Eng
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What we do
We have experienced the power of having a clear vision and an inspirational mission. We believe that this became the precondition of turning ACT from a micro-business born in a small post-Soviet country to a global player.
Working with leading business companies for years persuaded us even more on how important it is for an organization to realize why and for what purpose it exists, what it serves and what values it creates for a client and the world in general. It also made it clear for us how a company’s vision, mission and values can be translated into its growth and financial success.
In our experience, a company’s lack of vision or inconsistent priorities are very simple to detect, because such companies have at least 2 out of 7 symptoms listed below:
| 1. Concentration on individual performance
Managers of companies are concentrated on individual results and are less interested in the company’s needs or achievements. |
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2. Low loyalty and engagement of employees
Even when they have decent salaries, employees feel demotivated and are not ready to volunteer to engage in any type of activity beneficial for the company for free. |
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| 3. Mistrust and avoiding responsibility
Employees try to avoid being responsible for a company’s failure and blaming others becomes part of the organizational culture. As a result, the quality of trust in management is low. |
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4. Scarce investments into development
A company’s financial results are positive, but the management team still avoids investing in innovation, product development and growth of its staff because it is afraid of an “unknown future”. |
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5. “Prolonged” decisions and unfinished tasks
The process of making decisions is prolonged for months, and even after a decision is made, the company often fails to enforce it. |
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6. Negative business indicators
A company’s pace of growth or profitability slows down, and other success indicators (KPI) are negative or low (for example, market share, satisfaction index (NPS), etc.). |
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7. Frequent change of priorities and inconsistency
A company’s priorities change frequently and consequently, its employees become confused and irritated. In addition, resources are wasted in different directions and as a result, effectiveness is low. |
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On the contrary, when a company has an ambitious vision of development and a strong feeling of serving a greater purpose, then:
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The leadership team is united and responsibility for the company’s success is shared |
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Priorities are clear and decisions are consistent |
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Decisions are made promptly and the effectiveness of management increases |
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Employees are inspired, their motivation is increased, and they are actively engaged in the company’s activities |
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The company’s pace of development increases
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Consumers are attracted and kept |
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The company’s income and profitability indices improve |
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How we work
When it comes to the development of the company’s vision and mission, we are guided by the following working principles:
We sincerely believe that the company’s vision and mission cannot be written by any party outside the company even by extremely creative and smart consultants. A persuasive, energizing, and action-stimulating vision and mission indeed originates from aspirations, wishes and ambitions of the founders and management team. This is why, our approach implies working together with the development team in the format of individual meetings and facilitating team workshops. We help the company’s leaders in formulating their individual visions and wishes, then we merge them which is finally transmitted into the company’s unique vision.
Great ideas may be born in someone’s mind, but when it comes to a company’s vision and mission, we believe that only those ideas are viable that are born and refined in a co-creation process. Thus, a company’s vision and mission should not be on paper only, and as such we create platforms that envisage the engagement of the company’s management team first and then every employee of the company.
Reaching an agreement on a company’s vision and mission is a precondition for its success. However, it is not enough because sometimes even extraordinary ideas fade away unless they are implemented and brought to life. This is why, after developing the vision and mission, we offer companies our support in issues such as:
This way we help our clients to become stronger, to be able to fully utilize the company’s potential and maximize the realization of their aspirations.
Ancient Chinese merchants were among the first entrepreneurs. They have found a unique way to manage risk in international trade. They distributed their goods for sale on several ships and released at sea. Thus, if one ship was sunk or became a victim of pirates, the rest had a chance to survive. In this way, Chinese merchants safely transported most of their goods to the market of the neighboring city and avoided serious financial losses.
In the 21st century, the export-oriented business is no longer threatened by pirates, but it continues to face other challenges. In today's world, the political, economic and social environment is changing so rapidly that the most difficult task for any company is to find and retain a loyal customer.
The main conclusion that a business must make in the current reality is this: Chinese merchants learned this centuries ago - they realized how much risk the principle "Put all your eggs in one basket" contains. Inspired by an old adage, this concept perfectly explains the importance of market diversification. Its relevance is growing day by day for international marketers and it is clear that Georgian companies are no exception. The Russian-Ukrainian war once again showed us what we have already witnessed many times - how dependence on the market of one country interferes with business.
No one disputes that market diversification is the best solution for risk insurance. However, the implementation of this principle in the modern world requires much more effort than "several cargo ships". Even in the case of the local market, there are many challenges - finding a relevant target customer, winning and maintaining his loyalty. It is even more difficult to fulfill this mission in the international arena. So when we discuss reducing risk and increasing capacity for export-oriented enterprises, the question is not what? but the question is - how?
How companies can better find and develop an unknown market or, at best, markets? It is obvious, and it can be seen with the naked eye, that it will be difficult to succeed only by watching the trends. The most effective tool for planning an international marketing strategy is market research, and consumer research occupies one of the main places in this process.
Well, if you are a business owner and want to expand, open up new markets, consumer research can be the most necessary and useful tool for you.
opportunities for consumer research:
The number one task in the process of finding a new market is to find out if the buyer needs the offered product or service at the offered price. For a company, entering a new market without consumer research is like wandering through a maze. Obviously, a business can have a rough idea of the needs of foreign customers, that is, of where and to whom it will be profitable to export this or that product. However, these ideas are largely based on intuition and may well not correspond to reality. After all, any foreign market is unique and differs in many ways from the local market - its buyers live in a different geographical area, speak a different language, have special requirements, opportunities and preferences. Accounting for all these factors is a prerequisite for success, in which consumer research can be of great help.
The survey provides the business owner with detailed information that:
This is not an exhaustive list of the knowledge that can be obtained through consumer research. If it is analyzed correctly, the business will have the opportunity to get to know the new market well and find the right target segment - the client who is most likely to buy his product or service. In this case, the decision to enter a new market is made on the basis of evidence, not assumptions, which significantly reduces risks.
ACT actively helps Georgian and foreign companies to develop foreign markets. One example of this is a consumer survey conducted in Yerevan commissioned by a supermarket chain. ACT has conducted a study of consumer preferences and consumer basket in Armenia. Analysis of the research results allowed the customer company to offer the client a product that takes into account the needs of the target segment. Thus, consumer research helped the business to insure the risks, due to which it established itself rather painlessly in the new market.
Finding a target customer is the first step in entering a new market. The next and no less important task is to attract the attention of potential customers. To do this, the business needs to properly pack the product and deliver it to the customer in such a way that it arouses his interest. The role of research is also important at this stage of the development of an unknown market. Research, in addition to the rational motives of human behavior, also reveals what topics potential customers react emotionally to, what excites them, likes or annoys them. Having received this information, the business will be able to offer the product to the buyer, taking into account his wishes and develop an effective way of advertising.
A good example of this is the entry into the Georgian market of several foreign shopping centers. By their order, ACT conducted a study - studied the consumer behavior of Georgians, brand preferences and consumer attitudes towards the proposed product. According to the results of the study, the companies adjusted their marketing strategy, offered the buyer a product that meets his requirements, and earned the location of the target segment. Thus, research-based solutions ended up being effective for them.
The key to the success of any business is a satisfied customer. As soon as a customer buys a product or service, a timer starts. The business really wins if the customer comes back to buy again and again. This will be a sign that the brand has received the most important award - customer loyalty. However, loyalty is not permanent. People's tastes change every day, new needs and desires arise. In fact, the success of a business depends on how well it listens to its customers. An effective tool for maintaining their loyalty is customer research. This allows the company to constantly keep abreast of the buyer - not to miss a single change in his mood and always be aware of trends.
This consumer research opportunity was successfully used by one of the representatives of the banking and financial sector from Georgia. ACT conducted several stages of consumer research for him in Uzbekistan, Central Asia. In order to identify the preferences of local consumers, the study was conducted both before and after entering an unknown market. As a result, the company managed to take a worthy place in the financial sector of the foreign market.
As we can see, consumer research is a necessary and useful step for a company that wants to expand and open up new markets. This allows business owners to make informed decisions, which greatly reduces the risk of opening, exploiting and maintaining new markets. However, businesses should not forget that the “stopwatch that starts when entering a new market” runs continuously while the company operates in this market. Thus, entering the market of a foreign country is not a one-time decision. Business must constantly be in the process of research and analysis of experience.
Over time, the icon of the businessman has emerged in the public perception as serious men dressed in suits, with huge responsibilities, working in a stressful environment and applying a constructive dialogue format. Does such a perception of a business leader correspond to modern trends? It is essential that all businessmen speak the diplomatic language?
In the postmodern world, a businessman’s role was transformed, which influenced the style of communication accordingly. Business leaders are increasingly trying to position themselves as a part of society and use humor to communicate. This obviously is associated with positive emotion, having an immediate effect on a person’s attitude leading at the same time to a long-term effect. Consequently, strategic humor has become a trend in business communication.
Humor is a simply understandable spoken language focused on key messages. Jokes are easy to remember, while being spread quickly throughout the community they can easily relief a crisis situation. (Meyer, 1990). Result of humor can be instantly seen due to its indicator – an unmistakable emotion - a smile. The humor makes easy to harvest the desired feedback in the target audience, while the emotion received gives us the clear answer to the question of how the set strategy worked. (Hudson, 1979).
The unique qualities of humor and the fact that humor can have a serious influence on a person's attitude shape it into a convenient tool for communication.
Consequently, the area of application of strategic humor is quite wide. It is used in different fields for different purposes:
შესაბამისად, სტრატეგიული იუმორის გამოყენების არეალი ფართოა. მისი გამოყენება ხდება სხვადასხვა სფეროში სხვდასხვა მიზნით:
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"If we make people happy, they will write stories about us, so we will not have to spend a lot of money on advertising," said Elon Musk, one of the most influential businessmen and innovators of the XXI century. |
Lately, Elon Musk's eccentricity and the way he is applying strategic humor is clearly observed by everyone. The use of contextual humor for a specific mission has become an authentic style for Musk. Creativity expressed in humor and simple way of communication make him one of the most popular persons of our times. Musk's laconic jokes can change a public agenda and make a business clock move counterclockwise.
Could you name another famous person who can just with a five-word joke bring financial benefits to a business, affect the currency exchange market, and/or significantly change the share value of the companies?!
Use of strategic humor and unique communication style makes Elon Mask:
The power of Musk's humor is translated into financial indicators. He can establish effective communication with customers, increase sales and share the value of the company at minimal costs. In addition to his own business, he manipulates the global business sector as well using strategic humor. Specifically, Musk's broken heart emoji significantly reduced the market value of the world's first cryptocurrency (see Twitter 1), and the price of one of the least known cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin, rose from 0.1 cents to 72 cents in 5 months (see Twitter 1; 2; 3). ). (Source: economictimes). In supplement, Twitter has also become the target of Musk's satirical humor. Posts on the social network significantly reduced the market value of the platform and eventually led to its acquisition. (See Tweet 1, 2).
Sharp wits give Elon Musk charisma along with his popularity, which makes him a strong political figure in the eyes of the public while valuing his other characteristics as a leader. Elon Musk can make political weather, as evidenced by recent developments. Musk played an important political role in the Russia-Ukraine information war, where he of course did not forget to use humor. Musk responded to the threat of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov against him with humor, and in response to the way he was addressed by Kadyrov, changed his name to Ilona on Twitter.
It is worth mentioning that being one of the top entrepreneurs he is never discouraged even in case of failure and affords to ease the tense situation with creative humor. He is accustomed to acknowledging his own mistakes and looking at them in humor, while others may perceive them as a tragedy. (See Tweet 1)
Humor is acknowledged as a universal form of easily perceived communication that positively affects a person and creates a positive mood. Consequently, the strategic use of humor by a businessman can increase trust in him and supports in winning people's sympathy. All this leads to a positive effect not only on the personal image of the business leader, but also on his business activities, which ultimately helps to increase awareness and sales.
Considering that the use of strategic humor can bring a lot of benefits to a business leader, it is important to remember that it needs to be used correctly and contextually, as joking about sensitive topics can turn positive emotions into negative ones and lead to bad reviews.
In conclusion, we can say that simple and creative language of communication can establish an emotional connection with the audience and build the perception of a strong, successful business leader.
Research and Consulting Company ACT has launched a video column #ANEWNORM, where the current issues of modern days are discussed. For instance, why are changes inevitable today and how can you turn a transformation process into a guarantee of success for you and your company? In just five minutes, Tinatin Rukhadze, ACT's Vision Lead will talk to you about it.
