Creating Demand
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With the huge amount of taxpayers fund now invested into helping needy citizens and espacially companies, it is high time companies start to asses their business strategies.
A business entity ultimately is to make profit, full stop, nothing else. If it is not profitable, there is absolutely no reason to invest money, time and effort into it.
Very basically, a company SELLS product or services, from our own port services to the coffeeshop selling Kopi-O.
The unsung heroes of any company are the salesperson- from the banking investment officer in Temasek holdings to the hardworking guys selling cheap watches person to person in coffeeships.
It is their hardwork, and from a sale, it could keep a few other persons employed, from the production operator to the chief finance officer.
The advertising and marketing dept, with their researched data, are the ones responsible in a company to create demand. Do we really need a plasma tv instead of a cathode ray tube TV? These are the guys who turn scientific research into market gain by convincing us consumers that we need it.
Why could BMWs be sold even today, instead of people buying Protons if the arguement that price is the most important consideration?
It's not like there is no money in the world. Everyone, or most of them have it, but it is all hoarded up. The best and the brightest in Advertising, Marketing, and Sales depts are needed now and must work overtime in this crisis to make consumers part with their money, and do it competitively, ethically and responsibly.
A company exists not just because of management. It is made up of a TEAM in the business model. Thus, in this current climate, it behooves companies to look into their business for viability. If viable, then they should get all the help from everyone. If not, it would a noble gesture to call it quits and not hurt anyone else.
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yes the money are hoarded by ppl. but it is hoarded by the banks.many ppl in US buy TV using credit cards, if credit dry up, no one buy. that is what happening to auto industry. there are ppl out there who wanted to buy a car but the finance company doesnt want to lent?
ppl in singapore are never well know for cash rich ppl. asset rich yes or what i call paper rich. they never hoarding to cash, they are hoarding probably the basic amount for survival should they get retrench. i couldnt ask ppl to spent. i can say ppl will spent what is necessary within their means to live thru this severe recession.
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personally i am in sales line.
my customer include many big Jap Mncs,such as the S', P',J,C, T + many OEMS.
all are in deep trouble. some are already in x off days/week.
production capacity cut by as much as 50%. if this persist, i think some will go bankrupt and maybe force into more merger.
the severity of it, i personally had not experience in semicon, electronics industry for past few recession.
maybe you guys can share your experience here. so that we can know how various industry are faring.
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semicon industry has been down for quite a few quarters, and is currently undergoing consolidation
fortunately for me, the company I work in is the one buying up fabrication plants at a bargain
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Local gaming industry seems ok so far but i've had new colleagues as far as europe joining my company when their gaming companies went bust.
Quite a few of them are funded by American real estate tycoons.
But considering the saving habits of the Chinese, i think you'd be surprised at how cash rich people can get. Not a general rule for everyone though, i'd like to state first.
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A company is just like a country but run on a smaller scale. Being small does not mean incompetence or ineptitide. England was only a small island state but it controlled the world, an empire in which 'the sun never sets'.
Whom amongst our local companies has that courage and determination as England in the field of commerce?
A time of crisis is often the best time to seperate men from the boys. This crisis is a crisis of confidence, not a lack of fundamentals - Earth's resources.Many companies and staff are living in fear and have no confidence even in their own company's survivability. Morale is low. Just like any military strategist will tell you, soldiers who have no morale is doom to fail in any enterprise. They will also infect the rest of the other soldiers with their fears. Misery loves company.
Thus, if a company wishes to survive, they must first remove those who have no confidence, rather than an across the board retrenchment excercise. Across the board will only remove talents or bravehearts within the company who are prepared to slug it out.
Weed out the low morale, and properly motivate the remaining troopers, espacially the crucial advertising, marketing and sales force, with the govt's fund injections, the rout may be stemmed, and success may just come.
This is a time of opportunities, not only in the local market, but in the international market as well. Everyone is timid and afraid, many companies had fallen.The field is wide open, an opportunity of a lifetime, but only for the brave. Our economy is strong, our banks solid, there is no time to lose.
Instead of retrenching staff, DBS, based on its brand and solid standing, should be expanding its marketing staff to capture more depositors around the world and build an even stronger balance sheet.
Creative tech, instead of retrenching staff, should increase their sales staff to gain further market share where even China's and Taiwan's, even american entreprenuers had given up.
Keppel Fels, instead of giving pink slips to engineers, should retain them and turn them into agressive sales engineers, sent across the globe to grab as much contracts as possible, even sub-contracting jobs out if they have too much to construct.
These are only examples of some more well known local companies. There are many other strong and solid companies around.It will be a brutual time in this crisis as singaporean companies battle it out against competitor singaporean companies as well as international companies.
But this is the opportunity of a lifetime we singaporeans had been waiting for - to seize worldwide domination as England and commercial Japan did in the past.We may lack entreprenuers, but our white and blue collared workers do not lack determination or fighting spirit under the umbrella of established companies if properly motivated.
Do remember, every other international company is not as strong or confident as us in this crisis. Now is the time to attack and bring home the bacon, not when other nations had gain confidence! Sun Tzi or Zhuge Liang would be proud of us, if we act now.Buying is often an impulsive act, even to purchase a ship. Create the conditions suitable for the buyer, and h e w i l l b u y.
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February: Focus on Change
We start this month with energies that are poised for major changes. Saturn opposes Uranus exactly for the second of five times on February 5th. Do you or your company have situations which have become intolerable and need changing? The Universe is here to help! You’re about to make those changes, whether you’re ready or not. Time’s up! If you don’t make the changes needed, the Universe will provide your world with a mini-quake to make them for you. These changes can happen very quickly and unexpectedly. Now that Red Communications (Mercury retrograde) is over, you’ve even had time to rethink your changes. Now is the time to make them!
Late in the day on February 2nd and early on February 3rd, we get some particularly smooth sailing for planning and implementing these changes. Some very clear thinking and stable emotions can assist this process, which are present at these times, along with the will to take strong strategic actions. This cycle is a grand trine with the Moon trine to Mars and Mercury (together in Capricorn), plus Saturn. You can find agreement to major changes with the help of these cycles. -
Originally posted by xtreyier:
Buying is often an impulsive act, even us in this crisis. Now is the time to attack and bring home the bacon, not when other nations had gain confidence! Sun Tzi or Zhuge Liang would be proud of us, if we act to purchase a ship. Create the conditions suitable for the buyer, and h e w i l l b u y.
Can .. YOu corner the person , put him on a island surrounded by water ...
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'bump'. Relevant in our current times.
There is no point for companies, MNCs, SMEs and the small timer operations to go lamenting to the govt to create demand.
Such tasks and responsibility belongs to the companies. If their product is viable and competitive, they will survive. If they are not, no further point in wasting taxpayers money for help, consumers hard earned money as well as talents within the company.
They must either merge and share their resources and talents or just close down and release their talents to other companies.
Enough of the confusion and cries. It goes into deaf ears. The dust had settled. Now is the time to surge forward, when the competition is down and hiding behind battened hatches.
Now is the time for the advertising, marketing and sales dept to shine. They are the frontline troops to get money for companies to survive.
Fire the admin dept or trim it down by all means. Accountants and clerks are not the ones to bring in money. Just because by virtue of their proximity to the bosses and are influential, they, in their cloistered self contained inflexible world where changes or 'last minute' request are not entertained, must be brought to heel. They must never be allowed to call the shots just so that their jobs be easier 9 to 5 daily for 5 days.
Emotions such as pride, envy or personal dissatisatifaction by bosses or staff must be critically shelfed.
These are not ordinary times. A financial crisis of unprecedented proportion had swept the world, sweeping us all out of our comfort zones.
The ones who pick up themselves fast and first will be the ones to profit the most, if not just survive. A company sets up because they believe they have honest products the market needs. Advertising, marketing and sales are the key to survivability now.
As we push forward, we must not leave anyone behind. Those who have no confidence or are afraid are only passengers and must be either retrained or removed to other duties. Results, and nothing else count now. Everyone, from the young to the old of our citizens, depends on it. This will be the key to our survival as a nation, after all the rhetoric and armchair criticisms.