If you're thinking about what will be happening on the business scene in the future, the first step is to clear your mind of several popular misconceptions. More than ever, it will be dangerous to harbor-let alone act upon-erroneous ideas which can lead a business down the wrong road.
What are the ideas that can get us in trouble in the year ahead? There are four that will be particularly troublesome:
- 'This down economy can't last forever. It's got to end soon.' Who says? The politicians? Some sales manager? If you're planning on a big change for the better in the economic weather, you may be in for a lengthy wait.
- 'Whatever happens, the United States is still the biggest and the best.' Bigger than whom and better than what? Anyway, so what? There's a lot of whistling Dixie going on these days.
- 'Whatever happens, we've got to be optimistic.' There's everything right about being upbeat and optimistic, but to act as if the road ahead will be easier than the one we've traveled these last three years will lead to a dead end.
- 'We've got a pretty good handle on things.' One of the basic elements in Wal-Mart department store's incredibly brilliant success is doubt. It's built into the Wal-Mart management system. 'How can it be done better?' is the essential question. The goal is not to have a handle on anything, but to see everything in new and different ways.
In order to be a winner, get rid of harmless ideas. Then if you want your business to end the year firmly in the black, here are seven ways to power-up your company now:
1. Quit dreaming and put your marketing and sales plan on paper. The key to making something happen is getting ideas, plans, and activities on paper. Unless this happens, the coming year will look just like the last one, only a little worse.
Ask yourself a basic question: 'Who's going to do what to whom and when?' Everything you need to know about transforming foggy generalities into a get-things-moving action plan is contained in the answer to this question.
Unlike the dumb-luck era a decade ago, our time demands intense discipline. The real winners will be those who know and do precisely what must be done.
Because the heat will be on to produce business, it will be even more important to guard against changing course and giving in to flights of fantasy-commonly known as chasing rainbows.
Even in good times, companies are hurt by succumbing to whim and charging off in dead-end directions. Such revelry will put a business out of business because it wastes time and resources and de-energizes the people who must make something happen. In other words, don't become beguiled by anyone offering a quick fix.
2. Look sharp! Throw off the old image. Old-timers are fond of saying, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Although this may be good advice most of the time, there are occasions when new makes a positive difference.
A copy center increased its copying business by 30% during the slowest time of the year. When the results were analyzed, only one change occurred during the period: The increased business came after a new copier was installed!
During difficult times, companies tend to ignore what is often viewed as nothing more than 'frosting on the cake,' such as a new logo, new communications materials, new marketing publications, and new advertising. Such 'luxuries' are left to good times when there's plenty of money.
Yet one of the purposes of projecting the company image as powerfully and clearly as possible is to attract attention, to break through the boredom, and be seen as a business on the move.
- Learn to speak 'customer' fluently. Difficult times-perhaps more than other periods-require that we speak a single language, one we call 'customer.' Get rid of what we want to do and force the mind into a new pattern by asking, 'What do they need?' The answer to this question will put a company on a productive track .
4. Be serious about having fun. Dunkin' Donuts does a lot of things right.
Having fun with the products must be near the top of the list. Dunkin' Donuts products are popular because the company has made them enjoyable.
Without question, the donut, a product that historically borne the label of 'sinker' because it was 'heavy,' has been made light, airy, and even healthier by having fun with it. People flock to fun! This may be one reason why there are traffic jams around Dunkin' Donut shops between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. every day.
Fun is serious business. With annual sales pushing toward the $100 million mark, Gerald Elovitz, a.k.a. Jerry Ellis, has created a highly profitable business out of insurance salvage by selling 'good stuff cheap.' For more than a decade, New Englanders searching for a bargain have flocked to his Building #19 stores (the first location was actually Building #19 in a World War II shipyard). This adroit, tightfisted, shrewd, and extremely funny businessman has capitalized on the fact that customers get excited and buy if they're having a good time within a store that is serious about having fun.
5. Get realistic about your organization. 'It's important to look big if you're in business.' Such nonsense just proves that repeating an idea often enough gives it a life of its own. Little businesses try to look bigger; so do the bigger and even the biggest companies. Bigger than big seems to be the goal, since an extraordinary amount of energy is spent doing nothing more than blowing up the corporate balloon!
To drain a business' energy into such nonproductive activity is horribly wasteful-and harmful. It isn't the customer who's concerned about the size of the business. It's the management that will do anything to overcome the corporate inferiority complex.
Playing the size game isn't a frivolous activity. If a company is a little more than a hollow shell, the customer will get the message that form is more important than substance. And, today, no one wants to do business with such a business.
Being the best-having confidence in your capabilities-is of far more value than mere size. It's essential to be viewed as competent and capable.
6. Make doing business with your company a two-way street. Actually, customers are correct in their assessment that business is greedy.
A major story in a big-city daily newspaper focused on a high-visibility automobile dealer with a net worth of some $200 million, including a well-known $10 million vacation home. When asked about his charitable contributions and a barbecue for a group of handicapped kids, he is reported to have said, 'I guess I could do more.'
Whether this automobile dealer realized it or not, he was describing his business philosophy. As far as he's concerned, everything should move in one direction-toward him. In spite of his rather loud sales messages ballyhooing low, low prices, the credibility of his commercials is jeopardized by his behavior.
Far too many businesses operate in a way that makes it clear that what they get is all that's important. This is a penetrating message since it puts customers, suppliers, employees, and everyone else on notice about the way the company conducts business.
Today, customers must feel that a company cares, that it's eager to go out of its way to attract business, that it appreciates its customers. It doesn't do any good to just use the 'right' words. The two-way street must be demonstrated.
7. Find out again-for the first time-what's going on in the world. The best way to stop worrying about what the competition will do next is to trust your own judgments. Unfortunately, such a step requires solid information, something foreign to many businesspeople who choose to rely on ignorance or who take their cues from their competitors.
When it comes to technical knowledge, American business stands at the head of the class. But there's a major void in the expertise required in making basic business decisions. In order to avoid unnecessary and costly mistakes, it's necessary to know what's going on in the world, as well as the issues being discussed by the thought leaders.
Besides thumbing through trade publications, anyone committed to a 'real time' understanding of events and trends might well read one daily newspaper-USA Today-and one weekly business magazine-Business Week. Staying current with these two publications is perhaps the best way to stay in sync today.
Relying on an economic upswing for increased business activity will be a major mistake. If significant improvement is to be achieved, it will be the direct result of individual companies seizing the moment to position themselves for more profitable business.
These seven ways are fundamental building blocks which will serve the best interests of a business in good times and bad. Today, however, they are the essential ingredients for success.