One of the many reasons I like to travel to other parts of the world is to gain perspective and see things, even those that are similar to my home country, through a different lens. One type of place that is common across all communities around the world is the market. While traveling in Southeast Asia recently, there were a wide variety of markets- from ones specializing in “antiques” to “dried seafood and tonic food.” We even visited a floating market in a flooded forest near Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia. These markets typically have many individual sellers, much like flea markets and farmers’ markets in the US, my home country.
One of the things I’m always struck by is how similar (often identical!) the goods are from one vendor to the next, usually in multiple stalls consecutively connected to each other. When it comes to non-food products, they typically are purchased from the same wholesaler, with the stall owners often acting as a co-op to optimize their purchasing power (maybe there’s a lesson for small business owners here in the US). The pricing appears to be the same, especially for local customers- not surprisingly, for tourists the pricing can vary wildly depending on location (entrance vs deep in the maze of the market) and their negotiating skill and stamina. Sticking with local customers then, there’s no pricing, product selection or quality differentiation. So I always wonder how vendors effectively compete for customers. In reality, I suspect it’s primarily through relationships which have many benefits especially in villages and towns where who you know and the relationships you have with them are paramount to success, and even survival beyond your business.
That said, it seems like there’s an opportunity to significantly differentiate to attract more customers. I look at many companies trying to attract great employees in a similar vein. So many companies consult market surveys, network with peers, and read the literature to find out what other companies are doing, and proceed to implement what the “Joneses are doing” to “keep up with them.” I do think it’s important to benchmark and understand what the competition is doing- BUT, I believe companies need to differentiate and develop a unique employer value proposition (EVP) that aligns with their cultural beliefs, behaviors, leanings and traditions in order to attract the best employees for them.
And, unlike the individual vendors operating in village co-op marketplaces who are playing on a much more level playing field, many companies are at a serious disadvantage compared to their larger, wealthier competitors for talent (in Silicon Valley, think Apple, Facebook, Google et. al.). Even if they could compete evenly one-on-one with these companies, I wouldn’t recommend it. But the reality is, it’s not a “fair” game, so what to do?
Here are my suggestions:
- Find out what your current employees value.
- Get a sense of what is compelling to your target recruiting prospects.
- Align potential talent attraction/retention initiatives to your organization’s values, budget, and at least, initially, in its relative comfort zone (although, start to push the envelope as your early initiatives achieve success).
- Package these initiatives as part of an overall employee engagement strategy.
- Obtain the support of the top executive team, starting with the CEO.
- Market the initiatives as if they are products you’re trying to sell to customers.
- Continually evaluate the effectiveness of your initiatives and iterate repeatedly- obtain feedback from your employees (including new hires) and prospects.
- Incorporate your strategy and initiatives into your organization’s brand.
Let me know what you think and share your own experiences.
