are always making progressive efforts. They learn the art of devoting time for tasks of manageable difficulty where they can add value. 

How to Stay Motivated

Successful entrepreneurs and professionals develop habits. They spend time refining their skills, what they do and build something they envisioned. While most people give up when the going gets tough, however, successful people tend to stick with things longer. One of the reasons is that they are not overly focused on the outcomes as much as the process. They tend to build routines, habits and focus on their work.

They are able to put in progressive work and constantly push themselves by setting targets that encourage them to do their best. For e.g. when you are running a 100m race, if you set yourself a target to beat Usain Bolt’s record, you may give up thinking it’s futile. But you can continue to improve your timing on a regular basis to achieve your best. 

Kristin Armstrong won her third consecutive gold medal at the age of 42, creating Olympic history. Kristin had this to say after winning the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, 

“My takeaway from Rio was you have to stay your course. You have to follow your vision. After 12 years as a professional cyclist and three times winning the gold medal, my success always came back to my why. You have to know why you’re doing it. And it comes back to my vision.

A vision is one of the most powerful things you can have in life. A vision is a mental picture of a result you want to achieve — a picture that’s so strong and so clear, it helps make that result real.”

Great entrepreneurs are motivated by their vision & do whatever it takes to achieve it.  The world is full of uncertainties, a person who constantly pushes himself to acquire new skills and adapt is the one who survives and thrives.

Measure Progress

You have to have some way of measuring progress. The most successful individuals find out ways to measure their progress on a regular basis. They entail themselves to learning strategic ways to improve themselves and the work they are doing.

Entrepreneurs thrive on results. When they are open minded, observe & listen to people around them, it opens up new avenues for them. They learn to take feedback from the right people and act on them. They develop habits, routines and triggers to get things done, take feedback and harness their vision to achieve their goals.

Summary

Anyone can be a great visionary, but it is the execution that separates the successful people from others. Most successful people adopt Goldilocks rule in some way or the other by:
i)  Doing things and taking action to finish tasks of manageable complexity.
ii) Find ways to measure your progress regularly.
iii) Take feedback, learn and improve to get the desired results. Stick to the process.

A recent Hubspot survey confirms that only 3% of people buyers trust sales representatives. Sales is one of the toughest jobs in the corporate world. It doesn’t get any easier with the rising competition, low barriers for new businesses and technology disruptions. But sales executives that learn how to sail through the initial hurdles and get the prospects to open up are copiously rewarded. The best sales executives learn to prepare well, understand customer’s motivations and use every tool in their arsenal to close the deal. Selling requires creativity, connection and delivering on your promises.

The highly effective sales executives learn the art of human psychology. They are driven by an open minded approach that maximises their probability of success and serves their customers too. Here’s a look at the habits of highly effective sales executives backed by scientific studies. 

1. Prospecting

Do you know which is the hardest part of the sales process? It’s not closing the deals. According to 40% of salespeople, prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process, followed by closing (36%) and qualifying (22%).

What makes elite performers in any field standout? Well, it is often the steps that they use to prepare, organise and perform. Sales is no different. Great sales executives spend time meticulously to prospect the right prospects.

These executives use data driven strategies to refine their target customer profiles. They zone into the right companies, identify decision makers, assess organisational needs, pain points and educate themselves about their prospects.

The best sales executives come across as genuine folks who want to help. When prospects are well researched and carefully vetted, it increases probability of sales and conversions. Sales executives who understand prospecting can zone into the right customers by size, location, revenue, needs etc. & increase their odds by several notches.

2. Sales Channels & Technologies

The average customer is paranoid of sales calls. There are way too many calls, emails and people trying to woo the customers into selling their products & services. A study showed that on an average, it takes 18 calls to connect with the buyer. Sales is hard, especially if you’re using outdated channels and technologies.

Sales persons who achieve their revenue targets and expectations know the state of the art. They know which channels, methods and strategies will be effective in connecting with their customers. Sales requires diligently understanding your customers and where they hangout.
In the virtual world, using the right channels and networks can make a big difference to the results. So, for e.g. if your customers are into social media, how you engage and interact with them can create qualitative leads for your business.

In a recent study by Hubspot, 63% of sales leaders believe that virtual meetings are just as or more effective than in-person meetings. The top sales leaders are always sharp enough to pick up the right channels for customer acquisition and proactive in getting the results they want.

3. Belief in Product or Service

The best sales reps believe in what they are doing. They are convinced about the merits of their products or services they sell. It is this strong belief and conviction that makes customers trust them. The trust factor eventually leads to a sale.

The best sales executives are prepared with the questions on the markets, competitors, value of their offerings and deeply understand customer pain points. It is a combination of these things that makes them connect with their customers. They can show the value of how the product or service will address the customer needs and serve them.

The sales representatives who excel not only sell, but ensure that customers are satisfied with after sales service too. It is the ability to serve, service, and take care of the customers that helps them achieve their targets.

4. Networks

One of the top sources of leads for sales executives is their networks. A top sales person develops and builds networks that create synergy effects for them. For e.g. an enterprise software sales person who has a good network of hardware sales guys can build a win win partnership. The hardware sales person can always pass leads to the software sales person and vice versa.

The best sales executives actively tap into the power of their networks. They contribute, help and seek win-win opportunities among their peers. The diverse networks act as a very good source of qualified leads. When leads come from referral sources, they are often driven by the client’s immediate needs. It leads to a higher probability of closed deals.

The sales executives who build networks actively tapping into events, same interest groups and virtual channels are equipped with better sales opportunities. The power and reach of networks has a direct impact on the results of sales executives. 

5. Relationship Building 

Good relationships are one of the best investments for a sales person. The best sales executives build and nurture relationships with clients. They act as trusted counsels not just sales reps. The clients know that they can rely on these sales executives for important inputs and advice. 

When sales reps develop good relationships with others, it shows in their performance too. About 47% of top performers ask for referrals consistently, versus only 26% of non-top performers. The referrals from customers have over 90% chances of closing. It increases the chances of sales and conversions due to the right timing.    

6. Organised Workflow for Results

The amount of time it takes to prospect, call, email, line-up appointments and present your solutions to customers has a direct bearing on the results. The best sales reps are extremely well organised, use the right technologies and channels to make productive use of their time.

Studies have shown that sales executives that listen to client needs, provide relevant and useful information and respond timely to customers have better opportunities of closing deals. When reps use the best tools available for organising their work, it gives them time to spend more time on adding value for clients. It helps them improve their winning ratio and work smarter.

7. Don’t Take No

One of the studies revealed, 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes. But 48% of salespeople never even make a single follow up attempt. It takes persistence and several follow-ups for selling. 

While the average sales executives stop after one or two calls, the best ones know it takes more than five calls to close a deal. They know that the probability works out in their favour when they are persistent and add value with every client interaction. 

The most resourceful sales reps find a way for the client to say yes. They present things from different perspectives, tap into different channels, decision makers and do whatever is needed for the client to say yes. They follow up as many times as it takes to convince the clients to buy from them. When the deal is on the line, they never take no for an answer.

Continue reading “The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” →

There are few people better than Reed Hastings, Founder & Co-CEO of Netflix, who know how to build a winning culture. Reed understands what it takes to create a successful and scalable company, which is built on a winning culture.

Reed Hastings, founded a company called Pure Software. He had a hard time managing employees at Pure Software. Reed Hastings and his team built a debugging tool at Pure Software in 1991. The company went public in 1995, a year later it merged with Atria Software. The company eventually got acquired in 1997. Reed moved on to start Netflix along with Marc Randolph having learnt key lessons from Pure Software.

Here’s a look at some of the fundamentals of creating a winning culture according to Reed Hastings:

1. First Principles Thinkers

When you are building a technology company like Netflix, the average intellectual levels of employees need to be very high. Reed Hastings shared that in a company like Pure Software, employees executed given processes. But when it comes to technology transitions like in the case of Netflix, then you need original thinkers who can build innovative stuff.

Netflix started as a rental company that mailed DVDs. The company saw the massive technology shifts that enabled video streaming. It paved the way for their teams to innovate and build a digital streaming platform that is now among the largest companies in the world.

Hastings says, “We are fundamentally dedicated to employee freedom because that makes us more flexible, and we’ve had to adapt so much back from DVD by mail to leading streaming today.”

When you have first principles thinkers, they reason things from the bottom up. They execute ideas that are state of the art and change with the changing times to take the competitive lead. It matters a great deal, especially, when everything dramatically changes.

Netflix could leverage the perpetually improving internet speeds and video streaming technology to pave the way for their success. Hastings says, “If you give employees freedom you’ve got a better chance at that success.”

2. Sports Team

Business is all about gaining a competitive advantage and having a strong leverage at your disposal that can help you win the game.

Reed Hastings says, “Netflix models itself on professional sports teams, an approach that has been critical to its ascent into a global streaming giant.” Netflix is not a family, but a typical sports team where emphasis is clearly on performance and doing the right things driven by strong ethics.

When you think of a winning sports team, it has to have the right talent and each player needs to perform to hold his place in the team. This is what drives Netflix to bring the best out of its employees. Reed Hastings says, “If you’re going to win the championship, you got to have incredible talent in every position. And that’s how we think about it.”

Wrong employees can hurt the company in the long run, more so, when there are technology shifts and chaotic changes. Netflix has built a culture where excellence is rewarded and earned everyday. The company encourages its managers to focus on employees you’d fight to keep.

3. Context Not Control

Reed believes it is context and not control that helps employees to perform better. He says, “The best managers figure out how to get great outcomes by setting the appropriate context, rather than by trying to control their people.”

Netflix gives freedom to its employees, they don’t have written human resource policies, but are driven by a culture deck. It provides the guiding light for employees to understand the core values of the company and creates transparency within the organisation.

Execution is what makes Netflix into a highly aligned and loosely coupled company. The emphasis is on getting things done, innovating by bringing new ideas to life by challenging the status quo. Netflix seeks to be big, fast but flexible. Reed Hastings hits the nail on the head, “Don’t get distracted by the shiny object [and if a crisis comes], execute on the fundamentals.”

It is the ability to produce quality work, taking responsibility for your actions and bringing results. The culture of the company is shaped by excellence, innovation and constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Reed Hastings further shares, “Our culture is much better than it was 20 years ago.” He says, “We’ve continued to get more honest, more thoughtful, more creative. We have better tools internally. We’re focused on inclusion, all kinds of dimensions, so our culture gets better as we get bigger.”

The best companies build a culture that thrives on change. It values building things that moves the business forward, creates value for the customers and inspires the team to build the future. Reed Hastings says, “Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.”

Netflix has disrupted cable TV and how people watch movies. With its strong personalisation and recommendations engine, it has created a platform for over 200 million paid customers. The company has mastered the art of building amazing customer experiences and producing original content to lure its customers.

The winning culture at Netflix has a great deal to contribute to the success story of the company and propel it forward with amazing innovations for its customers. Great technology companies keep pace with the changing times, adopt new business models and stay focused to add value to their customers. Netflix is a story of taking smart risks, doing great work & building the future.

Customer retention strategies are one of the most strong elements for creating a winning business in the digital age. With things changing fast, customers have more choices than ever before. Companies need to constantly reinvent themselves to align with their customer expectations. Laser sharp focus on providing maximum value to your customers is a great competitive advantage for retention & growth of a company.

The lifespan of companies on the Fortune 500 has reduced considerably over the last few decades. While the average lifespan of a Fortune 500 company was 90 years in 1935, in 2010 it was 14 years. Charles Fine, MIT Researcher elaborates, “The faster the industry clockspeed, the shorter the half-life of competitive advantage.” Simply put, companies cannot take their competitive advantage or market position for granted today. Here’s a look at the most effective customer retention strategies used by leading companies today:

1.Good Fit Customers

One of the greatest fallacies of business is serving the wrong set of customers. It is very important to qualify your customers religiously. The target market, locations, customer profiles, credit limits, payment terms and reputation of companies etc. you do business with requires careful vetting.

Once your company has identified the right set of customers and has a steady flow of them, then your business can focus all energies on delighting customers.

2. Value from Product Or Service

Studies have shown that acquiring new customers is five times more costly than retaining the existing ones. Your most loyal customers are the most rewarding ones for building your business. They not only provide you the revenue, but also become advocates of your brand to other customers.

Customers enjoy a product or service, when they can see the tangible value from it. Great companies communicate with their customers to understand what they need, serve their pain points or aspirations and provide products/services to fill the gaps for them. They also make it a point to articulate the value to build a clear perception in the minds of their customer. It creates a win-win situation for both parties.

3. Customer Experience

The digital tools and technologies have made it easier for companies to create highly personalised customer experience. When brands are interacting with their customers, it gives them a chance to impress them. By asking your customers what they want, understanding their needs with deep attention and providing them great care, your company can create a winning customer experience that creates a compelling differentiation. 

When Airbnb launched its pleasant experience features, they handcrafted the ideal travel experience for its customers. All the way from the time the customer landed on the Airport to visit a city till the time they left it. They understood each element that made their travel pleasant, enjoyable and momentous. This was then used to create Airbnb experiences using technology.

Automation and technology can assist companies to build great experiences for customers, provided you know what moves your customers. 

4. Customer Success
Your customer success is what makes your company successful. When you want to retain customers, you have to understand what makes them successful. The most successful customer retention strategies revolve around the core needs of their customers.

What makes your customers successful & their end goals?
How does our products/service help the customer become more successful in his business?
Is there anything that we can do to add more value to our customers?
What is the ideal product/service for our customers?
How can we help our customers reach their goals?

Customer success is working with them proactively to ensure they get what they need. It helps your customers become more successful and helps you grow your business too.

5. Support System

A strong support team is the basic need for good customer service. The digital technologies have increased the number of channels for customer support. The users expect consistent and quick response to their issues with their preferred mode of communication. For e.g. a support ticketing system inbuilt into products, video support, chatbots, social media support teams etc. have become common for addressing customer concerns today.

Customer retention requires good communication, prompt acknowledgement, & resolution of their issues. Companies that use data to track metrics like, average issues per customer, average response time, average resolution time, customer feedback scores, outstanding support issues, closed support issues etc. can work towards improving these metrics for better customer satisfaction.

6. Analyse Usage & Touchpoints
The behaviour of customers using your products & services can be tracked using technology. When customers are new to your products, is it easy for them to operate your products? Which features are most important to them? What are their usage patterns? With behavioural analytics, the product usage patterns can be analysed.

Customer retention strategies ensure that products & services are effortless and straightforward for users. They set-up teams, tools and technologies to make users succeed in what they are doing. Every touchpoint and interaction with your product or service makes customers feel more confident & helps them accomplish their goals.

7. Create Feedback loops

One of the most effective ways to build better products and services is by listening to your customers. Not all your customers are right, when it comes to feedback. But the best ones help you develop your products by adding the right features and improvements that work for the majority of the users.

Many companies adopt creative ways to engage with their customers. They organise events, interaction sessions, webinars, online meetings and find myriad ways to listen to their customers.

A constantly evolving product with a long term roadmap needs strong feedback loops. It really pays off if a company gets its customers to speak about things that matter the most to them. It can bring in great innovations with a market validation upfront to maximise value.

8. Wow Moments

Customer retention is about building things with customers at the heart & center of everything a company does. It is about delighting, surprising and creating wow moments for the customers.

The best brands pay great deal of effort in shaping wow moments for their customers. These moments are the result of personalised, unique and special moments crafted for your customers. For e.g. something as simple as a handwritten note to the customer saying thank you for choosing us could mean a lot to a customer.

It is the ability of brands to go the extra mile, show care for their customers and help them create pleasant experiences for them that builds great companies.

Continue reading “Built To Sell: Creating A Business That Can Thrive Without You” →

Continue reading “COVID Second Wave!” →

The Corona pandemic has shaken the world, it has changed the way people work and live. More than $114 million people lost their jobs in 2020, but the great thing is that half of them still feel confident and optimistic about the future.

The whirlwind of the pandemic caused sweeping changes to the way people work in our world. Remote jobs became more prevalent than ever before & an upsurge in automation is transforming how industries operate. Here’s a look at the key findings from the Future of Work report, based on the findings of the PWC survey that involved over 32,000 workers.

The respondents included office workers, business owners, contractors, part time workers and furloughed employees too. The survey included responses from workers in 19 countries. Here’s the key summary of the future of work: 

1. Jobs Will be Obsolete

39% of the people think their jobs will be obsolete in the next 5 years. The rapidly changing technologies, disruptions and fast paced developments are clearly having a direct impact on the jobs. In the pandemic alone, many job titles.

The study revealed that 48% people believe that traditional employment will change in the future, and that employees will need to sell their skills on a short term basis to people who need them.

The rise of the contract workers and just in time skills for getting work done is in high demand. Many companies are exploring options to get their work done without relying on full time workers. The percentage of long term stable jobs might see a decline in the future as employers find other viable options.

2. Automation Threat

The PWC study reported that 60% are worried that automation is putting many jobs at risk. So, there is more competition for human workers from machines and technology than most people can imagine. 

Automation is a looming threat and will eat up jobs for sure. However, new technologies will also create jobs that don’t exist today. Companies will need to be proactive in preparing a work force that can adapt to the future and take up newer jobs that might not exist today. For e.g. Devops engineers, big data scientists, Blockchain specialists were not very familiar roles a few years back as they are today. The future will be driven by technology & automation. Companies and their workers will need to make the transformation in order to be relevant in the future.

3. Remote work on Demand

The PWC study shows only 9% of those who can work remotely want to go back to a traditional commute and work environment full time. People have got used to remote work and very few of them want to go back full time to their old office ways.

The remote work has made the priorities of companies and workers clearer. It has made workers more productive and companies are constantly employing technologies to bring out the best in their workforce. The virtual collaboration is part and parcel of the modern day workplace now. 

The future workplace may well be a combination of remote workers and in office teams that collaborate, brainstorm and build solutions for the future. Workers in metropolitan cities are more likely to benefit from remote working as it takes longer commute times to reach office. The technology breakthroughs will also transform the ways people work in the next 3 to 5 years.

4. Purpose Driven Companies

As many as 75% workers say they want to work for an organisation that will make a positive contribution to society. The societal impact of work is important for workers. The majority of the workers are driven by a sense of purpose in what they do. Infact, the study showed that 46% of the people are willing to take up a job where they would choose a job that makes a difference over money. 

Companies that provide employees a sense of ownership, freedom, and a mission that creates an impact attract talent. While most people preferred to maximise their income, but a large percentage of people are still driven by their work and want to be associated with a purpose driven company.

5. Reskill & Retrain

The workplace for tomorrow needs workers who are prepared for the future. 77% of the workers said they are ready to learn new skills or complete retrain. Infact, the pandemic provided a great opportunity for 40% workers who improved their digital skills.

The companies are looking at employees training as their investment for the future. It helps them build a readily available technology talent pool, build better products/services for their customers and develop a continuous learning mindset for their company.

The ability to learn, adapt and implement new skills is a key differentiator in the world of technology. When companies help their people evolve, it infuses innovation, learning and growth for companies. The cost of doing nothing is very high, organisations need to get a move on & empower their teams to deliver products/services that shape their future.

6. Workplace Discrimination

One of the most disconcerting aspects of the pandemic is the inequalities it spotlighted. Whether it is the workforce, the digital divide or the standards of living among the classes of people, the inequalities are very much part of our world that we need to erase quickly.
The pandemic created a surge in the workplace discrimination. Many countries saw migrant workers leave their countries back to their native ones. There were sentiments of anti globalisation and racial discrimination that triggered an avalanche of emotional reactions amidset the working populace. 

50% of workers say they’ve faced discrimination at work, which led to them missing out on career advancement or training. While 13% report missing out on opportunities as a result of ethnicity.

A fully inclusive workplace allows employees and workers to express themselves without any inhibitions. It helps them flourish, develop their talents and rise to their capabilities. The organisations that build this type of culture benefit from it in the long run. When meritocracy rules supreme, the results are noticeable for everyone.

The future of work will involve more deliberation from corporate leaders to speak on issues of workplace discrimination. A culture of open mindedness, inclusion and freedom is the best investment for the generations of the future.