consumers try to individuate themselves, resulting in products that differentiate themselves, at least in the minds and hearts of consumers. Market segmentation has taken over market aggregation, although many still yearn for that blockbuster product that caters to all ages and all income levels. For a while, plain tap water occupied that spot until people started differentiating distilled water from mineral water, sports water from “nutritious” water, clear water from colored water. At the end of the day, water may still be water but not according to the consumer’s mind that is shaped and reshaped.
Going back to Westin, they decided to go beyond “Bed and Bath” to connect emotionally with guests, create memorable experiences and cultivate great customer preference and loyalty for their brand. They identified the five basic human truths of wanting to feel special, to belong, to be in control, to reach full potential and to be understood. Westin invested in lifestyle branding. This time they surveyed customers about how they felt inside them rather than what they were looking for in hotel amenities. Their study showed that 50% of travelers were sick or did not feel well while traveling. Some 52% felt lonely while 57% yearned to meet new people. Most of the travelers were not expecting hotels to provide them any physical, emotional or spiritual renewal. These objectives and new findings of Westin unveiled heretofore unrecognized opportunities.
Westin introduced the Sensory Welcome Program with the following features: a signature white tea scent in lobbies; mood music composed by “musicologists;” ambience lighting that got adjusted depending on time of day; and, specialized botanicals. Westin was the first hotel to become smoke-free. They launched the Breathe campaign along with the installation of “breathing lights.” Projected on the wall was a blue light that pulsed at the average speed of a healthy human being. The number of fresh breaths taken by Westin guests was counted. Westin trained its staff to be “experience engineers,” teaching them to read the body language of guests, watch for emotions and instinctively engage guests by anticipating their needs and making them feel special. Westin even gave its service associates a monthly credit ranging from US$500 to US$1,000 just to provide guests with unexpected delights such as taping a TV program they would miss while going out to dinner, a computer adapter or extension cord, a special hair brush, etc. Employees were motivated by fitness and renewal programs, encouraged by innovation sessions and communication seminars, and equipped with all the tools and techniques for great service delivery. All these created countless opportunities for winning customers’ long term loyalty and strong brand preference for Westin.
New Knowledge as Sources
New inventions, new systems and work processes, new insights about the human psyche, new applications for old knowledge, new revelations about how the physical world works, new interpretations, new combinations based on the convergence of previous technologies, new outlooks about how life should be led and a host of other new things are tremendous sources of opportunities. The entrepreneur who wants to take advantage of new knowledge should train himself or herself to be a voracious reader, a keen observer, a good situation assessor and an expert people sensor. Opportunities come readily to the ready mind. And the greatest virtue of the ready mind is intense curiosity and the insatiable desire to make the outside world relevant and applicable to the inner world. The ready entrepreneur asks the following questions: “What of the new knowledge can I make my very own? How does the new knowledge make me obsolete today so that, tomorrow, I can be a new me? How do I convert new knowledge to winning products and services?”
GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR OPPORTUNITY SEEKING IN NEW KNOWLEDGE
On a practical basis, the entrepreneur can apply new knowledge to attain his or her business purposes by asking the following questions:
1.What is a new product or service that I can bring to the marketplace and how will the existing market take to it?
2.What is new for my enterprise, but not for others, which can still find a niche in the market?
3.What is a new version or extension of my existing products and services that would meet changing, growing or sophisticating market needs?
4.What is a new market I can enter with my existing products and services?
5.What is a new way of satisfying customers that will totally change the market landscape and the industry rules of the game?
6.What is a new way of producing my products or rendering my services that would be more efficient, economical and effective?
7.What is a new way of managing my company’s people and resources?
8.What is a new way of distributing and selling my products and services?
Talents, Hobbies, Interests, Skills and Exposure
Many entrepreneurs discover their business passion by transforming their personal preferences into enterprise propositions. These personal preferences are highly influenced by what interests the entrepreneur the most, what their talents and skills are, and what crafts, jobs and training they have been exposed to. Entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed in ventures dear to their hearts, familiar to their hands and intriguing to their minds. This is true because motivational drive is what separates the persevering entrepreneur from the dilettante. The would-be entrepreneur who asks, “What business should I go into?” does not yet have that crucial ingredient to succeed, which is total belief in and full commitment to a particular entrepreneurial endeavor. He or she is still at the acquaintance stage of a torrid love affair.
The person who loves to cook and bake will find great interest in the restaurant or bakery business, provided that person aims to please the customer’s palate rather than just his or hers alone. Keen interest in photography has spawned the entrepreneurial careers of professional photographers. A young man trained by his father in selling, retailing and wholesaling will take to this business more readily than others. A woman with great talent in designing and sewing dresses will easily find opportunities in the fashion industry. Workers skilled in jewelry making and exposed to many jewelry makers clustered in a town like Meycauayan, Bulacan can, over time, graduate into small jewelry shop owners. Later on, they may even become big time jewelers. The same goes for furniture craftsmen and wood carvers in Betis, Pampanga. In a nationwide survey of entrepreneurs, which I undertook in 2004, personal talents, skills and educational training ranked high, along with personal capital, as the major factors which determined their entry into entrepreneurship.
GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR DETERMINING
PERSONAL PREFERENCES AND COMPETENCIES
AND MATCHING THEM WITH BUSINESS VENTURES
Before answering the seven questions below, determine first what entrepreneurial ventures you would like to consider. Second, ask what the chosen entrepreneurial ventures would demand of you as a person. Ask what kind of work it would entail and what kind of person would succeed in managing the venture. Third, assess whether you have what it takes to succeed in those ventures by answering the eight questions below. The questions try to uncover your personal preferences and competencies.
1.What activities and tasks do I usually love doing and find easy to do?
