Simplicity Is Key In A Complex World

We are surrounded by choices and advertising everyday. Companies are trying to get our attention with products, services, their branding, and more. In the midst of all this confusion, it may be tempting for a business to jump right in. We think that offering more products, diversifying marketing to all possible options, offering sales or coupons, going to every networking event, partering or merging with several companies,and making a lot of investments into design and innovation will move us forward. This isn't always the case. Complexity can be harmful to a business because everything becomes more about quantity than quality. When a business is doing well there may be a temptation to accumulate and the mess created is often masked since growth continues. When things slow down, as they have in recent years, inefficiencies and problems become more evident.

As a business grows expanding its products and services, the administrative costs increase. More employees are required to manage different aspects of the business. As the customer base grows the organization needs to put more time and energy into customer service. More products means more manufacturing maybe more factories or business partners. As inefficiency goes up, so do the costs. What's the alternative?

Simplicity is focusing on what your business is best at and what you are passionate about. There is nothing wrong with making changes, and you will have to as you grow, but it is essential to stay true to the business. General Motors for example ended up with 47 brands of cars while Ford decided to focus on a “One Ford” campaign. Success depends on strategy and using resources wisely. Quality and focusing on strengths is much more effective than quantity and focusing on weaknesses or focusing on what others are doing.

Here are some things to look out for:

• Too many variations of a product.

• Too many partners, factories, and locations.

• A complex management structure.

• No simple way of communication between locations.

• Too much IT. Having all the gadgets doesn't help if you don't know how to use them or worse—you don't need them.

• Branding that is not clear or streamlined.

• Too many branches in the business. Can you even explain what you do?

• Complex pricing—too many discounts or coupons based on memberships, locations, holidays etc. This would confuse even the sales team!
  
  

Simplicity involves:

• A clear story and branding from your business.

• An elevator pitch that any average person can understand.

• A group of partners that communicate well with you and complement your business.

• Products and services that target specific groups and do so successfully because of their function, uniqueness, and convenience.

• A set of stremlined processes among employees, managers, and branches.

• The use of technology that enhances your communication, marketing, customer service, and more in order to make the organization function to its full potential.

• Meeting regularly with a networking group that can add value to your business. Building relationships can be a lot more valuable than meeting someone new at various networking groups.

• Choose a specific marketing strategy. This can be tested through small changes and metrics designed to measure them. Doing everything at once does not help you determine what was successful.

Competition can be stressful and overwhelming but the key to making it less of a hurdle is simplicity. Focusing and taking strategic steps is a lot more beneficial than trying everything and having chaos when the dust settles.