How do you manage uncertain markets and customer demand?

One strategy that I have found helpful is leveraging technology to relieve pressure on staff during erratic market swings. Embracing and adopting the latest AI assistance vendors greatly reduces the task burdens on your sales and operations staff. If utilized and executed effectively, you will not have a fall off in service and you can avoid the costly cycles of mass hirings and layoffs.

Use of technology with AI backed data analysis can ease out uncertainty. Also these are the times when brands must use own customers data more effectively.

Un factor determinante es tener amplios conocimientos del sector en el que te mueves, al final los cambios son cíclicos y los patrones se repiten. En cuanto a los clientes y sus demandas, no hay dos iguales. Escucha y descubre sus necesidades y adáptate para ofrecérselo.

Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. Their needs and wants impact every aspect of your business, from product development to content marketing, to sales, to customer service. The purpose of any business is to create and keep a customer. To understand and to manage your customer you need to understand your customers by characteristics, behaviour, and value to discern trends, opportunities, and risks in each market and customer group. Armed with this insight it will enable you to refine your sales strategy, tactics, and messaging, ensuring they're aligned with the evolving landscape. Always remember, don't find customers for your products, find products for your customers...

Understanding your market and customers means deeply knowing who they are, what they need, and how your product or service fits into their lives. It's the key to crafting strategies that resonate, building strong relationships, and delivering value that truly matters.

Managing uncertain markets and customer demand involves flexibility and strategic foresight. Stay informed about market trends and potential disruptions. Diversify the customer base to reduce reliance on specific segments. Utilize forecasting tools and scenario planning to prepare for various market conditions. Maintain a flexible inventory and supply chain management to adapt quickly to changing demands. Foster strong customer relationships to understand and anticipate their evolving needs. Implement agile sales strategies that can be adjusted as market conditions change. Encourage innovation and adaptability within the team to navigate uncertainty effectively.

In Energy today we are in Contango never been seen in long term history. So where do we go from here? KNOWING what is causing this contango and all the moving parts (Storage of Gas, Supply, Demand, Exports, Production, Rig Count, Utility Electric Generation mix, and weather) you have to think outside the box. MY CALL: This high long term Natural Gas pricing is NOT sustainable and Gas prices WILL FALL. Next Jan 2025 you will NOT see Gas over $4.00/Mmbtu ... it will be $3.50 or less. I AM WILLING to put my opinion out there and will stand behind my projection based on my 30 years of experience. Could I be wrong...certainly. But there will be signs and time to change my forecast. My clients wont get suckered into long term fear contracts.

Consider building specific teams to tackle experimental initiatives. Compensate them on actually answering the strategic question being asked instead of on driving revenue in an area that may not serve long term growth.

Remember that uncertainty is a constant in business, and your ability to adapt and make informed decisions will be crucial in managing market volatility and shifting customer demands. Regularly review and update your strategies to stay resilient in the face of change.

Conhecer o comportamento setorial é um ferramenta importante. Reconhecer o padr?o de sazonalidade da categoria, bem como os principais fatores que influenciam a demanda v?o permitir análises mais precisas. De posse dessas informa??es mais acessíveis, é hora de desenhar cenários que desenhem os comportamentos mais prováveis e criar planos que se adequem a cada uma dessas circunstancias.

Ter uma abordagem e uma mentalidade mais ágil e flexível permite que seus passos estejam sempre de acordo com as condi??es mercadológicas. Para que a organiza??o consiga se adaptar é fundamental que tenha a capacidade de diagnosticar e compreender o mercado de forma rápida e eficiente.

We must be careful with rolling forecasts and ensure that they are achieved. Time bound and elaborate commercial offers to the customers will help in achievement of the forecasts. Segmenting your customers to understand the opportunists, strategic and loyalists will help establish the right methodologies to use to win their share of wallet. An environment for quick decision making by the team at the market place must be created in order to nap opportunities in bud as the occur within the shortest window possible.

Demand forecasting is a useful tool that can help businesses anticipate future demand and plan accordingly. By analyzing historical sales data, market trends, customer behavior, and other relevant factors, demand forecasting can provide an accurate estimate of the number of goods customers are likely to purchase over some time.

Agility is key in a changing market. It is important to keep your eyes focused on the horizon, but ready to shift the sails in your service offerings when the market shifts. Leveraging technology and analytics are supportive to identify changes faster however it is important to lean into your actual customers and engage them individually or through end user or advisor groups to learn what they are truly needing from your service or solution. It is equally important to adjust your sales target or compensation approach during these times as sales team turnover due to uncertainty can be as equally expensive to your bottom line. In short agility and flexibility should be considered at every layer of your sales and delivery process.

When the going gets tough only the tough gets going .. true to the core !! Adaptability to the situation and agility , and strategic thinking are the key parameters . Continuous engagement and increase in communication will help the team to stay motivated . Innovating and becoming more customer centric and monitoring market trends will create a team to navigate the uncertain times and build a strong resilient team .

Todas as informa??es, previs?es, planejamentos e planos construídos tem que ser compartilhados com o time de vendas. Compartilhar o conhecimento já existente dentro da empresa n?o deveria ser um desafio, mas acredite, é. Algumas a??es s?o necessárias para que esse compartilhamento seja possível. Antes de tudo, o seu time comercial precisa ter as capacidades técnicas para compreender as informa??es. Além disso, é necessário criar estruturas de compartilhamento de informa??es, bem como uma cultura de conhecimento. Além disso, devem haver cuidados com o compliance da utiliza??o dos dados e adequa??o à LGPD.

- Be prepared to pivot quickly in response to changing market conditions. - capitalise the range of products to mitigate risk and capitalize on new opportunities. - Prepare for potential future scenarios to ensure adaptability. - Leverage data to gain insights into market trends and competition acts and consumer behaviour. - Be open to adjusting sales and execution, strategy as needed. - Keep Channel partners and other stakeholders informed about changes and adjustments.

Aligning your sales team and resources means making sure everyone is on the same page. This helps your team focus on the right goals and respond to changes in the market. Tools like sales enablement can support them, and optimizing resources means using your assets wisely. It's about being flexible and competitive in uncertain markets.

Analyzing the data is extremely important. This should be done at least once a week. Determining which accounts are on an upward trajectory and which are on a decline. The data can tell you where you need to work harder and where you are making an impact.

The most important thing is alignment in sales fosters goal clarity, agility, and competitive edge in volatile markets. Leveraging tools like sales enablement while optimizing resources ensures asset usage

Garantir a coleta, o tratamento e a análise das informa??es sobre o desempenho do time de vendas vai contribuir com insights poderosos.

The dashboard and analytics need to eventually help us deduce insights and trends in the market. The sales team should then link these insights and trends to the actual ecosystem in the market. Which customers grps? Which regions? Which end users?what thematic activities affected the figures? Seasons? Any other sales drivers?

Measure the overall metrics, but don’t get swept away in “Rolling x time” metrics or broad QoQ. Cohort the metrics against expected conditions: specifically, measuring strong economic times against similar market conditions, and downturns against previous downturns. This is the real analytics that inform real business intelligence. Measure over time, but layer in cohort analysis to be sure the measurements are clear.

This should be based on continual improvement model followed by a self honest reflection on our SWOT to help us accept the current situation and agree on next steps.

In a VUCA ( Volatile , uncertain, complex and ambiguous) region like Africa Middle East, it is important not to see the Africa Middle East region as one place. It is 3 times the size of Europe and has 50 odd countries inside. Each has their own government, economy, many their own currency, own culture, own banking system, their own time, their own beliefs and religions, their own way of doing business and their own ecosystems . One needs to approach each country with a different strategy and appreciation for the former. You need to understand your customer in each market, their individual needs, fears, challenges and opportunities and then find a way to partner with them in both the good and the uncertain times.Stay close to them, always!

Do not let volatility or uncertainty become part of your value proposition. Maintain at least a "steady state" and preferably increase the quality and value you offer current and prospective customers. Cost reductions and other internally focused protective financial approaches that negatively impact customers will ultimately negatively impact you...especially in turbulent markets.

Effectively integrating innovative marketing paradigms by collaborations and tailored experiential marketing might have an impact on footfalls and sales and help to navigate through the dynamic and evolving landscape of the industry. Also, point to being kept in mind, the industry always stands ahead with the trends.

What is most important apart from everything else are as follow: 1. Consistency in your plan of action even if doesn’t provide results 2. Continuous adaptation with your reach outs 3. Persistent with follow ups 4. Be calm and focused on end goal and not the path 5. Testing new hypothesis

It’s so simple, but the most underutilized tool: talking to customers. We spend more time analyzing them than just simply talking with them. How do *THEY* approach and adjust their plans in uncertain markets? That will, in turn, inform how you should approach them as well. 90% of the questions are answered when you spend at least 10% of the time talking to customers.