ConocoPhillips’ Business Strategies
Success in business is achieved by the application of effective strategies. And the good thing is that with a little modification one can make use of the winning strategies of one business to achieve the same success in theirs. This is irrespective of difference in time and geography.
Here are strategies which ConocoPhillips have implemented in the course of their history, and which have enabled them to achieve their goals and become one of the biggest companies in the world. You can also apply these strategies to your business and position it for the success you desire.
Identifying a Problem and Providing Solution
The ability to identify a pressing need that is faced by lots of people, and then set up a business to provide the needed solution at affordable price is the foundation of business success. Business is not an organization set up primarily to make money, but to offer solution to an identified problem at a cost the consumer can afford.
The more the number of people needing the solution, and the more their frequency of needing it, the greater and more consistent your business will thrive and make money.
Conoco’s business was an immediate success right from its inception because it provided a huge relief to the masses in Ogden, Utah who could not purchase kerosene to light their homes because it was too expensive. By noticing this problem and going ahead to fixing it immediately put Conoco on the path of success.
Seeking Synergy with Other Businesses
Two heads are always better than one. Combining resources with other businesses can enable you to easily and quickly achieve your goals. It’s a great way to leverage on other businesses’ expertise, experience and facilities.
There are different ways through which synergy can be obtained. It can be by forming partnership, or by acquiring or merging with other businesses.
From merging with Standard Oil, DuPoint, Phillips, and Burlington Resources, seeking synergy has always been Conoco’s vital strategy for achieving its business goals.
Growing Your Business As Quickly As You Can
You shouldn’t remain offering one product or service for too long. There should be other related products you can create or acquire and grow your business quickly. Relying on a single product offering is dangerous to your business as your income could suddenly freeze if the product goes out of need.
Apart from kerosene, which it started business with; Conoco also sold other products, such as benzene to clean stoves, candles, hoof oil for horses, and ready-mixed paints at the early years of its existence.
Then recognizing the surge in the number of automobiles on roads, Conoco knew it would be profitable running refineries and service stations to provide fuel for automobiles, and therefore merged with Marland Oil in 1929.
Doing What You Need To Do
For your business to survive difficult times, you must have the courage to take certain decisions, which may not be popular, but needed to save the situation.
In the wake of the stock market crash of 1929, Conoco had to cut down salaries, amongst other measures that it took to salvage the situation. Though these were tough decisions, they however helped to save lots of money for the company, which was used to finance important projects.
Rewarding Your Staff Appropriately
Just as you shouldn’t hesitate to cut staff salaries in difficult times, you shouldn’t also hesitate to lavish them with incentives and bonuses when your business is doing well.
Few years after the stock market crises of 1929 that made Conoco to cut down on staff salaries, the company’s staff was rewarded with bonus checks worth $770,000 in 1937 when Conoco came back to profitability.
Expand To Foreign Lands
The more the number of people needing your product or service, the more your business prospers. You need to find a way of exposing your product or service to the international market, and you will be surprised to find your product could even be more accepted in foreign lands than at home.
Expanding to markets outside your local operation should be prepared for and should be in your business plan. Today, with huge advancement in communication technology it has become a lot easier to expose your business to the global market – using Internet technology.
The era between 1945 and 1972 saw Conoco executing a great deal of its expansionist plan, expanding its refinery operations nationally, and its petroleum exploration and production operation internationally.
Read ConocoPhillips’ Success Story Here: How ConocoPhillips Became a Global Business
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