Not a Monopolist? Create Competitive Monopoly! - And Sales?

Did you observe the flaunt of arrogance from a Monopolist in the service industry? I did. Some service providers are reluctant in their approach to their "Valued" customers. It is literally astounding to hear the phrase " Customer Service" from such organizations.  

Monopoly is a market structure in which there is a single seller, there are no close substitutes for the commodity it produces and being barriers to.

From the above definition, I could dive deeper into the causes of monopolization. Although there are several existential causes for monopoly (Patents / Social Barriers/ National Policies / Size of the market / Limit-Pricing Policies) , I am interested in only one reason - The quality like no one delivers in the market.  You may have several providers in the market competing for the edge; But you give it the royal touch only through the quality you deliver. Before you deliver your services decide on either of the two : 

• Do I want to deliver Quality? (Quality comes  with money & Not all can afford it)
• Do I want to deliver Quantity? (Am I more interested in pleasing myself with peaking graphs of the multiple customers in my kitty & flaunt them?)

Let's do a granular analysis of the above vantage points & then conclude on the best strategy. 

The Quality Perspective:

First step towards achieving quality, is to draw-up what Quality standards are you looking to implement & what are their objectives?

• A deep analysis of your infrastructure & customer services is needed. 
• Draw up policies that match up with top notch quality service delivery.
• Recruit elite talent at higher costs.
• Flaunt your standards & dedication to the market.
• Earn quality recognition awards.
• Encourage customers to visit your premises & showcase your initiatives.

The Quantity perspective:

For some, having customers manifold (Even though at a lower price) is imperative. The advantage an organization could have from such an approach is that they could be named as the service provider with a maxed out list of customers in the market. This may not impress big players in the market, as they may be apprehensive of not getting the attention they or their business need. Earning quantity may not augment the revenue or may end up running lower revenue than quality focused organizations. With the unified framework and non-dedicated service teams, consequentially the client feels like"The run of the mill".

                             THE COMPETITIVE MONOPOLY

Monopolistic competition is a type of imperfect competition such that many producers sell products that are differentiated from one another (e.g. by branding or quality) and hence are not perfect substitutes.

 Monopolistically competitive markets have the following characteristics:

• There are many producers and many consumers in the market, and no business has total control over the market price.
• Consumers perceive that there are non-price differences among the competitors' products.
• Hurdles to enter the market.
• Producers have a degree of control over price.

Your idea of a monopolistic approach with the competitive edge, comes from the clients you earn with the quality you source. It is always beneficial to have a combination of Quality, Sales & Market Analysis to always stay ahead in monopolistic market.

                    THE SALES PITCH

Selling is another important aspect which could decide the direction in which your organization may move in. From a previous entry I had mentioned that "A great salesman can also be a great retention analyst" . Hence, if you are a good manager, you will never lose a good salesman. So how does sales come in picture in this discussion?

Elite customers would always expect service providers to be at their level. (right from sales). So sales is your first step to pull off. 

An effective salesman would follow the below strategies to hit the bull's eye.

• Identify the decision maker, know their needs and start influencing
• Be realistic to customer's expectations & have your reasons ready when denying.
• Create urgency, Set deadlines, offer incentives.
• Overcome the "defined process" related objections for smoother agreements.
• Articulate how different you are from your competitors. (Firstly research on the offerings of your competitors and analyze what extra do you have?)
• Play your cards close to chest and start playing them at the right time (Offer them as Incentives to flatter)