Hay quien dice que lo difícil son los comienzos, hay mucho de verdad en la sentencia.
Sin embargo, hay momentos en la vida de los emprendimientos en que una vez superado los escollos iníciales la gente puede creer que ya todo está hecho, que el negocio se va a mantener llevado por una especie de inercia. Pero no es así, hasta el negocio más sólido puede venirse a pique si no se le presta atención a cuestiones claves que tienen que ver con una buena gerencia.
Esta semana he tenido información de dos casos que bien pudieran entrar en eso que ahora llamamos morir de éxito, esto es, cuando un negocio exitoso comienza a cometer pequeños fallos que al final pueden comprometer su estabilidad.
Ambas situaciones se presentaron con negocios que cubren dos frentes de actividad, la presencial y la virtual.
Ambos casos tienen que ver con el incumplimiento de compromisos de ventas por falta de stock. Los clientes hicieron sus compras virtuales en productos que estaban disponibles en los portales de las tiendas.
Estas compras las hicieron usando los sistemas de créditos que empresarios particulares han desarrollado en Venezuela y que van siendo bastante exitosos.
El sistema de estos créditos es muy sencillo, se hace un registro en un sitio virtual, se comienzan a hacer las compras y a medida que el cliente va cumpliendo los compromisos va subiendo su nivel de crédito. La gente que administra este sistema hace convenios con tiendas para afiliarlos a su marca, le exigen que cumplan requisitos muy estrictos. Si no, les quitan la afiliación.
A los pocos días de hacer las compras los clientes recibieron una notificación participándoles que el producto ya no estaba disponible, que si deseaban sustituirlos por otros con prestaciones similares. Ambos clientes se negaron y decidieron cancelar las compras.
Tenemos aquí una primera irregularidad. En este tipo de negocios es fundamental llevar un estricto control de inventarios. En negocios grandes como los del caso que comento estos inventarios se llevan mediante sistemas automáticos en los que debe establecerse un nivel crítico de protección, más allá del cual se deja de presentar la oferta virtual. La intención de establecer estos niveles críticos es poder respaldar alguna compra que quedó en tránsito.
Pero de todos modos puede darse el caso que el sistema no esté bien diseñado y se haga la venta sobre un producto que se ha terminado. Aquí entonces entran en juego las personas, el negocio debe tener algún tipo de supervisión para que alguien detecte en el plazo más breve que no puede continuarse esa venta. Lo normal es que se comunique inmediatamente con el cliente para hacerle la participación.
Lo que no debe ocurrir y que incide negativamente en la reputación del negocio es que la notificación se haga a los tres o cuatro días de hacer la venta, allí lo menos que podemos decir es que hay serios problemas de gerencia.
Si somos mal pensados pudiéramos decir que la gente de la tienda no hizo la participación a tiempo para que el cliente se sintiera presionado a comprar cualquier cosa que se le ofreciera.
La otra irregularidad cometida por ambos negocios fue no devolver rápidamente a los clientes el dinero de la inicial. Y aquí volvemos al mismo tema, esas transacciones también se deben llevar de manera automática, lo que facilita cualquier devolución.
Lo que no debe permitirse el negocio es crear las condiciones para que un cliente tenga que hacer una queja formal para que le devuelvan su dinero, la que puede ser a la misma gente que administra el sistema de crédito o a una autoridad pública.
Las dos situaciones perjudican de manera sustancial la reputación del negocio. Recordemos que la buena reputación es uno de los activos más grandes que debería cuidar cualquier emprendedor.
Como vemos en los ejemplos que comento, mantener el funcionamiento de un negocio requiere compromiso permanente. Si se cumple aquel principio de crea fama y acuéstate a dormir, las consecuencias pueden ser muy graves.
Gracias por tu tiempo.
Fuente de imágenes. [I]( https://pixabay.com/es/photos/cyberpunk-calle-ciudad-plataforma-6061251/) [II]( https://pixabay.com/es/photos/embajada-central-centro-comercial-498557/) [III]( https://pixabay.com/es/photos/stockholm-suecia-pueblo-viejo-calle-6917977/).
Some say that the hardest part is getting started, and there is a lot of truth in that statement. However, there are moments in the life of a business venture when, once the initial hurdles have been overcome, people may believe that everything is done, that the business will continue to run on its own momentum. But this is not the case. Even the most solid business can collapse if attention is not paid to key issues related to good management. This week, I have heard about two cases that could well fall into what we now call dying of success, that is, when a successful business begins to make small mistakes that can ultimately compromise its stability. Both situations occurred with businesses that cover two areas of activity: brick-and-mortar and virtual. Both cases have to do with the failure to fulfill sales commitments due to lack of stock. Customers made their virtual purchases of products that were available on the stores' websites. These purchases were made using credit systems that private entrepreneurs have developed in Venezuela and that are proving quite successful. The credit system is very simple: customers register on a virtual site, start making purchases, and as they fulfill their commitments, their credit level increases. The people who administer this system make agreements with stores to affiliate them with their brand, requiring them to meet very strict requirements. If they do not, their affiliation is revoked.  A few days after making their purchases, the customers received a notification informing them that the product was no longer available and asking if they wanted to replace it with another product with similar features. Both customers refused and decided to cancel their purchases. Here we have our first irregularity. In this type of business, it is essential to keep strict control of inventory. In large businesses such as the one in question, inventory is managed using automated systems in which a critical protection level must be established, beyond which the virtual offer is no longer presented. The intention of establishing these critical levels is to be able to back up any purchases that are still in transit. However, there may still be cases where the system is not well designed and a sale is made on a product that is out of stock. This is where people come into play. The business must have some kind of supervision so that someone can detect as soon as possible that the sale cannot be completed. The normal procedure is to contact the customer immediately to inform them. What should not happen, and what negatively affects the reputation of the business, is for the notification to be made three or four days after the sale. At the very least, we can say that there are serious management problems. If we were to be cynical, we could say that the store staff did not make the notification in time so that the customer would feel pressured to buy whatever was offered to them.  The other irregularity committed by both businesses was not promptly refunding the initial payment to customers. And here we return to the same issue: these transactions should also be carried out automatically, which facilitates any refunds. What the business should not allow is to create conditions where a customer has to make a formal complaint to get their money back, which may be to the same people who administer the credit system or to a public authority. Both situations substantially damage the reputation of the business. Let's remember that a good reputation is one of the greatest assets that any entrepreneur should take care of. As we can see from the examples I have mentioned, keeping a business running requires ongoing commitment. If you follow the principle of “build a reputation and then go to sleep,” the consequences can be very serious. Thank you for your time.
Some say that the hardest part is getting started, and there is a lot of truth in that statement. However, there are moments in the life of a business venture when, once the initial hurdles have been overcome, people may believe that everything is done, that the business will continue to run on its own momentum. But this is not the case. Even the most solid business can collapse if attention is not paid to key issues related to good management. This week, I have heard about two cases that could well fall into what we now call dying of success, that is, when a successful business begins to make small mistakes that can ultimately compromise its stability. Both situations occurred with businesses that cover two areas of activity: brick-and-mortar and virtual. Both cases have to do with the failure to fulfill sales commitments due to lack of stock. Customers made their virtual purchases of products that were available on the stores' websites. These purchases were made using credit systems that private entrepreneurs have developed in Venezuela and that are proving quite successful. The credit system is very simple: customers register on a virtual site, start making purchases, and as they fulfill their commitments, their credit level increases. The people who administer this system make agreements with stores to affiliate them with their brand, requiring them to meet very strict requirements. If they do not, their affiliation is revoked.  A few days after making their purchases, the customers received a notification informing them that the product was no longer available and asking if they wanted to replace it with another product with similar features. Both customers refused and decided to cancel their purchases. Here we have our first irregularity. In this type of business, it is essential to keep strict control of inventory. In large businesses such as the one in question, inventory is managed using automated systems in which a critical protection level must be established, beyond which the virtual offer is no longer presented. The intention of establishing these critical levels is to be able to back up any purchases that are still in transit. However, there may still be cases where the system is not well designed and a sale is made on a product that is out of stock. This is where people come into play. The business must have some kind of supervision so that someone can detect as soon as possible that the sale cannot be completed. The normal procedure is to contact the customer immediately to inform them. What should not happen, and what negatively affects the reputation of the business, is for the notification to be made three or four days after the sale. At the very least, we can say that there are serious management problems. If we were to be cynical, we could say that the store staff did not make the notification in time so that the customer would feel pressured to buy whatever was offered to them.  The other irregularity committed by both businesses was not promptly refunding the initial payment to customers. And here we return to the same issue: these transactions should also be carried out automatically, which facilitates any refunds. What the business should not allow is to create conditions where a customer has to make a formal complaint to get their money back, which may be to the same people who administer the credit system or to a public authority. Both situations substantially damage the reputation of the business. Let's remember that a good reputation is one of the greatest assets that any entrepreneur should take care of. As we can see from the examples I have mentioned, keeping a business running requires ongoing commitment. If you follow the principle of “build a reputation and then go to sleep,” the consequences can be very serious. Thank you for your time.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version).
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