When The Going Gets Tough...

You will have heard the old saying" When the going gets tough....the tough get going". But how does that apply to the business owner who is starting to feel the financial pinch as customers begin to tighten up their purse strings and re-evaluate how and where they are going to spend their hard earned cash?  What it means for the business owner, is that now is an excellent time to become more informed about, and proactive in, the operation of their business.  Many business owners sit back for too long after things begin to get quiet, just waiting to see what will happen and hoping that things will improve by themselves. All in all, this is not really a great action plan!  It's time to take the bull by the horns and turn your business into the thriving business you want it to be.  If you aren't prepared to roll up your sleeves and get started on a plan involving innovation and change, you will undoubtedly bear the consequences of your lack of action.

So right now is the optimal time to take a long hard look at all of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in your business.  If you have never done a SWOT analysis on your business, ask your business coach or mentor to do this with you to help you gain a better understanding of your business and how you can use this information to plan for a more financially glowing future.

It is not uncommon for small business owners to be working so hard in their business that they often do not take the time for this kind of business evaluation, but I believe that it is important that every business owner do this kind of analysis on a regular basis.  Not only will this provide you with the information that you need to make good business decisions, but the goals that you set and the plans that you make from that knowledge, will also reflect in a more positive interaction with your staff and your customers.  It doesn't take long for others to sense when there is a feeling of negativity and desperation within the business owner and this pervading mood can drive your business in the opposite direction to where you would like it to be going.  So step one is to always maintain a positive attitude in your business and this is much more easily accomplished if you have a great action plan in place.

Firstly, it is absolutely vital that you have the full support of your staff.  To have this support, your staff need to know what is happening within the business and that they are secure in their jobs.  They need to know that the business has a good plan for the future and the more that they have contributed to that plan, the better they will feel about it and want to support it. 

Here are some suggested Action Steps (not necessarily listed in order of priority for your business) that you can consider taking to keep your business moving in a forward direction.

Action Step 1: Schedule regular team meetings where you are able to share your ideas, business goals and plans with your staff.  Let them know in advance what topic you will be discussing at the meeting and ask them to bring along some ideas that they feel the business could benefit from. Always stay positive with your team and this in turn will result in a more positive environment for your business customers.  Avoid the doom and gloom talk about how tough things are getting and don't be tempted to indulge in lectures and blame allocation with your staff.  They need guidance and support from you so they know how to contribute more effectively.  Provide this for them regularly.

Action Step 2: Ensure that you have a great staff incentive program in place and explain to each team member individually what they can gain from their improved performance. Remember that motivation is a blend of both appreciation and compensation. At the end of the day, everyone likes to be rewarded for going above and beyond and that includes your staff!

Action Step 3:  Totally review all of your customer service procedures and make sure that your team is trained fully in how you want your customers treated.  Get staff input on this one as they are often the ones dealing with your customers at the coal face.  It is never good to lose customers because a team member did not know how to adequately handle a tricky situation.  Have firm policies in place and train your staff in how to apply them.

Action Step 4:  Run a cost reduction program for your business.  This could involve finding ways to:

      Reduce phone, bank and credit card charges

      Reduce staff costs through more effective rostering

      Do a better buying deal with your suppliers

      Reduce your freight costs

      Review stock holdings and special out slow moving stock.

      Eliminate or minimise any unnecessary expenses in your business.

There are numerous ways to reduce costs in your business.  Look around and start on reducing your costs today.  Often, all it takes is a phone call.

Action Step 5:  Complete an appearance audit on your business.  Step outside, cross the street and really look at your business through the eyes of your customers.  What do you see?  Is your business looking tired and a little run down?  What can you do to make your business more attractive to potential and existing customers? Is it sending the right message? Now step through the front doors.  What do you see here?  Is it time for a fresh coat of paint, an update on your displays or just a jolly good tidy up?  Does your business look and smell inviting to your customers?  Are your staff clean and professional in their presentation?  Is everything fresh and in it's place?  There are lots of things for you to consider and, once again, ask your team to do this exercise also. Ask them to contribute inexpensive ideas to get your business looking ship shape once again and think about having a fun prize for the best suggestion .

Action Step 6:  Run a great business promotion! What makes a great promotion? It's one based on your most profitable and popular service that also has the opportunity to add retailing onto it's tail.  For instance in a business such as a skin care salon, this would possibly be some type of facial or facial treatment.  What really matters here is not to get into discounting mode.  Rather, base your promotion on the "cherry on top" principle and value add to your full priced service.  An example of this might be to offer a free 20 minute back massage with every full facial purchased.  Not only are you getting full price for your facial service with the opportunity to retail at the end, but you are introducing your customer to another high end service that they may not have had the opportunity to try before and costs very little for you to provide.  You can apply this same principle in many industries.  All in all, a win-win situation for everyone. 

Action Step 7:  Update staff training. Take the opportunity to review the standard of services provided by each of your staff to the customers. This is a great time to ask each staff member where additional training would benefit them. Organise additional training for your staff members to ensure that everyone on your team is providing consistent and outstanding services. Consistency of service from all staff members is often what will retain a customer when a favourite therapist leaves your business.

Action Step 8:  Get more customers.  Now is the time to become more aggressive about getting customer referrals.  This is absolutely the best and most inexpensive ways to build your customer base.  If you are one of the many business owners who passively acknowledges the odd customer referral with a thank you letter, it's time to rethink your strategy.  Start thinking about developing an active referral program that will generate new customers straight away.

Action Step 9:  In service based industries, teach your staff how to rebook their customers successfully.  This is a sure fire way to fill those gaps in your appointment book for the coming month.  Create a rebooking strategy including a great script, train your staff in how to use it and most importantly set goals for each staff member and measure their performance regularly.  Needless to say, all bookings should be confirmed 24-48 hrs in advance to avoid "no shows" in your business.

Action Step 10: Stay positive!  Think positive, talk positive and act positive always.  This is one of the most important things you can do to keep your business thriving.  Your customers and staff hear plenty of negative talk on the news and in the papers and they definitely don't want or need to hear it in the business.  Encourage your staff to smile and laugh often. Compliment your staff on their positive behaviour at the end of the day. Make your business somewhere that people feel great and they will keep coming back!

As the famous Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company once said, "If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got."