Adapt To Build A Better Business

Look around you. Kids today have mobile phones, iPods, Facebook, Twitter, Google, iPads are even compulsory in some schools...the list is endless. Kids are multi-tasking, multi-educated and multi-stimulated and its all happening fast.  They are networking and socialising like never before, discussing their likes and dislikes with the world. They are consuming and purchasing products and material online for large portions of their day and most importantly, they are your future customers/clients.

But to make things worse, now they are educating and encouraging their parents (your existing customers and clients) in these new technologies which is driving the rapid change in the way business is being done today, not just tomorrow.

 

Only three months ago my own mum refused to send an email. Said it was the reason for the breakdown in communication today and that computers were a waste of time.  Then my dad got an iPad and now mum is sending emails regularly and shopping on line. Having finally accepted the efficiency and benefits, her usage of online technology is growing daily.

This is going on everywhere! Ten years ago online sales accounted for 1% of retail sales (excluding travel & events). Today they are at an estimated 4% or $8 billion and this is expected to treble in the next 4 years. Source AFR 4 June 2011).

 

As a business owner you need to be looking at your business now!

• How is technology currently impacting your business?
• Is the growth of technology going to impact your sustainability?
• Are you tracking how your customers, clients are finding you?
• Are you giving them with every opportunity to find you in order to buy your products?

People are no longer limited by location. They can shop all over the world 24/7. There is a good and bad side to this.  Firstly your customer base has expanded world wide, and on the flip side so has your competition.  You need to adapt to this new economy and the opportunities it brings to the table for your business. It is not going away and those that don't embrace it will become extinct as your customer base move to demand it.

When was the last time you went to a record store? Traditional book shops are rapidly falling along with DVD hire shops.  Change for some can be daunting and thus is avoided, others don't know where to start.  With the new financial year approaching now is the time to review and plan your business strategy for the years ahead. Start the new financial year with a strategy that embraces the new road ahead. The time to act is now.

I am always available for assistance on this or any other business matter you may be needing help with.
Contact me by email or by phone on 07 5594 3434.

A smile can make a major difference to your business.

It costs nothing, yet it has such a major impact!


With strains on marketing budgets and business cash flows you would think they would be free flowing. But something so cost effective and easy to implement is a rarity these days.

I'm talking about a smile...


When you walk into a business and a person smiles at you, you feel instantly welcomed and important.  Unfortunately it's usually the opposite that we are greeted with.

So why then do we not instill in our team members that it is compulsory to smile when greeting and communicating with clients and customers?  I understand this may be hard for those in the funeral business for example, but they can in the very least display an open, empathetic face that shows care and understanding.

Customers are going to have a far better experience, be more inclined to communicate and discuss their needs with a friendly smiling attendant, rather than a grumpy non smiling person that treats the customer like an inconvenience.

My personal experience
I was at the car wash yesterday and as I watched the cars going through the system I couldn't help but notice the lethargic non-enthused, unhappy approach that each attendant adopted to undertaking their task in the production line.

These people were in full view of the customers sitting watching their pride and joy being washed while trying to enjoy a coffee.

As a paying customer, should I be made to feel that I am inconveniencing the staff?  Couldn't my experience have been a lot nicer with a simple smile on the faces of the attendants. It costs nothing and is only a matter of management instilling and explaining the importance as a part of the company culture.

If your staff don't enjoy what they're doing and can't smile, tell them to go and do something else that does make them smile, then hire someone who not only has a better attitude, but is going to contribute to the overall success of your business.

I am a firm believer that simple, FREE things like this can make a profound difference to your business and most importantly your customers experience in your business.

At a time when customers have unlimited choice available on the internet and when every dollar they spend counts, you have the power to make sure your customers and clients want to use only you...because you make them feel like they belong to you and nowhere else.

I have witnessed companies spending thousands of dollars to attract new business, only to have a non smiling, inconvenienced attendant go up apathetically try and 'help' them, when a happy, smiling, energetic, caring attendant could have not only satisfied the customer but welded them to your business, and even better, referring new business, because you show you care.

Try it... smile tomorrow it may even change the way you approach your own day.

Condolence & Thoughts For Pike River Families

Our warmest thoughts and condolences go out to the families and victims of New Zealand's Pike River mine tragedy. Such a terrible thing for anybody to ever have to experience. It certainly puts things in perspective.

Gerry Harvey - Is the Economy all to blame?

In recent days Gerry Harvey has voiced his concerns over the bleak and severe battering ahead for Christmas retail trade in the media, sighting interest rate rises, drops in consumer sentiment, heavy discounting, a stronger Australian Dollar and an increase in online store trading as some of the major factors in this gloomy retail picture.  Mr Harvey is not a happy man with the current state of things.

While I dont necassarily diasagree with Mr Harveys claims, it does raise some very valid thoughts to ponder.
Lets start with 'Online Trading': As the technological generations mature to become a larger percentage of the consuming economy, coupled with increased internet trust and security by existing consumers, the move to online purchasing and retail trading is inevitable. You can buy your groceries online safely and efficiently now. You can even buy homes, boats, cars and yes TV's all from the comfort and security of your home. I have even heard rumours of full shopping centres currently being developed...a virtual centre you can go online and buy all your favourite brands.

Can I raise the point though, that if there is no perceived difference between buying in person and buying on the internet, the internet will inevitably win. By this I'm not talking about price, I'm talking about personalised friendly service that is designed to assist and build a relationship with the customer. The internet is impersonal, you are offerred no assistance as a customer, it is very much point, click, hand over your credit card and the goods arrive. If the experience I receive when I walk into a retail store to purchase a TV is very much the same impersonal and transactional experience, then why would I not save the time, fuel and energy and buy online?

Retailers need to look at the internet as an opportunity to improve their traditional sales, marketing and operational models. You can not rely on people just walking through the door and handing over their limited hard-earned cash. You need to build a relationship and trust. Every person that walks in the door is a prescious resource to be nurtured now. It's the new economy! (although it should have been there in the first place).

If we look at Heavy Discounting: Discounting has been alive in retail for many, many years and always will be. Everybody likes a bargain! As a consumer, if you leave a store feeling you have had a win, you are happy. But discounting is a very tough way to make money. Let me explain... If you currently operate with a 30% Gross Profit Margin and you offer a discount of 10% to your customers, you need to increase the actual amount of goods you are selling by 50% to make the same profit. In tough economic times discounting is always the first point of call for many retailers.

Why not go the other way and offer value and package deals or bundles. There is nothing more frustrating when you have finished negotiating a "cash price" for an appliance then you get to the counter and the salesman starts to rattle off all the other cables you are going to need and keeps adding to the agreed price. Why not have a less discounted experience with an all-up price, so that the customer feels they have received value and all my needs are met?

Interest Rates are rising and will continue to in my view in the next twelve months. Consumer sentiment is dropping but I am a firm believer people will still be purchasing. They still have needs, they still have a thirst for consumption and technology. Go for a walk in an Apple store on any given weekend... they are packed to capacity! Even with interest rate rises, even with increased online sales, people are walking out the door with Apple bags. They are meeting the needs of the new economy. They have developed a marketing machine that brings people in. You can touch and experience their products. Their shops are bright and simplistic yet have a feeling of efficency and currentness about them and can I just say they are not just young tech-head customers they are attracting. Many, many of the customers are over their mid 30's. Yet Apple are nowhere near the cheapest technology and computing solution, they dont heavily discount their products, you never see big "On Sale Now" signs in their stores. They are meeting their customer needs. When you buy an Apple product you get a box and its all included and most importantly when you go to pay they don't slug you with extras or a 2% surcharge or EFTPOS fee penalising me for how I choose to pay for my experience in their store.  THAT is my biggst pet hate!

So, I agree with Mr Harvey, the factors he speaks of are out there and having a huge toll on traditional retail strategies. But I think there is a need for many retailers to take a good hard look at how they are treating their valuable customers and meeting the needs of the new economy.

Do you have a Customer or a Client Culture?

A customer by definition is "somebody who buys goods and services."  A client, on the other, hand by definition is "somebody who depends on the protection of another."

So many businesses we see have a customer culture of selling goods and services.  A one dimensional transaction to gain as much profit from the transaction as possible, and falsely believing we have satisfied the needs of the customer.  A transaction that may happen just the once.

Contrast this with a client culture, based on protecting the needs and requirements of the client.  The development of trust and a bond with your business that goes much deeper than a quick profit.  A relationship that will see the client return more than once, even bond them for life, but also have them singing about you to others.

How much more business do you think a client culture would attract?

There is an old story about the person walking into the hardware shop to buy a drill.  He asks the attendant,  "Do you have a 10mm drill?"  The attendant takes him over to the drill section and gives him a 10mm drill costing $10 to take to the register to pay.  This is a customer culture.

Another person goes into a different hardware store and asks for the same 10mm drill.  The attendant recognises that this person doesn't need a drill, they need a hole.  They begin to consult with the person, asking if the hole required is going into timber or masonry, as each will require a different type of drill bit. What is the hole to be used for?  Is it for fastening or hanging?  Do they have the appropriate fixtures? Is it to be temporary or permanent?

This person was not after a drill at all.  They were wanting to hang a picture for their wife and had been putting it off for months. Items sold included 1 x masonry drill $15, hanging hooks $10.  And the relationship established?  Invaluable. This a client culture.  Where do you think he'll shop next time?

Think about it the next time you buy something - what experience are you having?  What do you have in your business - a customer culture or a client culture?

Do something different, start referring to your customers as clients or guests.  Start training your team to think of people this way in your business.  It will make all the difference.

Run Your Own Race!

The Sydney city sky is turning from black to the lightest of pinks and blues as the sun wakes the city for the new day and the buildings that were just minutes ago towers of coloured neon are now solid towers of concrete and glass. Monday has arrived and I am sitting in my hotel room thinking about the race I have just taken part in the day before, The 2010 Sydney City to Surf.

80,000 people running through the city 14kms in search of the ocean, as if it would end the world if they didn't reach it by lunchtime. An endless snake of people funnelling through the city streets and tunnels in search of water and the ocean. There were people in Batman suits, Spiderman suits, dressed up as blue smurfs, Santa even made an appearance running along the road stopping to hand out presents to children spectating with their parents and of course there were the serious participants using every bit of their energy to get to the finish (I was in the later group as I had misplaced my smurf suit).

As I was running along I got to thinking (as you do!) "every one of these 80,000 people are here for their own reasons" - some for fun, some just to finish, some to win, some to beat their personal best. They were all "running their own race". It didn't matter that people were dressed up in clown suites or stopping along the way for a drink, or walking and talking... they were all running their own race.

It is one of the greatest gifts we have in life, the freedom to run our own race, and it is one of the greatest gifts we all have in business.You can decide today how you are going to operate your business. You  can decide how you are going to service your customers and clients and you can decide your success and future in doing so.

Get passionate, Set Goals, Set Strategy, Achieve and "Run Your Own Race". Don't be drowned by negative media, or people trying to pull you down. Rise above it.

My Goal was to beat my personal best time...and I did it.

Enjoy your journey.

Is Business Bad Or Are You Just Doing Bad Business?

I have the pleasure of seeing hundreds of different types of business's each year and as an adviser I love nothing more than to see them prosper and exceed in their own expectations.  It is a very large part of my role as an advisor and something I am very passionate about to this day.

On the flip side of helping and talking with business owners I also get the privilege of utilising the services of a lot of businesses both locally and nationally and it is to this end that I remain constantly astounded at the way in which people conduct their business's.

Let Me Explain!

A common complaint is that "business is bad" "nobody's buying" "the phones have stopped ringing" and so on... but is business really bad or are we just doing bad business?  Let me give you two very real and distinctly different stories -

We recently had the interesting experience of using a local business to undertake some reasonably large work that needed careful planning and attention. After providing them with a detailed scope of the project, a quotation was provided of which we accepted and it was 'happy days'...or so we thought.

In going through the process of this project I was continually amazed at the amount of times that things were promised, but not delivered. People who said they were going to show up on a date and time did not show up. In one instance, the business owner promised to come three days within the one week and on each occassion, never did. Not a phone call, a message, even an apology for not delivering on what they said they would. It then took weeks to have them eventually come and do the simple job.

Yet, they tell me "business is bad". "No body's buying". "The phone has stopped ringing".

If I contrast this with a recent experience I had with a well known company Dell Computers.

One of our very important file-servers crashed and died on Easter Monday, of all days. I rang DELL technical support on Easter Monday evening at 6.30pm to report the issue, as I had a full team of employees coming to work the next day.

A friendly technician called me at 7.30 pm that same evening and asked me if I would like him to travel immediately from Brisbane to the Gold Coast this evening to fix the problem? I couldn't make the poor man travel for an hour on the last night of a long weekend, so he promised he would have the parts on our doorstep first thing in the morning, along with a technician to fix the problem.

To their word the parts arrived on time, the technician arrived as promised, our server was fixed as promised and all rubbish and faulty parts where removed. By the time they had finished, you wouldn't have known they'd been there at all.

This is not a one off instance. On another occasion we ordered critical parts at 4pm in the afternoon. They promised they would be delivered that evening at 7pm as they where coming once again from Brisbane. At 6.45 they phoned me to say they had been held up in traffic and would be 15 minutes late. To their word they arrived at 7.15pm, problem solved.

Is it because Dell is such a multi-million dollar company that this kind of service is acheived? Definitely not! Michael Dell started this business from the boot of his car in a university car park.

My point is they are doing business well and that is why their phones are still ringing, They are still growing and people are still buying.

Do they make mistakes? I'm sure they do. We are all human but what is their normal service and business standard? What experience do they strive to provide their customer no matter how big or small?

What is your business standard?
What are your service values?

I suspect in a lot of circumstances business isn't THAT bad?