Mar 13 2009
Still Pleanty of Opportunity in American Business
We are in the midst of a recession. The ‘experts’ say that it could continue for 12-36 months. Taxes are going up, Unions are gaining political strength, and banks are not lending money. It all appears to be doom and gloom for Entrepreneurs from this point forward. Or does it? Here are a few focal points that will help a business continue to prosper and even expand in a contracting economy.
Customer Service
Customer service is a lost art. Retention is an important thing, especially when new customers are going to need some wooing. Building loyal customers is the most important thing, not only in preserving your business, but growing it as well. More and more people are relying on word of mouth referrals rather than paid advertising to find and employ business to fulfill their need.
Questions you have to ask yourself (and your employees if applicable) are: How does my product meet my customer’s needs? What can I do to make sure that my customers come only to me to have their needs met? What can I do to Customize each experience to fit my customers individual needs? These would seem like very basic questions every business person already asks himself/herself, but the truth is most consumers are not happy with the service they receive (even more now).
Review Your Employees
These are your soldiers on the front line. You need to know how confident they are in the business to continue, the service/product to remain in demand, and that they will continue to eat. This cannot be done in the form of a written survey, online questionnaire, or anonymous ’suggestion box’. You (or their closest supervisor) need to personally speak to the employees individually to measure their excitement. There are three categories they will fall into: Fanatics, Moderates, and Unbelievers.
Your Fanatics love the company and believe in the product. They are a necessity, keep them happy and they will keep your customers happy. Your Moderates are probably your biggest pool of employee resources; they are confident in the product, but have reserves about the economy. You need to keep track of how they feel about the service they are providing, and how confident they are in their customer experiences. You must try to sway them towards the Fanatic category. Last and least are the Unbelievers. These guys think that all hope is lost and that it is the customer’s fault for not purchasing your services. They are a great way to cut back on payroll expenses (nuff said) and reinvest on the Fanatics.
Look for Investing Opportunities
Stocks are low, new hires are generally expecting lower salaries/wages than a year ago, and deflation is lowing the cost of nearly everything. This is a good time to invest in infrastructure to make sure that your business continues to run efficiently. Do you still use paper, look at going paperless; is your computer system outdated, think about updating to a more modern version that will meet your long term needs; perhaps you need to change banks over customer service issues, if you are transacting less, this would be a good time. There are lots of opportunities to change, invest, or upgrade the weaker aspects of your business in order to put yourself in a strong position over your competition. Go through everything and find out how/why it is or is not helping you meet your business goals.
Opportunity Always Available
The number one thing to remember when facing difficult times in business is why you went into business in the first place. Odds are, you wanted to bring innovative ideas to a certain market sector, or there was something about your product that you believed would stand out among the competition. This is not the time to forget that. Entrepreneurs are the most creative and innovative people in the world. They work within free market economies, socialist states, and communist nations. Never believe the doom and gloom that is constantly preached by politically charged individuals.
