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Thursday, July 10, 2003

Take a holistic prospective to your business

NGOs: More than flower power. Nongovernmental groups that wield nearly $1 trillion shift tactics to work with business for fair trade. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories]

Who should determine what you sell in your business?  Could the line of business (or specific set of product) you provide be seen as fair trade?  Organizations with strong business relationships look at their products with another persons perspective.

Often businesses partner with strategic partner, inadvertently locking out other competitors who may better serve your customers desires. Perhaps organizations you work with have questionable business practices. Small changes in the marketplace can translate to big swings in customer attitude.

Don't choose partners for your comfort, choose them for profitability and the desires of your customers. While protests are more the problems of businesses you serve down the supply chain, save you and your partners the trouble by:

• Choose products that don't harm any particular group in their manufacture.  Check on the small towns and under served populations where your offices are located. Are you helping them?
• Select materials that produce little waste and are harmless to the environment.  Besides being a great selling point, many countries offer tax credits for environmentally friend business processes. Check local environments too.
• Monitor working conditions of foreign plants, keeping them at par if possible.  Remember, no matter in what country the work is being done, you have a responsibility to provide a safe work environment to all employees.
• Survey customers (and end-users) of products to understand desires.  Work with resellers, business partners, and down channel providers to get accurate information.
• Keep lines of communications open down your supply chain.  You want to hear feedback from anyone who touches your product, or consumes your services.

Justin Hitt teaches executives strategies to improve business relationships that can increase revenues while reducing costs of service. Publisher of Inside Strategic Relations, a twice-monthly newsletter.

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