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TIPS SPECIAL REPORT - THE 4th QUARTER ECONOMY By Shawn T. Kiley Aloha! Welcome to this special edition of TIPS. The news today, November 14, 2008 was highlighted by more dismal reports on the state of the economy. The commerce department reported that Octobers retail sales fell by 2.8% which is the sharpest single month drop on record. The auto industry lead the way and helped to drive those sales down, but big box retailers were also reporting poor sales. In this economic climate, it is easy to see why people begin to experience a sort of quiet panic. The 24/7 spin-cycle media, instead of reporting the hard news and ways to deal with the issues, seems to want to hype the troubles more and more. With constant bad news being drilled into the masses on a daily basis, its difficult to find a reprieve, if only a mental one and find some hope. Heres some good news. Owners and operators, especially of small business, can use this challenging time to build their customer base. To increase brand loyalty. To actually increase revenue! Sharp minds and great entrepreneurs have always used tough times to think outside of the box and develop ways around or through problems. In the retail and service industries, this is not that hard to do. Despite falling sales numbers, layoffs, and a generalized fear that may be brewing in your organization, you can be the change agent in your organization that helps to turn things around. People are still spending money, they are just not spending as much money in many of the sectors as they were five or six months ago. Just take a look at McDonalds third quarter earnings. Now is the time to return to, teach, model, preach, EVANGELIZE, customer service. For years I have consulted my clients that the chasm between poor customer service and excellent customer service is widening on a regular basis. The companies that are delivering excellent customer service, despite the current downward trends, will be the companies that are rewarded with a little more of that seemingly dwindling resource. The dollar. Not to play on fears, but now is also an ideal time for your employees to be retrained or raised up to a new level of service. Why? Because now, more than ever, people are afraid of losing their jobs. Fear can be a great motivator if used properly. Never carrot and stick your employees with veiled threats of layoffs if performance does not increase. Be genuine, honest and sincere and teach and model the behavior that you expect from them. Do it every day. Make sure it is coming from a sense of Were all in this together, rather than, If this ship goes down, youre the first to go. Finally, dont ever show fear or anxiety to your staff. Even in the worst of times. As a matter of fact, your ladder should be leaning against the opposite wall. During difficult times we must smile more, be more polite and courteous with each other and as leaders in our organization, we must LEAD out loud. Remember, most people study other people rather than books or anything else. Your staff is watching you, and many are taking detailed mental notes on how you are leading. We lead people - we manage things. Manage the details of your business the very best you can, while leading and inspiring your staff every day in every way you can. Eventually, if we all continue to do the next right thing and the next thing right, we will turn this around. Our next TIPS article will be part two of our look at what our customers are seeing. Until then... Shawn November 13, 2008 TIPS |
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