Evolve Insights

A look at the Millennial Customer

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on January 31st 2017 A lot has been said about the millennial employee but not much about the millennial customer has been considered. Born between 1980 and 2000, the millennial customer represents the truly digital customer. Across the globe and particularly in Kenya, these customers have grown up with access to the internet, mobile phone, cable TV, microwave, instant showers, mobile money etc.  They have also grown up experience better services than their parents did. Today, most of the millennial customers are no longer dependent on their parents; they are making their own purchase decisions. They are not only purchasing from retail stores but they are buying insurance, vehicles, property, some are in business and buying from other businesses, others are in procurement and are making purchase decisions in the corporate world, while some are making purchase decisions for their children. The millennials are a customer group that cannot…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
January 31, 2017
Evolve Insights

Innovate or Die!

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on January 24th 2017 Have you ever seen a business die? What was the major cause of its death? There are as many reasons why businesses die as the number of dead business.  Both small and large businesses die or simply fail. Many studies point out that businesses die because of a failed leadership. In particular, poor management skills, lack of planning, inability to pay financial obligations due to poor cash flow management or low sales, lack of capital, lack of focus, failure to differentiate the business and failure to innovate are some of the reasons sighted as causes of business failure. In addition, many start-ups fail during their early years because of inexperience with a common statistic indicating that only 4% get to their 10th birthday. Whilst there are all these reasons why business fail or die, I wish to focus on the possible death that results from…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
January 24, 2017
Evolve Insights

What makes a Winning Organization?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on January 17th 2017 Sports is a good reminder of what winning and losing looks like. Sometimes individuals and teams win, sometimes they lose. When I think of winning in organizations, I do not necessarily think of those that lead in their industry or those that generate huge revenues or mega profits or those that have numerous customers. I think of organizations of all sizes that are making quick wins every day, I think of organizations that are becoming better at what they do, I think of organizations that do what they said they would do.  Many such winning organizations might not have a trophy with their name inscribed on it but they know that they are adding value to their customers, employees, shareholders and to the community. Is yours one such winning organization? Are you preparing to win?  Will your actions in 2017 make your company closer to…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
January 18, 2017
Evolve Insights

Do your Frontline Staff Really Care?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on January 10th 2017 We walk into a shop on the 4th day of 2017. There is one staff leaning on the front counter. She says nothing and just stares at us.  It seems we do not deserve a welcome, a greeting or even a happy New Year wish. Possibly, she has profiled us and we do seem to fit her kind of shoppers. We continue looking around and she continues staring. We are the only shoppers in the small shop. I can no longer stand the silence and opts to greet her. She responds with a blank face and continues staring. From the comfort of the counter, she responds to other questions. The shop is part of a chain that sells women’s clothes and is situated at one of the newly opened malls in Nairobi. Does this staff really care or is she having a bad week after…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
January 10, 2017
Evolve Insights

New Year with New Opportunities

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on January 3rd 2017 It is a New Year! Happy New Year to all our readers! I am optimistic that we are all ready or getting ready for 2017. I believe that every New Year presents us with new opportunities. Top on the list is the opportunity of a new beginning.  Growing up, I recall the joy of moving up a new grade. I also recall a few New Year’s Eve traditions. In particular, the countdown and the euphoria of ushering in a New Year at the click of the midnight hour with neighbours. It was overly exciting. Many of us have New Year’s Eve memories, some good, and some bad. It does not matter whether we usher in the New Year in style or if we let it slip by in our sleep. What is certain is that every first of January we wake up to a new…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
January 3, 2017
Evolve Insights

How important is our Happiness at Work?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on December 27th 2016 How happy have you been in 2016? Are you happy at your workplace? Early in my career, I interacted with a happiness coach JoAnna Brandi. What stood out for me was JoAnna’s outlook about the link between happiness and customer service. Many of us have heard the notion happy employees equals happy customers. What is unique about JoAnna perspective is that she delves deeper into the relationship between positivity at work and profitability. Her equation sums happy employees and happy customers to be equal to thriving companies. JoAnna recognizes that we live in a predominantly negative world; therefore, positivity at the workplace does not “just happen. Indeed, this is evident in many employee surveys that I have been part of. Many staff blame their state of unhappiness at work to many factors. We blame the pay, the management, the workload, the demanding customers and the…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
January 3, 2017