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Maybe you read the title and said, "No, this job of
mine is complicated, this business is complicated, and it's getting
worse!" Maybe you've even thought about going off on your own and
becoming a "one-person show."
Many of the businesses I patronize forget about the
simple basics. I have a friend who describes business by saying,
"Take care of your customers, take care of your people, count your
money." Too simplistic? Maybe. But let's take a look at where we've
come from in business.
There has always been competition. Competition comes
from places where people can choose to spend their money. When I
was president of a manufacturing company that made mattresses and
furniture, we were always in competition, not only with other furniture
stores, but also with other big-ticket items. If there were a lot
of appliances being bought, then maybe people wouldn't have enough
available cash to spend on our products. The same was true for car
sales. If people bought an automobile, they tended to "put off"
furniture purchases for a while.
The competition continues today for valued customers
who choose what they want to buy, where they want to do business,
and ultimately, whether they want to purchase anything at all. In
today's marketplace, the competition is fierce because we have so
many options. In our community alone, we have literally hundreds
of places where we can buy groceries, dine out, or buy gasoline.
Back in my grandparents' time, those options weren't
there, and they probably bought all the above-mentioned products
from the same place of business. So maybe business has become more
complex. Yet with that complexity, there needs to be much more emphasis
on the basics of business.
Here are some basics that I've noticed over the years:
1. Hire the right (best)
people. Business should always be in a hiring mode. Having
the right people in the right place doing the right thing is the
challenge for any business.
2. Enforce high
standards of appearance and professionalism. Constant
reminders need to be given to our people as to how they look, sound,
and respond to our customers. Leadership within the business must
have a clear understanding and agreement as to what those standards
are.
3. Reinforce and recognize
employees and provide meaningful feedback to them. People
like being praised and professionally corrected for their attitude
and behavior. The evaluation process of people in business needs
to be fair and firm.
4. Demonstrate "the-customer-is-always-right"
attitudes and behaviors. Making customers feel special is
a way to make sure that those customers will want to come back and
will tell others that they should do business with you.
5. Reinforce the high
quality of services you provide. Businesses can get lazy
as they perform their everyday activities. There must be constant
monitoring of processes in order to deliver goods and services beyond
customers' expectations.
6. Instill a sense
of urgency about customer service. No one likes to wait.
We're all in a hurry. Today's customers will no longer be patient.
If you don't sell me quick and deliver quicker, I'll go someplace
where I can find quickness.
7. Develop a team-oriented
work environment. Together we're even better. The structure
of teamwork adjusts for different businesses. The basics of this
cooperative partnership remain the same: trust, honesty, communication,
investigation, and care.
8. Maintain "partnerships"
with customers and suppliers. Working "on the same side of
the desk" is a must for both our suppliers and our customers. Having
an adversarial relationship with either one will eventually doom
a business. People do business with people they like doing business
with. When there is "transaction trouble," these relationships need
to be strong and responsive.
9. Establish positive
community relations. How are you viewed by people outside
your business? Do you give back to the community from which you
take? Are you helping your industry grow by sharing your strengths
and weaknesses and by learning from others?
10. Live your mission;
keep your promises. Why are you in business? Does every decision
you make have some tie-in to your values and to why you are in business?
If your mother did business with you, would she be a happy customer?
Making sure that all of the participants in the business
understand the foundation of their existence is not only important,
it's mandatory. Buildings provide locations, while people provide
the heartbeat of any business.
Are you, as a player in your business, still enthusiastic
about coming to work, or has it become a daily grind? Business excels
when those in leadership understand their role and are constantly
upgrading the "basics" to build staff expertise in order to serve
customers in unexpected ways.
To me, business is exciting. It has been since I started
my own garbage hauling business when I was 15. Every business I've
been in since then has had surprises, problems, stress, change,
and fears.
I'm sure your business has all the same qualities.
I learned early from my parents that you make business, it doesn't
make you. If business isn't engaged in a proactive focus while remaining
reactive in its response to trends and customer needs, then there
is no business.
That's about as basic as it gets. |
