Your Best in Business

Archive for the ‘General Business’ Category

On most occasions, businesses want to participate in an industry were tangible products are the main focus. However, the other side of the coin deals with the service sector such as banking, finance, consultation, insurance, transportation, and communication to name a few. The things offered by the service sector range from a defense presentation that allows a person to prove his innocence, a medical procedure to make a person feel confident about herself again, a hair makeover, to an enjoyable dining experience.

Designing services is a very difficult task due to its high variation of characteristics and highly variable standard of people regarding satisfaction. A notable reason behind the difficulty of this also has something to do with the direct contact of the service provider to the customer. Because of this, the customer also has an immediate effect to the overall design of how the service is given to him. An example of this is when a customer describes what he wants to have in terms of images like a specific cooking style of steak, whether rare, medium rare, or well done. Oftentimes, a provider gives a set of options for a customer to choose from and when this option is given to him, his reaction is vital in spelling the success of the transaction.

Moreover, like tangible products, services put out a huge investment in the design stage. Also like products, the cost of designing a service can be reduced with proper implementation and optimization. Four techniques can be applied to achieve this and these are late customization, modularization, automation, and moment of truth.

Late customization is done by performing important tasks on the last stage. Modularization is simply late customization that has been divided into various modules. Automation is reducing the direct interaction of the service provider to the customer. While moment of truth is using a specific moment when the satisfaction rate of the customer has been known to enhance it further or emphasize satisfaction simply with a smile after the customer got want he came in for.

There are some people who immediately decide to buy a franchise due to its predefined advantages but sometimes they tend to fail in this endeavor especially if they cannot clearly define their role in the franchise agreement. When you buy a franchise, you are called the franchiser while the one who sold it to you is called the franchisee. Remember that there are many things that bond the two participants but it is also important to take note that they are two separate entities who might have different sets of objectives.

As the franchiser, it is your role to be a client to the franchise agreement and not to be an associate. Your goals of having high yield is the same with that of the franchisee but the difference is, your gain affects his gain but his gain does not have anything to do with yours. Therefore, if the franchisee is earning a lot that does not necessarily that you are also performing well because he might be earning from other franchisers except you. So, keep in mind that your franchise will only succeed by putting effort in it and not by relying on the franchisee.

Having a franchise is a business for those who do not want to start from scratch but wants to invest on something that is established and deemed profitable. As the owner of the franchise, you are the boss of the business and you should be the one making all important decisions for the business’s growth. Remember, when you get the franchise, you are already on your own so do not expect that the franchisee will do the job for you.