Review of Commercial Principles

There has been little new offered so far—most is common sense. What is new, however, is the notion that there might be evolutionary stages through which businesses can and should strengthen their commercial culture. Evolving a culture is far more difficult than roping in a principle from some fashionable book to assist when making a particular choice.

Put another way:Closed Sophisticated commercial strategies cannot be successfully introduced, even by clever consultants, if the infrastructure principles are not well-established.

Case-study type articles regularly indicate that principles of Cycle-2 (Modes 5-7) are weak or ignored.

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  CYCLE 1 CYCLE 2
Stages»  Stage-1 Stage-2 Stage-3 Stage-4 Stage-5 Stage-6 Stage-7
THEE-names» Market-
centred		 Power-
centred		 Cause-
centred		 Community-
centred		 Kinship-
centred		 Perspective-
centred		 Reality-
centred
Key Issue» Productivity Competition Promotion! Reciprocity Surrender Innovation Position
               
Harnessing Yourself            
Challenge Find customers Compete for market share Define the unique selling proposition Give value for money Accept dependency on customers Welcome new thinking & new technologies. Position realistically
Benefit Make profits Closely monitor competitors Target specific markets Win and retain customers Deserve customer loyalty Obtain massive functional gains Focus in order to lead
Means Operate competently Exploit advantages Invest heavily in promotion Listen to customers Nurture each customer Educate potential customers Ride long-term trends
Handling the Environment            
The Market Meet customer wishes Do SWOT analyses regularly Campaign & crusade for the business Deal fairly Trust the customer Exploit diverse possibilities Own a word in the mind of a prospect
Protagonists Build reliable trading relationships Seek system leverage Create a brand and a coherent identity Consider all as stakeholders Exchange useful information Demand systems and standards that are compatible Use public relations
               
Handling Outcomes            
For Profits Know the business Sustain pricing power Organize to close sales Develop strategic alliances Personalize interactions Invest in R&D Envision the future
Failure & Downturns Accumulate reserves Displace risk Evaluate the impact of marketing Support industry-wide associations Take a long-term perspective Adjust to the Technology Adoption Life Cycle Accept failure, and cut losses

Apart from evolution of an ethos, the Spiral trajectory also points us towards a framework geared specifically to choices directly related to profitability irrespective of the stages of development of the ethos or culture.  This way of modeling is similar toClosed using the spiral of career development to develop the framework of cooperation for results.

Originally posted: July 2009