Three more tips to survive
The first reaction many
people have when in a slump is to push harder. Often the result is similar to
pushing a string. First, go slow to go fast. A friend taught me this years ago
and it’s so true. How often do we rush into things, only to spend much more
time and money to correct what we could have prevented? When we damage a
customer relationship, it may take years to correct, if we ever can.
It’s important to think
through decisions. My first real job out of college was in the entertainment
industry. Specifically, with a company that promoted concerts, plays, ice shows,
etc. We were in a very competitive situation with another firm and there was a
constant attitude, on both sides, of “we have to do bigger and better shows
than they do.”
This led us to do one rock
and roll band in three successive years in a 60,000 seat stadium, a 22,000 seat
amphitheatre and finally in an 11,000 seat arena. Every time we were in one
venue too big, and it cost us. Rather than think it through, the owner bowed to
competitive pressures.
Every day we are all faced
with decisions. Some we need to make now, others can wait. One trait of good
leaders is to make good decisions and that means using your experience to think
through the best course of action. It means being persistent without being
obnoxious and moving the customer along by creating value, not by being pushy.
The top of the curve is when
it’s the time to experiment, expand and take on new challenges. When times are
tough you have to build on your strengths. Mike Ochoa owns Precision Technology
Corporation (PTC) in Woodinville. PTC is a machine shop, similar to scores of
others in the Puget Sound area.
That means they’ve
experienced the same problems almost all shops have over the last year or so.
Commercial aerospace work is down, military work was down until 9-11 gave it a
kick-start and non-aerospace work wasn’t much better.
Rather than hibernate, Mike
identified PTC’s strengths and took action. First he recognized the areas they
were good at and did all they could to keep their current work. This customer
contact paid off with a joint venture from a firm “down the street.”
Second, he recognized that
PTC is excellent at participating in the design process. This allowed them to
expand their product offerings by participating in the design process and
ensuring customer retention. A good example is a direct partnership on a new,
very high end line of brass saxophone mouthpieces (that have received rave
reviews).
Finally, he hired an outside
salesperson to drum up business. This salesperson has brought in a lot of
quotes, primarily from customers PTC has never worked with before. Rather than
wait for business, they went and found it.
Turbulent times are when you
have to do all those little extra things so your customers perceive value that
far exceeds the price. Sure, some people will always be interested in price more
than anything. If you don’t mind working with them on that basis, fine.
Realize if they switched to you because of your low price they will switch again
when someone beats your price.
Concentrate on the service
you provide, the follow-up, ongoing communication and special attention to their
specific needs. This means don’t have a “one size fits all” customer
service mentality.
More and more, people are
realizing they have to build strong relationships. Not just with customers, but
on all fronts. Big companies love voice mail mazes. Combat this by offering a
quick, live person response.
Make sure your employees
realize they are appreciated. There may be more prospective employees to choose
from, but there’s a high cost to turnover and training (and the potential for
damaged customer relationships).
There is never a penalty for paying special attention to your customers, employees and strengths. There are a lot of keys to success. Providing value, building on what you’re good at and going slow to go fast are just three. Pay attention to these areas and your business will grow.
Copyright 2002, John
Martinka, All rights reserved