In terms of the stakeholders, most people would immediately assume that profits are the general bedrock of “stakeholder happiness.” However, the place that people and organizations invest their money is synonymous with the place they invest their trust. Whether an investor trusts a company is only partially based on profit. You vision for stakeholder happiness must be to ensure their full satisfaction through reliable and consistent delivery of promised results.
Setting long-term goals that account for the unpredictable nature of business, rather than short-term promises that can’t be delivered on if something unexpected goes wrong, will build greater trust in the minds of your stakeholders. This approach will help to assure them that your company is invested in the long haul, rather than a short “get in, get out” success strategy. Your vision for stakeholder satisfaction must be based on confidence, as this is the most important factor that will keep such relationships strong. Most investors think in terms of long time scales, so being on their level and showing confidence in the longevity and potential of your brand will hold their interest and build their trust.
Obviously, delivering quarterly and annual returns on their gamble puts a smile on the face of investors as well, but looking at the bigger (lengthier) picture is the key. Set goals and work to achieve them. Make investors aware of the company’s goals and be transparent about whatever progress you make toward reaching them, keeping them involved and engaged in the entire process and aware of every success. As individuals, we like to know where our money is coming from and where it is being spent; large-scale investors have similar interests.
Your company’s clientele are often the most overlooked facet of happiness, but having a strategy to keep them loyal and vocal about the quality of your company should be a major objective in your happiness strategy. When a company thinks of its consumers, it should look beyond the price tags associated with different buyers or the revenue streams they represent. Consumers represent the most valuable marketing tool that any business in the world can have. In this age of hyper-connection and light-speed communication, opinions spread through society like wildfire. New trends develop quickly, leading to vast swathes of the population all coveting a new product within weeks, if not days of it receiving positive reviews from people “in the know.”
Maintaining positive public opinion about your company can be a full-time job in itself, so it is essential to carefully assess the impact of your product or service, considering how the average individual is going to react to everything about it. What is its impact on the environment? How will it benefit their lives? Will their friends think it is cool? How soon will it be obsolete? Is it worth their time and money? There are dozens of other questions just like this and every company will have to take into account different considerations, depending on the industry that they’re involved in. It is crucial to find ways to access the opinions and ideas of the buying public, directly. Your overall vision should be to fit neatly in with the largest percentage of lifestyles possible.
Whatever industry you are involved in, you will need to think about more than the financial aspect of potential clients; appeal to their aesthetic, social, cultural, religious, political, academic, environmental, or idealistic sides. Treat consumers and society in general as more than dollar signs and try to fit into their lives conveniently and effortlessly as possible. This is where consumer happiness comes from, not necessarily from the cheapest price.
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