Mentor Pro Market - Articles - Benchmarking: How To Turn From "Good" Into "Better"…

Articles :: Benchmarking: How To Turn From "Good" Into "Better"…

"We really wanted to know what is our level comparing with the other banks, it is not enough any more to be GOOD… you have to be far BETTER then your competitors." says Irina B., a manager in the marketing department of a leading bank in Romania.

"After doing so much training with our cashier and operational workers, we had to check the efficiency of the training and to see if we are really as good as we feel." continues Irina B.

When you are looking for a clear picture of your position on the market, or to find out which one in your sector is on the top and what their level is, or to get new ideas regarding the methods they use and what processes made them that good…
Benchmarking is the leading available method.

Mentor Pro Market provides Benchmarking services based on the technology developed from Mystery Shopping.

So, what is Benchmarking?

A research method that allows you to take decisions based on the steps taken by your competitors.

Benchmarking is the marketing study of the successful companies from a branch and it points out which are their actions or values that led them to where they are. It draws a clear profile of the development methods and processes that they apply in order to attain their leading position in the market.

Companies look for a clear report of the rank of their activity and processes, all in comparison with the other companies, from the same branch and sector, according to the best practice. According to the benchmark data (the results drawn from the report), it will be easy to determine how the best-in-class companies attain their level of performance.

All the results from a full benchmarking service allow the management to design plans connected to the adoption of the best practices, all in order to achieve performance.

Essentially, there are two types of Benchmarking:

1. Competitive benchmarking - used in the competition analysis; it includes a research study of the best competitors in a given industry. Not only that this aspect is cleared, but also what processes and methods are used.

2. Collaborative benchmarking - requires the observation of the branches of one multinational company in different countries.

How is it done actually?

The benchmarking process is similar to the study of the war tactics. After all, the market is itself a battlefield for getting the first place…

First, you check what your competitors are doing, monitoring aspects like - customer service issues, sales skills level, solving conflict etc. Then you compare it to what’s happening in your business.
And more, having clear reports and measurable factors, will make an easy profile of how good (or not…) you are in comparison to your competitors.
Therefore, you need to continuously monitor production, services and the tactics involved in this.

Mentor Pro Market developed excellent Mystery shoping tools that allow you to perform also - Benchmarking.

"We recommend each and every company that is using Mystery shopping process, to compare their results with competitors. This will assist them in achieving a more complex point of view on the performance of their workers - eventually it will achieve a faster and of a better quality improvement." says Osnat Peled, the General Director of Mentor Pro Market.

The Process

The process starts with the identification of the problematical areas you pointed out in your business, for example - the customer service level. This is followed by the identification of the leading companies in the field.

It is recommended to choose the ones that share "your group" - we take in consideration all the factors - the field, the location, the number of employees and the target audience.

An important commercial bank will not compare him self by Benchmarking to a medium size local bank. They will look at the same "type" of banks in order to point out their weaknesses and strength.

The surveillance of business processes and methods, next to the general development plan, represent professional ways to understand the leading competition. The results are put into a confidential report. The final profile will lead to an optimum implementation and improvement of your business practices.

Do not forget - We live in a dynamic and continuously changing society, keep up its rhythm!

Make sure that you are updated with the existing improving methods that come out on the market.

If you are interested in Benchmarking services, please contact us!