What is inhwa?

Historically, ancient Korean dynasties adopted an extreme form of Confucianism, introduced by the Chinese around 108 BC, to control citizens and safeguard the government by discouraging individual thinking or acting. The Choson dynasty later formally introduced a class system and officially prescribed etiquette kingdom-wide. These mandated manners are the foundation of a circumstantial morality system. Only those citizens that followed the conduct prescribed by the Confucian government were regarded as morally upright and proper, while those neglecting to do so were regarded as immoral and socially sanctioned.

Korea is widely regarded as the most Confucian nation worldwide, an important factor when considering engaging or interacting with the Korean business world. A hierarchical structure is deeply rooted in Korea’s authoritarian and militant history. Today, Koreans still relate to each other in a class system guided and defined by particular etiquettes and customs.

When engaging with Korean people in a business context (e.g. a business venture), understanding and respecting local custom and cultural norms is directly correlated to that venture’s success.

In order to establish a positive relationship, Korean culture demands the maintenance of stable environment of kibun, which can roughly be described in terms of pride, face, mood, or state of mind. Disturbing others’ kibun, by disregarding social hierarchy, giving negative feedback, displaying emotions or openly criticising someone is considered extremely impolite, as it disrupts the harmony between people. Koreans are willing to go to great lengths to maintain their and others’ kibun. This conditional cultural reflex can have detrimental effects on business ventures, as negative information may be withheld or softened for the sake of maintaining inhwa and not disturbing the other party’s kibun. Furthermore, a violation of a business partner’s or one’s own kibun might make the development or sustaining of positive, long-lasting relationships impossible and could potentially be very costly to the business.

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Win/Loss Analysis: Sustainable Growth

All business strive for continuous success and growth and in the early stages of business development, this might be easy to achieve. However, the more established a business becomes, the more difficult it becomes to improve on last year’s results.

The key to continuous growth is insight-driven continuous refinement.

Perception is Reality

Conducting a win/loss analysis is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to improve and refine your marketing, communications, sales and business strategies. It is also one of the most important analyses, as your customers’ perception will be directly reflected in your sales.

 

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It simply involves interviewing of 10 to 15 customers within 3 months of their purchase and, more importantly, the same amount for “lost sales”. “Lost sales” are those who enquired about the company’s service or product but failed to proceed to make a purchase. These interviews prove most successful when conducted by an independent third party, as conflicts of interest are avoided, and customers openly give more direct and honest feedback about their experiences with their purchase.

Analysing the gathered feedback will not only give the business a deeper understanding of consumer buying behaviour and its (potential) pain-points, but will also enable the business to benchmark themselves against their competitors and other key industry players. It may even uncover potentially new and successful products or services that customers have always wanted!

This will allow for a strategic and informed refinement of the business’ unique selling proposition (USP), but also act as an early warning system, indicating the need for a product or service to be improved before sales are disrupted.

The processing and analysis of results will enable the business to develop meaningful and strategic recommendations, allowing decision makers of all kinds to make better decisions in their businesses.

Promptly implementing the changes and improvements from the analysis will increase overall effectiveness and put you on the path to success.

Remember, that customer perception is what will make or break your business, especially when we compete globally for the same dollar.

Businesses (and their owners) that want to stay on the trajectory of continuous growth, should dedicate itself to a continuous refinement process, backed by timely win/loss analyses (e.g. monthly or quarterly).

Download now: How to optimise your customer acquisition and retention strategies.

Market Research – The Key to Successful Marketing

Marketing is a vital part of business operations, as it promotes the business brand, products and, importantly, what they stand for, hopefully in front of the company’s target audience and ultimately grow their customer base and sales.

However, every business differs in its products, services, customers, target audiences, distribution and many more factors. So, the success of every marketing strategy depends on market insights, informed strategy and appropriate budget allocations.

In order to develop an effective marketing strategy and maximise outcomes, businesses have to understand their own industry trends and inform themselves about major players within the industry in order to identify threats and opportunities (to their business), prior to potential disruption of sales, but also jumping on any first-mover competitive advantages there may be.

An in-depth analysis of regulations and risk factors, such as impacts of political and financial fluctuations will help risk mitigation or avoidance of some costly missteps down the track.

The importance of an overview of industry external influences, such as substitute and complementary industries is commonly underestimated. Strategy informed with industry insights allows a business or company to position themselves to add more value to their customers’ lives, and also helps to define and improve the company’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP), i.e. that X-Factor.

A crucial part of market research is the identification and profiling of target customer groups. This will inform the development of new products and/or services, as well as assisting in targeting marketing campaigns, maximising outcome, whilst minimising expenses, i.e. reducing expenditure in areas where it is not needed as urgently.

Every company aiming for sustainable growth and success should trial new products and services and give their customers a voice – they can tell you everything you need to know. This will identify areas of improvement, growth opportunities and minimise of risk exposure. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be implemented and used to measure the success and effectiveness of every marketing strategy and campaign and ensure that organisational objectives are aligned with appropriate budget allocations.

These combined, will then empower a business to effectively allocate their budget accordingly to needed areas, maintain good relationships with suppliers and distributors, and ultimately maximise customer satisfaction and value.

Get your facts and seek feedback to make the right decision!

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