Project execution: reject \"abortion\"”

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If you have a sharp mind, professional skills, and a keen writing style, then you can be considered a qualified planner； 　　If you have a sharp mind, professional skills, a keen writing style, as well as a positive attitude and effective communication skills, then you can be considered an excellent planner ； 　　Only if you possess a sharp mind, professional skills, a keen writing ability, a positive attitude, effective communication skills, as well as unique capabilities in customer service and management, can you become an excellent planner. 　　Through a review and summary of years of professional experience, and by analyzing the successes and failures of each project, several insights regarding customer service and project management have been derived. Here, I share these thoughts with qualified, excellent, and outstanding external experts as a source of inspiration: Communication is more important than plans. For planners, nothing is more frustrating than having plans that are not put into action, resulting in the project failing. At the moment, the market is not short of so-called \"solutions\"; just as anyone can claim to understand marketing. However, fewer and fewer solutions that can be implemented and suit the customer are available. In my opinion, the issue lies not necessarily in the plan itself, but rather in inadequate communication. 　　 　　 The lack of effective communication mentioned here does not mean that we should develop plans in line with the client’s ideas, nor does it mean that we should create plans without considering the market. Rather, while developing the plan, it is necessary to consider how to communicate with the client so that the appropriate plan can be implemented ； Considering the client’s actual situation, what concerns might arise for the client during the implementation process, and how should we address them? 　　 　　Ø　　　　 Dispersed communication of plans In my opinion, a plan can be regarded as a combination of an argumentative essay and an expository essay. The formulation of a strategy is a process of reasoning, while how the market operates is a process of explanation. But if it is merely argued or explained, it will appear dull and constitute a form of didactic communication; firstly, customers are unable to understand the proposal in such a short time ； Secondly, regarding established marketing theories, customers know no less than we do; they simply cannot express them in precise terminology. In fact, they certainly don’t want us to use professional terms to describe theories that they are already familiar with. 　　This means that during the proposal stage, we should not merely discuss the plans themselves; instead, we need to incorporate elements of prose into the presentation and explanations, making the communication more expressive, narrative-driven, and natural, so as to facilitate the client’s understanding and comprehension. This requires integrating it with one’s personal style, and finding a style that suits oneself through continuous practice. 　　 　　Ø　　　　 Making plan communication more skillful　　 　 What is meant by being skillful here is that when there are differences between our planning ideas and the client’s original ideas, we should not simply state whether something is right or wrong, good or bad. Instead, we need to guide the client to understand and accept why certain actions need to be taken 　　Undoubtedly, before approaching a marketing planning firm, advertising agency, or PR company, any client already has certain ideas in mind, along with a specific direction and goals. This may be due to a lack of maturity, a desire to have others validate one’s own ideas, or the use of external expertise to facilitate internal implementation... In any case, all clients who come to us already have some ideas; otherwise, there would be no need to seek external help. 　　In our view, the customer’s ideas might be too one-sided and lack a systematic approach; they may also not be suitable for the customer’s own circumstances, representing overly ambitious goals ； Perhaps it is a bit outdated and stale, lacking in innovation ； Perhaps they are too cautious and conservative, afraid to take risks... In any case, we must not ignore their original ideas, as that would become the biggest obstacle to the implementation of subsequent plans. 　　Taking a project I have worked on in the past as an example: since this unique technology and its special ingredients enable the development of N different products, it is inevitable that we will have N different market sectors to choose from. For example: based on the effects corresponding to each ingredient, it is possible to produce three different products, A, B, and C. Normally, we would choose the market segment associated with product A, which has the strongest effects. However, in this plan, we have opted for the market segment related to product B, whose effects are of moderate strength. In developing the plan, we took into account that the client might raise objections in this regard, as the middle and senior management at the client’s company had indicated during the preliminary interviews their intention to enter the A market. Therefore, in the development of the plan, while arguing for entering Market B, we focused on explaining why B is the preferred choice and not A. 　　This reason also involves the skill of communicating with clients and getting them to agree. From a marketing perspective, this is because consumers’ understanding of the field associated with A does not match the perceived effectiveness of A itself. Such a low level of awareness regarding this market sector results in insufficient demand in the entire market. As a new brand and new product, it is naturally impossible to take on the task of educating and guiding consumers. Therefore, we should choose a field with a relatively higher level of awareness – the field associated with B. Although competition in this field is greater than that in field A, the fact remains that no product in this field can meet consumers’ expectations regarding its effectiveness. What we need to do is, by leveraging the increased recognition of Product B among consumers, boost the recognition of our corporate brand, thereby enabling us to enter Sector A and assume the role of a guide and educator. Communicating with clients in this way is fine, but they may not understand. We gave an example (the client’s boss has a background in medicine; if he were from the IT or economics field, we would use a different example): from a medical perspective, \"excess internal heat\" and \"inflammation\" are different terms used by traditional Chinese and Western medicine to describe the same condition. However, the general public is unaware of this, and in their understanding, inflammation is a more serious issue than excess internal heat – inflammation affects a specific part of the body, whereas excess internal heat does not. So, in our daily speech, we say: “Are you having excessive internal heat?” ”rather than saying, “Are you inflamed?” ”They tend to choose heat-clearing medications over anti-inflammatory drugs in their daily lives. In this way, not only do we help customers understand and accept our choices, but we also enable them to naturally adjust their existing ideas and approaches. Be empathetic in interactions, and logical in handling tasks. Throughout the entire process, from initial communication, diagnosis, and research to subsequent proposal preparation and support for implementation, it’s inevitable that we develop closer relationships with our clients as we spend time together day after day. On the one hand, it is the customers who deliberately seek to get closer in order to understand our capabilities better, or to have us provide them with the best possible planning and services ； On the other hand, because of their similar temperaments, they became true friends, and even after the collaboration ended, they remained in touch. 　　However, in any of the above situations, it is necessary to maintain a positive attitude during project collaboration: not to feel happy or sad depending on how much attention the client pays, not to exert one’s best efforts based on that level of attention, and certainly not to act impulsively under the client’s influence in order to obtain more attention by making promises and guarantees to them. The more promises and guarantees we make, the more we lose. What we need instead is to \"conquer\" customers with professionalism and competence, and to have the courage to say \"no\" to them in the face of reality – only in this way can we earn their respect. 　　As an \"external brain,\" one needs to be able to drink alcohol, as it is inevitable to engage in exchanges and competitions related to drinking culture during cooperation. This project service also could not escape the competition and exchange related to the \"wine culture\". That was after the market execution plan was submitted; the client’s enthusiasm kicked off this competition related to wine culture. After a few exchanges back and forth, everyone began to treat each other as friends and spoke without restraint. A friend from a local advertising agency (which specializes in post-production media representation and ad execution), after having a few drinks of baijiu and hearing some sweet words, solemnly raised his glass, stood up, and said to the client with a smiling face, \"Mr. X, don’t worry. With several experts here, there’s no way this project will fail. I’ll do my best to ensure its success.\" ”I almost fainted at that moment; “There’s no problem at all,” “I’ll do my best”… We should indeed strive to serve every customer well and complete every project successfully, but we can’t risk our lives for that – what about the other customers then? Even if we risk our lives, it’s impossible to guarantee that every project will be “absolutely problem-free”. 　　Interact with clients on an emotional level; do not strive to build a closer relationship with them in order to gain their approval and favor” ； One must act rationally, and not lose rationality or one’s true self because of the client’s “favors.” 　　After the project service is completed, whether they become friends or remain as client and service provider, during the project phase the relationship with the client remains that of a client and service provider. You pay, I do my best to serve you, and I will not adjust my effort depending on how much or little care you show me. 　　““Covers, cash” – clearing obstacles. I really couldn’t think of a better title, so I had to use a title that is more everyday and ** in style. It might face criticism and abuse from many people, but this is merely an attempt to express one’s feelings when serving customers. In project services, we need to play the role that an \"external brain\" should play, rather than simply complying with the client’s wishes and becoming their complete \"appendage.\" Otherwise, we will eventually be rejected by both clients and our competitors. 　　During the implementation of one project, the proposal was approved very smoothly – from the CEO to the marketing director, from the marketing manager to the sales manager, everyone was in agreement with its contents. However, problems arose during actual execution; many tasks were either not carried out properly or no one took responsibility for them, which prevented the entire process from functioning smoothly. The marketing and sales departments also argued among themselves, shifting blame onto each other. The CEO was very troubled by this situation, and he decided to seek external help to get things moving again... Looking back at the projects we have worked on, similar situations do occur frequently; before making decisions, CEOs usually listen to the opinions of both the marketing and sales departments. One scenario is: appearing to say \"no problem\" in front of the \"external brain,\" but in actual execution, acting in one’s own interest, following one’s own ideas, and acting arbitrarily or taking no action at all ； Another scenario is when some seemingly practical questions are raised due to differences in perspective, but upon closer inspection, they lack a broader view. For example: \"When it comes to selecting model markets, regional managers all want the regions under their responsibility to become model markets, so as to receive more support from the company as well as assistance from external experts. Therefore, they seek various pieces of evidence from different aspects in an effort to have their regions designated as model markets.\" ”We can understand the differences in approaches that arise from different positions and varying priorities. However, we cannot allow the aforementioned differences to cause the project itself to fail. 　　A piece of nonsense: Everyone working on a project hopes that their project will be successful. However, the success or failure of a project is beyond our control. The most important thing is that we can never carry out the tasks on behalf of the client. But what we can do is use the project itself to drive “progress” at the implementation level within a company. In project management and services, skillfully \"adjust\" the thinking of company executives and those at the operational level. 　　I remember that in 2004 I worked for an old state-owned enterprise in the Pearl River Delta region that had just undergone privatization; its marketing and sales capabilities were extremely poor. A vivid example: their sales department was still called a \"Sales Section,\" and almost none of the sales staff ever went to the retail outlets. Their daily routine consisted of sitting in the office, drinking tea, reading newspapers, waiting for calls from retailers requesting goods, and then contacting the logistics department to arrange delivery. 　　Some might think that this indicates the company is excellent, its products are top-notch, and it has established a monopoly in the local market. But in an era where each player dominates for just three to five years, with such fierce competition, how long can one maintain a monopoly in the market in this way? 　　The new CEO of the company, who had just taken office following the restructuring, was also furious upon seeing the employees’ performance. However, several meetings held no effect, and the various efforts made did not yield any results. In particular, the sales figures for the first half of the year made it clear to him just how serious the situation was: although they remained the undisputed leaders in the local market, their market share was gradually being eroded, dropping by nearly 10%. For this reason, I was also fortunate enough to witness the aforementioned “strange phenomenon.” 　　Through visits to retail outlets over the past week, we found that almost no sales staff at these outlets take the initiative to recommend this product, there is little advertising for it, and in many cases the product is placed in a corner where it cannot be seen. ” 　　Insufficient terminal promotion, poor terminal display, little terminal advertising... In that case, they rely solely on customers making requests. As competitors erode market share, the consumer base that was built up in the past will also gradually weaken and change. 　　To repel external threats, one must first stabilize the internal situation. If the mindset of the internal market staff does not change, no matter how many or how good the plans are, they will be of no use. Therefore, tailored service methods were also adopted for the operation of this project. 　　The first step is to introduce a reward and punishment system as well as incentive policies for retail sales, to establish specific evaluation criteria for market promotion, and to set up a marketing center with the CEO serving as its director (a title). 　　Secondly, after the implementation is announced, provide “in-depth training” separately for market staff and sales personnel. On the one hand, new ways of thinking are instilled in them through training ； On the other hand, and most importantly, it is to understand their true thoughts (answers that cannot be found in the preliminary interviews). During the training, one acts as a mother to the extreme, but does so by using a \"stick\" as a means of control ； In the \"wine culture\" after training, one must definitely act as a leader, treat others with kindness, and set things right regarding any misunderstandings that may have arisen during the training. 　　Third thing: It helps those who drive business development; mention it ； Those who can be transformed, keep them ； For those who are stubborn, open them up. 　　In this way, the concerns at the implementation level of the plan are **completely eliminated. Our most important task, with the support of the CEO, was to drive \"progress\" at the corporate execution level. 　　 　　As an \"external brain,\" all I can do is: \"by no means provide help in times of crisis; it’s merely like offering an umbrella on a rainy day or adding something extra as a bonus.\" ”