In the great depression of the 1930’s there were queues of people waiting in line to get bread, millions of people out of work with no means to generate income. Yet at the same time highly successful startups were being born – household names such as Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Fisher Price and Duracell. The difference between those challenging economic times and today’s, are that in this downturn people are still queuing for the new Ipad. I’m not trying to belittle the situation, it is indeed serious, but my point is that as the economic environment changes, it takes those down that are doing the wrong things, and leaves more for those doing the right things.
So what are those right things to do?
1) Customer love – if you want to bullet proof your business then you must look after your customers, and I mean truly thank them for their business, show them you care and let them know how important they are to you. Start by picking up the phone to them and asking ‘how are you doing, are we looking after you?’ Then listen. There is no room for poor customer service in the new economy
2) Marketing – you must have a good healthy pipeline of leads, which means you must know how to market, and I mean properly. You need to run at least five types of marketing at any one time and then test and measure. You could do pay per click, postcards, email marketing, scratch cards and a newsletter for example. Record what business you get back from each and then do more or less depending on your return on investment
3) Keep good company – think of the people who surround you. You are most likely a hybrid of the company you keep, including the pessimistic and ‘unlucky’ ones. So review your social sphere and look to keep the company of more positive successful business people. Create a master mind group of five or six people with whom you can meet once a month to set goals and overcome common issues
4) Employ good people – good people don’t chase money, but they do want to be well trained, valued and have clearly defined roles. Understand that these people will make a difference to everything you are trying to achieve. So review your team, and restructure or rebuild it with people of high standards and passion
5) Sell more – sounds obvious right? But seriously you need to be able to sell more of what you currently do but also think about what else you could be selling. If you sell carpets for example you could be selling carpet cleaning services and chemicals as well. If you sell lamps you could be selling electrical services too. If you sell exercise equipment you could be selling nutritional supplements, and so on. Look at it from a customer’s point of view – it would make their life easier to buy from you, an existing supplier
6) Plan with consequences in place – have a plan that is achievable, measurable and that is public! If you say you are going to sell 100 TV’s before Christmas, then tell all your colleagues publicly that you are going to do it, by when, and state clearly that if you don’t achieve it you will run naked around the city centre!
7) Lead – you have to become a leader in your business. Acting stressed, throwing toys and being moody will take your business down like a lead balloon. You must learn to be enthusiastic, take time for your people and be in control. You can achieve this by listening to audio books for knowledge and taking time out to recharge.
When this current economic environment has changed there will be those shot to pieces on the floor and another group that survived and thrived, those that were bullet proofed against the recession.
Nathan Siekierski
Director
Jasper’s Catering Franchise Ltd
http://www.jaspers-franchise.co.uk/
So what are those right things to do?
1) Customer love – if you want to bullet proof your business then you must look after your customers, and I mean truly thank them for their business, show them you care and let them know how important they are to you. Start by picking up the phone to them and asking ‘how are you doing, are we looking after you?’ Then listen. There is no room for poor customer service in the new economy
2) Marketing – you must have a good healthy pipeline of leads, which means you must know how to market, and I mean properly. You need to run at least five types of marketing at any one time and then test and measure. You could do pay per click, postcards, email marketing, scratch cards and a newsletter for example. Record what business you get back from each and then do more or less depending on your return on investment
3) Keep good company – think of the people who surround you. You are most likely a hybrid of the company you keep, including the pessimistic and ‘unlucky’ ones. So review your social sphere and look to keep the company of more positive successful business people. Create a master mind group of five or six people with whom you can meet once a month to set goals and overcome common issues
4) Employ good people – good people don’t chase money, but they do want to be well trained, valued and have clearly defined roles. Understand that these people will make a difference to everything you are trying to achieve. So review your team, and restructure or rebuild it with people of high standards and passion
5) Sell more – sounds obvious right? But seriously you need to be able to sell more of what you currently do but also think about what else you could be selling. If you sell carpets for example you could be selling carpet cleaning services and chemicals as well. If you sell lamps you could be selling electrical services too. If you sell exercise equipment you could be selling nutritional supplements, and so on. Look at it from a customer’s point of view – it would make their life easier to buy from you, an existing supplier
6) Plan with consequences in place – have a plan that is achievable, measurable and that is public! If you say you are going to sell 100 TV’s before Christmas, then tell all your colleagues publicly that you are going to do it, by when, and state clearly that if you don’t achieve it you will run naked around the city centre!
7) Lead – you have to become a leader in your business. Acting stressed, throwing toys and being moody will take your business down like a lead balloon. You must learn to be enthusiastic, take time for your people and be in control. You can achieve this by listening to audio books for knowledge and taking time out to recharge.
When this current economic environment has changed there will be those shot to pieces on the floor and another group that survived and thrived, those that were bullet proofed against the recession.
Nathan Siekierski
Director
Jasper’s Catering Franchise Ltd
http://www.jaspers-franchise.co.uk/
