“Integrity is the moment of choice. Quality of life depends on what happens in the space between stimulus and response” -Dr. Stephen R Covey
“Quality begins with the intent, which is fixed by management. Quality is everyone’s responsibility”- Edward Deming
“Quality is never an accident and it is an action of intelligent efforts” – John Ruskin
So, striving to be the best of the best is mandatory and, we must implement the Benchmarking blue prints and Benchmarking Process in our every endeavors in Digital Marketing Leadership Journey with the long-term perspective of success in Financial Freedom.
The Objectives of Benchmarking includes:
(a) To aim at Goal Setting process to facilitate comparison with the best.
(b) Motivating and stimulating employees for improved performance and turn energy towards Single Focus.
The benefits are:
(I) It enables the best practices into the Benchmarking functions
(ii) To perform and implement benchmarking findings
(iii) Identify a technological breakthrough such as adopting a bar code practices in Grocery Industry.
(iv) The communication of benchmarking is invaluable for future professional growth.
(v) Helps in meeting effectiveness with end-user or customer requirements.
(vi) Helps in determining true measure of productivity and effectiveness.
(vii) Attain a competitive position.
(vii) Become aware of and search for industry best practices.
(viii) To see outside the box and be creative
The Process of Benchmarking are as follows and can be explained in 5 STEPS:
I PLANNING
Planning involves the benchmarking investigations by asking 5W-1H questions i.e. What, When, Where, Why, Who and How so as to comprehend:
(a) What can be Benchmarked?
(b) To Whom or What shall we Compare?
© Determine data collection method and collect data
II ANALYSIS
Analysis must involve a careful understanding of current process and to determine the GAP and future performance levels can be done in 2 steps:
(a) Determine the current performance ‘Gap’. Benchmarking Process is a comparative Analysis and the gap provides an objective basis on which to act to close the gap or capitalize on a positive note.
(b) Project Future Performance Levels: Benchmarking should be a continuous process so that the performance is constantly recalibrated to ensure superiority.
III. INTEGRATION: is the process of using benchmark findings to get operational targets for change.i.e.
(a) Communicate Benchmark findings and gain acceptance
The designed action plan has to be continuous as the competitor is also updating the strategies. Benchmark findings must be communicated to all organizational levels to obtain support, commitment and ownership.
(b) Establish functional Goals:
On the basis of communicated data and acceptance of analysis, we should develop the functional goals and achieve the benchmarking process.
IV. ACTION: After integration, action phase starts:
(a) Implement specific action and monitor progress.
(b) Recalibrate Benchmarks: The updating may require the recalibration of the competitive benchmarking data and it should reflect what your competitor is doing.
V. MATURITY: would be reached when best industry practices are incorporated in all business processes, thus ensuring superiority and that becomes a powerful confirmation of a benchmark.
At the end of the day, the ethical and moral strategies combined by persistence, humility and high integrity is the Moral Victory in the manufacturing industries or Services organization.
These Benchmarking Processes must be implemented in all spheres of Digital Marketing Leadership and in earning a consistent income or revenue and thus we can have a smooth transition to financial freedom through recurrent and continuous learning process and training.
Now, in order to be specific in the disciplines of Digital Marketing Revenue and Financial Success, you must consistently train at your pace in the following mastery with every planning in writing in your Vision or Journal:
(1) Mobile Focused Advertising Plan – as majority of your visitors are visiting your websites through mobiles.
(2) Affiliate Marketing Mastery – especially a proper exposure to different well-reputed Affiliate Marketing revenue drawing products sites such as Rakuten, Shareasale, CJ (commission Junction), and Click Bank and of course the most elite affiliate marketing is Amazon Affiliate Marketing Mastery.
(3) FBA Amazon Seller Account Training and how to set it up training and mastery.
(4) SEO tips, Techniques, principles and Strategies Mastery
(5) CMS (Content Management System Mastery Plan) – i.e. having a thorough and extensive training how the WordPress software building platform works with the intent to know all the free tools available at the back end (you as an admin user) and the front user set up tools one by one, and step by step at your own pace.
(6) Social Media Marketing Plan: Have a yearly Plan what to post in each of the Social Media Marketing channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinerest, Blogs, Quora, LinkedIn and so on. You should clearly comprehend the ‘how to’ use all these channels appropriately and master each one separately.
(7) Have a clear vision and Mission statement already written in your Life Vision Book.
(8) Payment Gateways is one of the set ups taken for granted. Whenever you choose a Payment Gateways, make sure it has the following:
(a) Payment Gateways is reliable and authentic and retains its integrity to both customers and yourself.
(b) Payment Gateways always must have a 2-Way Verification Process.
© Payment Gateways must be embedded with One Time Password preferably on your mobile device.
(d) Seldom encourage Payment Gateways that has one-way security because every time a transaction is done, we must ensure our money is safe and our customers too are safe thus ensuring 2-way verification process through your email id and mobile device via One Time Password.
Beware of the hackers, who steal information and beware of cyber criminals. We must pursue our Digital Online Marketing Journey which is inevitable yet ensure 100% security to yourself and your clients and customers always.
Get wiser, shrewd and let God do the rest when your intents are right.
(e) Payments Gateways must have a standard US account or UK account which is embedded to your current local account so that you either with the Master or Visa Card or online transactions, you can withdraw the money back to your local account. A good reliable one I can think of is for e.g. Payoneer.
Alternatively, research for banks in your own country that is the most reliable and can take care of international financial collaboration and safety.
One Quality Bank I can be so proud of is the State Bank of India, which I vouchsafe and endorse as one of the best banks in India and soon going to be one of the best banks in the world because SBI (State Bank of India) both online and offline ensure extremely high integrity with clients and customers.
They nurture and defend each customer’s security just like a seedling or a baby must be nurtured and protected.
I wind with a statement of Stephen Covey:
“Trust is the Glue of Life. It’s the Most Essential Ingredient in Effective Communication. It’s the Foundational Principle that holds All Relationships.”
Please watch the video of Robert Camp on Benchmarking Process on YouTube.
(Source: Dr. D. D. Sharma (Total Quality Management – Principles, Practice and Cases)