By John Brandt, Jr., The Brandt Group, Ltd.
For a moment, forget about all the local and national news you have heard regarding the economy. At first glance, you will notice gas prices are down substantially. Traffic is busier then ever this summer with both locals and tourist. Stores and restaurants are starting to rebound. Every business sector appears to be gaining traction. The housing and mortgage markets are also picking up.
As a business owner and manager it is critical that you have to have a positive attitude and exceptional leadership skills. It is imperative that you be acutely aware of all aspects of your business in order to do more than survive. After all, you want to thrive, right? Here are some tips that you can use to keep your business positive and in the black.
Don’t act like a scared rabbit: If you worry the economy is going to fall and take you with it, guess what, you are exactly right! If you believe that today will be the worst day of your life, you are right!
Leadership: What’s important is all of your employees bring their “A” game to work. Management needs to identify the challenges throughout the business and develop a plan so that all employees are focused, motivated, and engaged. Communication is key employees need to know the facts of the company’s business plan so they can be as productive, effective and efficient as possible. Make sure to share the rationale for all decisions so employees are willing to take on new challenges.
Management Skills: Do your leaders have the skills and knowledge to be as effective as possible? If not, use this opportunity to identify the skills that are most critical during tough economic times and develop those skills. Training doesn’t have to be expensive, and the payoff for training can be the difference between surviving and thriving.
Financial Changes: Do we need it or would it be nice to have? That financial question management needs to ask as they make hard decisions. Unfortunately, salaries and wages may need to remain the same. Expenses, in many cases, have increased. Consequently, we need to operate our businesses differently and sometimes it will be painful. Remember to focus on the things over which you have control. You can not control the economy, but you can become economical.
Retention: In shaky economic times it is less likely that your average performers will leave. However, your best performers are highly marketable and they know it. Part of their success is the belief that they will always be successful. If they see their ability to be successful somewhere else, they will leave. Managers need to have conversations about who their best performers are and how to retain them.
Recruitment: This is an excellent time to recruit new, quality employees to your business. Now is the time to capture some new talent and get rid of the dead weight in your business.
Grow Your Business: Quality should always be a priority, when it comes to tough financial times. Quality should be raised up as the most important reason for being in business. Too often, businesses try to cut expenses, which leads to a reduction in quality. Poor quality will force customers to leave.
Measure and improve your customer service start by “Inspecting what you are expect” by Mystery Shopping your business. “Customer Stickiness” is critical to staying in business. It costs up to five times as much to attract a new customer than it costs to retain the existing one. The average customer who has a problem with a business tells 9 or 10 people about it. Focus on your current customers and give them the best service possible. Even during tough times, customers will pay a premium for services that cater to them individually. Remember, you are the one setting the example. Your staff is always looking at your customer service performance.
Customer Feedback: By understanding what drives your customers and what they are looking for, you are able to adapt and keep them coming back. Implement a customer feedback system. The rich information you glean from the feedback will be surprising and profitable.
Smart Marketing: Customers are looking for alternatives. It is easier now to lure your competitions’ customer away with the right message. Smart marketing during bad times helps you grow your business and position it to explode when the economy picks up.
Now for the good news: If you believe you are going to make more money, have more opportunities to learn and grow today than you have ever had before, you are right. If you believe today will be better than yesterday, you are right. In other words, you determine your own outcome by how you think. Henry Ford said it best with this quote…“If you think you can or if you think you can’t, either way you are right”.
John Brandt, Jr. is the President of The Brandt Group, Ltd. (www.TheBrandtGroup.com) a consulting firm specializing in business profit enhancement through Mystery Shopping, Mystery Dining, Training, and Operational Development. Mr. Brandt has over 30 years in training and management experience. He can be contacted at (406) 586-3036 or by E-Mail at johnb@thebrandtgroup.com.
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