Continued from Part 1
Organizational Success
Everyone wants their adult interests to be successful, but many do not understand the key factors that affect success from the customer's - rather than the business owner's - perspective. You can make your adult interests more successful by understanding the foundation upon which success is built for your organization and for you personally. Four critical factors have been identified in a retail setting:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): This is the way in which you will create genuine value for your customers through your adult store, mirror store or affiliate membership. One of the primary ways to create value is to isolate your specific niche and offer resources related to that demographic ONLY - which gives the end-user relevancy.
Innovation: The adult industry is well known for being a leader in technological innovation, so be sure that your store's values reflects the best technologies that suit your market niche. You don't have to blind someone with flash - just exhibit enough technological innovation to create a unique personality for your site, or for your affiliate program links.
Quality: While a retailer cannot control the quality of the items that he or she does not manufacturer, she or he can offer quality in other ways: liberal returns & exchange policies, targeted informational accuracy and utility in ownership in products. Naturally you should do your best to offer quality in your store or to choose a mirror site or affiliate program that emphasizes quality. There will ALWAYS be a market for the best.
Efficiency: Adult retailers must become masters of lean organizational structures devoid of waste and inefficiency. Often novelty stock should be obtained using JIT (just in time) principals for minimal under-utilized organizational resource investment. The Internet is the perfect forum for efficiency so make sure your adult retail interests maximize this potential.
Interestingly studies show retailers do not have to have the best level of achievement in all four areas to be successful. Indeed, being very good at one area and at least competent at the other three can be in many cases ensure success. Think carefully about an area you can create a strategic advantage over other adult retailers and target ways in which you can capitalize on that advantage. If you own your store consider ways in which you can effectively manage CSR or add greater innovation through technology. If you are an affiliate of a store or run a mirror site you have a hand in CSR too, by proper isolation of your niche market and by carefully choosing your associations with quality adult retailers. If you have no idea where you want to go in the future it is far more likely you won't arrive at your preferred destination.
Developing a Corporate Vision Statement and Mission
A vision statement is simply a written image of where you imagine your adult retail store to be in the future. It is a form of premeditated projection allowing you to isolate areas you want your adult store to be successful in. A mission statement is a written description of what you feel your organization's core competencies, culture and values are. Many organizations combine vision and mission statements, and use them as a guide to conduct their adult retail business.
How can this be useful to you? If you have no idea where you want to go in the future it is far more likely you won't arrive at your preferred destination. Adult retail is a mission, perhaps even a vocational calling, in the way capitalism is a way of life for adult webmasters. Creating a defined vision and mission statement allow you to convey vital features of your organizational culture to your employees and associates which in turn increase organizational "embeddedness" allowing you to retain significant relationships longer.
Adult retailers should take the time to develop and follow their statements. World class adult novelty distributor El Dorado sums up their mission as, "Only the Best." This simple yet effective statement provides not only an valuable motivational marketing slogan but also an excellent and readily understood guideline for all its employees and partners. Whether in doubt or decisiveness choose only the best. What does your statement say about your store?
Next we'll wrap up this series with a look at Setting Organized Goals - Stay tuned!
