Organizational Democracy

As reported in The Washington Post, General Motor’s sales were down 41% in November.  Selling GM cars to the people who had good credit ratings wasn’t working.  So GM — in addition to taking $6 billion in federal aid because its credit terms were so bad that people were were already unable to pay their credit — is now letting people buy now, pay later…five years later, even though reports are that the economy is getting worse.  GM is also halving its credit standards, and the number of people it considers to have bad credit, from 40% of the nation’s adults down to 20%.

Instead of being desperate, lowering prices, and getting into trouble, companies can make their products better for their customers.  Contrast GM with:

“Ford, which currently is financially stable without federal aid, unveiled technology yesterday that can parallel-park Lincoln MKS sedans and crossovers with the touch of a button — without a driver touching the steering wheel.”

In 2005, these five articles helped me figure out who was shopping at a home appliances store (we sold washers and dryers, refrigerators, etc.), what customers wanted, and how to get it.  At this particular store, I decided we had 10 “customer types.”  Over the next four months, I led a redesign of the store.  All in all, customer satisfaction and coworker satisfaction improved, and we boosted bottom-line profits by over a million dollars.

These articles are about: segmenting your market and developing your products and services for different market segments; the brand personalities, products and services for clothing retailer Anthropologie; types of online buyers; the values of modern homemakers; and how some companies provide the value of simplicity.

WHAT RAZOR DO YOU BUY? HOW DO YOU DESIGN A CLOTHING STORE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS? WHAT ATTRACTS PEOPLE MOST?

“The Science of Shopping” by Malcolm Gladwell.The New Yorker. November 4, 1996. Sections 4 through 6 of the article. Read at: http://www.gladwell.com/1996/1996_11_04_a_shopping.htm

ANTHROPOLOGIE

“Sophisticated Sell” by Polly LaBarre with photographs by Kate Swan. Fast Company. Issue 65, December 2002. Page 93. Read at:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/65/sophisticated.html

FIVE CATEGORIES OF ONLINE BUYERS

“Net meeting: let us introduce to the most important people on the Internet. If you think you know e-commerce consumers, this might surprise you” by Mark Henricks. Entrepreneur. February, 2003. Excerpt from end of article (SEE BELOW!) from:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DTI/is_2_31/ai_n11849735/pg_2

DEFINITION OF A HOMEMAKER

“The New Face of Homemakers” by Jan Larson. American Demographics. September 1997. Excerpts (SEE BELOW!) from:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_n9_v19/ai_19759911

JUST ENOUGH

“The Beauty of Simplicity” by Linda Tischler. Fast Company. Issue 100, November 2005. Page 52. Read at:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/100/beauty-of-simplicity.html

EXCERPT: FIVE CATEGORIES OF ONLINE BUYERS

“Net meeting: let us introduce to the most important people on the Internet. If you think you know e-commerce consumers, this might surprise you” by Mark Henricks. Entrepreneur. February, 2003. Excerpt from end of article. From:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DTI/is_2_31/ai_n11849735/pg_2

JUST YOUR TYPE

Marketers have analyzed customers and markets in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and other characteristics for decades. But demographics aren’t the only tools for slicing up an online market. San Diego market research firm Miller Williams Inc. splits online buyers into five categories: sensibles, agonizers, hagglers, loaners and techies.

Sensibles, at 37 percent, are the most numerous of all online shoppers, the easiest to satisfy and probably the best customers, says Amy Ferraro, director of research. Agonizers, representing 10 percent, do lots of comparison shopping, but aren’t as price-oriented as hagglers, who make up 34 percent. Loaners, representing 15 percent, emphasize ease of use in their shopping experience. About 5 percent of online shoppers are Web-savvy but fickle techies.

The takeaway of this segmentation is that you need to know who your customers are and make sure you aren’t offering something they don’t want or need. “If you know your buyers are hagglers,” reasons Ferraro, “you know you need to target them with coupons.”

* * *

DEFINITION OF A HOMEMAKER

“The New Face of Homemakers” by Jan Larson. American Demographics. September 1997. Excerpts. From:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_n9_v19/ai_19759911

They define a homemaker as “anyone who is in charge of the household.” “I do a lot of things myself to save money,” she says.

She buys from mail-order catalogs, but also comparison shops at malls. She’d like to take advantage of value stores. What it comes down to, she says, is: “Do I have more time or money? If something is too expensive, I give it the time. I would use a lot of other services, but they would have to be bargains.”

“temporarily-at-home moms.” “Even though their life stage has changed where they now need a minivan, they want the style and image of a sport-utility vehicle”

Keeping it simple and straightforward appeals most to homemakers….She wants rational arguments and information that shows the return on her investment….”You don’t tell me everything–you’re going to keep it a secret–I’ll go someplace else.”….they also intensely dislike telemarketing pitches….

….by nature a bargain hunter. She uses coupons. She is also a catalog shopper, but when she’s in the market for a given product and needs information, she wants to deal with human beings, not phone menus.

This newest market of household managers will not be easy to sell. They developed a cynical view of the world at an early age. Companies have to prove their worth. “You’re better off not promising what you can’t deliver”….

In the future…advertisers and manufacturers may find themselves teaching some homemakers how to keep it all together. Advertising that identifies a particular problem and offers a simple solution and clear instructions on how to use the product will resonate with consumers.

Even experienced homemakers appreciate assistance navigating the maze that is today’s consumer marketplace. “Shopping…becomes even more of a chore when you have to decipher packaging and figure out which of a brand’s six varieties fits your need”….She wants the facts, too….”They don’t need a lot of gimmicks. Just tell me what it is and what’s in it.”….”I expect them to be honest, to tell it as they see it, not to pretend or to talk down to me….”

I recently finished and published my book, The Handbook to Get Things Done in Companies with Organizational Democracy.

The Handbook is $19.95. shipping in the U.S. is free when you buy here. International shipping is also available. Buy 10 books and get 2 for free. The Handbook: a great holiday gift for someone you work with, your boss, or a friend.

This is a coffee-table book, the kind where you’ll see one page or a few pages that get you thinking, and before you know it you might be acting differently too.

A reader says:

“Alex’s book is a must read for anyone that wants to reconnect with the passion that drew them into business in the first place. Its pithy style is extremely engaging. It’s impossible not to come away with new ideas and new perspectives about how to get more done while increasing team morale and personal satisfaction.”

Preview and buy my book.

One of the most popular pieces of writing on this site is “Gifting and Re-Seeing.”  A Christmas sermon, a red metal box, and what we can do when we can’t give the perfect gift or have the perfect life we want.

Other reader favorites can be viewed here.  View all writings here.

As we head into the New Year, what would you like me to write about?  What are you curious about?  What are you working on?  Many readers of this site are artists or creative in some way, curious about ways to live more fully at work.  Please share your thoughts, your ideas, your questions, your wishes.  What frustrates, confuses, or excites you?

What frustrates or confuses you that you’d like to somehow turn into excitement?

My favorite memory of waiting in line happened last year in Atlanta.  I was at Highland Bakery.

It was before the renovation, and there was a big, big line that went to the back wall.  The other customers and I were waiting to order food like:

The guy who was taking orders and also making food behind the counter was working very hard and very fast and very friendly.  There were a lot of smiles between him and the customers.  The line was long, and we were hungry.  So when the guy behind the counter announced to us all, “I’m going to step away for a few minutes, then I’ll be back,” I was a bit shocked.  A silence befell all of us in line.  The guy stepped away, went into the restroom, and we resumed our conversations or daydreams.

When he came back, a few minutes later, and began cheerily helping us again, everyone in the line burst into applause. I was surprised by that.  Our applause got us bursting into laughter, too.  The overall feeling might sort of be summed up by this striped hat:

The alternative?  He could have held it in until relieved by a fellow employee on the next shift.

The thing is, that was the only time in my life I’ve ever seen someone make that announcement to customers.  He was true to himself and his bodily needs.  He communicated directly with the customers, telling them what was going to happen.  (How many bus drivers just stop the bus and walk out, to be replaced however minutes later by another bus driver!  How many waiters go off their shift, so when you want to tip them, you can’t find them!)  He kept his promise.  He returned and it lifted our spirits to see him.

If a bakery is a metaphor for life, or at least a workplace:

As the Highland Bakery’s website says, and I’d like to think it’s about the work style and the people who work there: 

“Really good stuff.  Inside and out.”

The store is open for a wide variety of experiences:

“A half pound muffin, or a weightless meringue kiss.  We care about it.  How it tastes, how it looks, what it’s made of.  We think about it.  We talk about it.  We eat it.  We mean it!”

It was a year since I’d been to Highland Bakery.  I’d forgotten the name of the store, and only remembered the name of city.  When I typed “Atlanta bakery” into Google, there was Highland Bakery, the very first listing!

The last line of the Highland Bakery’s website Bake Shop page? 

“Come get some!”

Because the workstyle is really good stuff, inside and out, Highland Bakery gets a lot of reviews.  A lot of really really good reviews.  Which puts it first on Google.  Which means more people become customers.  Which means the business makes more money because of its workstyle.

Highland Bakery is a more human place than most bakeries.  When you need to pee, you can pee.  And because you’re fully responsible for your actions, you tell customers what you’re going to do.  So they trust you, which makes it easier for you to trust them.  Basically, you become friends.  Which makes it easier to laugh, and smile, and make money.

[The above images are all from www.highlandbakery.com Every image links to the Highland Bakery website, so even though I didn’t ask for permission to use the images, I’ll trust that it’s okay.  Design and photography of the Highland Bakery site are by Green Olive Media:

Wishing you happy holidays, and

“A half pound muffin, or a weightless meringue kiss“

-Alex