Visualization: Adding Colours to Thoughts

Challenge:

I am working in an NBFC which has its base in a Matured market, where competition is growing, and  new players are mushrooming rapidly. Hence to retain & increase market share, Customer retention  and New customer Acquisition are key parameters. This demands constant connects between work  force and existing / potential customers. As I am part of Business development team, I must form  strategies which can be easily understood by front line staff in simple manner for effective  execution, and at the same time accepted by all levels of Hierarchy to support the drive. There is  constant need to strategize Marketing Initiatives for the internal customers (employees) intended to  go out in market visits frequently conducting various customer engagement programs. Our Front- line sales team is good combination which range from newly recruited interns to seasoned  employees who have worked well over decades in the organization. The job of Middle level  Managers is to be sync with Line Managers & their Teams and help them (front line staff)  understand the Big Picture and what we can do to be relevant in changing Market.

Selection:

I have used visualization in most part of my career in one way or the other to convey my idea or  thought in presentable manner to team I am working with. Simple drawing a sketch on white board  or collage made by pictures in power point (example Shared below), using tools available which can  prove to be lot more relatable and draw attention. One must know your audience and the message  that you want to convey through visualization. Visualization also support the Idea to be seen in the  way which it is thought to be seen.

Application:

We strategize and plan for next quarter by the end of each quarter basis to the performance and  design strategy which would provide the front line teams Action points for execution. As part of  strategy building, we had decided to do an extensive Market Combing Activity and Survey across all  Branch units in the zone to get new insights and data base for customer prospecting in last Quarter  of FY. The basic idea was not a new one and so, we have given additional value in Design of Activity  to be presented in entirely different light. This needed to be introduced to front line teams for  effective results. We brainstormed within our team and listed out objectives, Methods, Type of data  sourcing, Frequency & Names for this campaign/ Activity. The finetuned points which was agreed by  team was selected and then I started working on the designing the Project based on inputs from  core team. We needed a Poster which displays all planned objectives as well as be motivating to the  individuals as well as teams. This Project was coined as – “Reach out – To stand out” and came out  with below given poster for launching it across all business units. This Initiative was quite successful  and was well driven across by all Line Managers and Teams which also resulted to provided  incremental business volumes and new customer increment.

Example:

Insight:

The above-mentioned design was done When I didn’t have clear understanding of visualization and  its applications myself but used it as an tool to convey my thoughts and ideas. Now when I have  gone through Design thinking Process and understand how Visualization tool can be effectively used  in every step for example- Journey mapping, brainstorming and Learning launches.

One can use visualization to bridge the Gap in minds of those listening or participating in Design  Process and bring them closer to the essence which was envisioned by creator of Idea. A Good Visual  can get people to open up and discuss their thought more freely than some Quotes on the Board.  While interacting with our Front line Managers on taking their feedback on above activity, we got to  learn they were able to relate to objectives and iterated on process as well just by looking at the  poster created.

Approach:

As I have listened to many experts during the course about one can practise visualization and get  better with it. That’s what I will look to do in my personal as well as professional life. We can draw a  picture of almost any thread that germinates in our mind and it can developed into full fledged  Design by doing thoughtful discussion on it and following pattern as prescribed in Design Thinking  process.

