This is part 2 of 3 of the series on Growing in New/Emerging Markets (link to Blog#1).
“How do we take the guess work out of the equation and reduce risks?”
Blog #1 was about Planning. This blog is about Acting on the Plan:
1- Pre “Workout”
The core team and leader assigned (see Blog#1) will spend 2-3 weeks in country/market to gather and prepare all the information required for the “workout” meeting. At a minimum, you will need a comprehensive view of Customers, Prospects, Channels, Competitors… in a heat-map format.
Each major sub market should be assigned to a local emerging leader from core team. They and their local team would have a few weeks to develop a mini business plan: Targets, Messaging, Resources, Outcome.
2- The “Workout” Meeting
In true “Shark Tank” or “GE Workout” fashion, the “Workout” is a summit where decisions WILL be made:
- Top Executives should make the trip, in person, in country/market to meet with the project team there and decide on next steps. Ideally the head of sales, marketing, business and/or product/brand should be there at the same time. Other functions may choose to attend or delegate a representative from the region.
- I would plan 3-4 days: Get to know the market, Listen to the mini business plans, Probe/Rework onsite and Make decisions before heading back home.
This approach had a huge impact on engagement and motivation of our local teams. Being able to be “on-stage” and have a rewarding conversation with top executives made the event very popular to our local staff.
The result?
Simply put: We drove emerging markets to a much larger percent of sales much faster than what was planned through organic strategic planning methods. The relatively small investment was worth every hour and penny. Team engagement was high and return on investment was fast.
I am looking forward to reading your comments.