Too Many Things, Too Little Time?
- Cherry B
- Oct 18, 2016
- 3 min read
How often have we heard these phrases, “no time’, “too busy”, “24-hours isn't enough”, etc… How many times have you seen a colleague, a salesperson, even yourself wishing that a day has more than 24-hours?
We have been busy with preparing quotations, visiting customers, working on projects, meetings with bosses and vendors, spending time with family, studies etc… All these sounds too familiar? But it is a hard fact of everyday life. Is there a better way we can manage things and find quality time with the people that really need time? Is there a better way to reap better sales numbers while spending sufficient time with the correct prospects and customers? Some of you may have already know BCG Matrix. It is an old methodology, but it is still applicable to many in their daily routines. Perhaps, this could shed some lights into the issues we mentioned earlier.
What is BCG Matrix?
The BCG Matrix is a business method that was created by the Boston Consulting Group in the 1970’s. This business method bases its theory on the life cycle of products.
How does it help me in my work?
Knowing the different categories in the matrix, we are able to segment and differentiate customers who reap most returns while spending least amount of time, and those customers who just don’t benefit you at all no matter how much time was spent on them.
In layman words, it means it helps us save lots of time if we know who we should spend more or less time with.
The Categories
The Star : is the scenario where there is the optimum situation of high growth and high share, i.e. customers whom you spend a lot of time & money on but they also provide a lot of cash returns.
The Cash Cow : deals with low growth and high share, i.e. customers whom you spend very little time but they provide high cash generation back to you.
The Dog : is the situation where the growth is low and the market share is low, this is one of the worst situations. This refers to customers whom you spend a lot of time & money but reap also no returns.
The Question Mark : is high market growth but low shares. In this situation there is a high demand but low returns. Customers in this quadrant can either become Stars or Dogs.
How do I apply?
Do you know which of your customers are Cash Cows, Stars ,Dogs and Question Marks?
Can we segments customers into each of these 4 quadrants?
Once we are able to do these, will we then be able to derive how much time we spend with each of these set of customers? Eg,
- Visiting “Cash Cows” once a month instead of weekly.
- Paying more attention and time with “Stars” and developing them into “Cash Cows”.
- Spending least time with “Dogs”.
- Identifying potential customers who could be developed into “Star”.
"Is there a better way we can manage things and find quality time with the people that really need time? Is there a better way to reap better sales numbers while spending sufficient time with the correct prospects and customers?"
While this model may not work in every situation and individuals, it certainly creates a platform for us to identify the type of customers we handle on a daily-basis and identifying which are the ones we should focus first. This serves as a plate for us to bring more value to the correct set of customers. Observe some of the successful salespersons in the market and you will notice something familiar.
If you wish to find out more about BCG Matrix, here are some good links :
As usual, if you have any comments with our article, please share with us. We would love to hear from you.
Cherry-O!
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