With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading small business
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expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
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Frontrunner
Setting your business apart from competition
Sales of items that have the logos or mascots of the universities and professional teams that win national championships are in hot demand. Some of the people who are buying this merchandise are steadfast fans while others are the “Johnny- come-lately” type.
Kids use the term “frontrunner” to describe other kids who have suddenly decided to become a fan of a championship or popular team. This newly popular team has done something to cause it to have a greatly enlarged fan base.
Frontrunning is also apparent in the retail marketplace. For example, mail-order catalog specialists L.L. Bean and Land’s End have become household names. Among department stores, Nordstrom is known for its legendary service. Attend almost any trade show and you can usually spot the current frontrunner manufacturer or wholesaler by the manner in which it has presented itself.
People want to do business with a frontrunner because they traditionally make such an effort to take care of their customers. Creativity in marketing is crucial if you want to join the ranks of the frontrunners. Look around your business and decide how a creative surge can benefit it. Ask yourself the following:
Will your employees - your “team” - or the physical appearance of your facility, benefit?
What is the state of your various departments?
Have you recently updated your selection of merchandise and the services that you offer?
How will your efforts benefit customers?
Rearrange your duties and your team’s duties to accomplish the objectives you’ve laid out. Come into the business earlier and leave later. Make the extra effort and let team members know that a sacrifice is being made to make a difference.
If you decide that your facility doesn’t need a creative touch, keep in mind that facilities without a positive attitude also seem to have a way of standing out. There are few long-term employees, there is no “snap” in the appearance of the facility (it always looks the same) and customers are there because of need - not want.
There will probably also be a need to “gamble” financially. The first gamble that most dealers will think of is to increase inventory levels. If this is necessary, begin with the department or product line that has shown the most growth within the past couple of years.
Prepare for the unexpected, such as unseasonably warm weather early in the season. Empowering employees with the right kind of knowledge to help your business through such a crunch time strengthens the business team while serving customers. By meeting with your staff, outlining the problem and opportunity, demonstrating your willingness to give “frontrunner” service, your team members will be excited about this commitment to excellence.
One dealer experienced an opportunity for becoming a frontrunner when their dealership was broken into twice within a month. The burglars cut through a chain link fence that surrounded the yard. One of the team members suggested a solution to the security problem. The suggestion was reviewed and quickly implemented - and it worked.
This type of action enables your team members to view your dealership as a frontrunner. It demonstrates that you are concerned about having a profitable and long-term operating business. Customers will also sense this type of frontrunning, and if you are fortunate, they will compliment your team. It is a positive team-building experience to have a customer compliment one of your team members in regards to the business at which they work. Your team members will be proud to know that they not only work for a frontrunner, but that they are also considered one.
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This article is copyrighted by Tom Shay and Profits Plus Solutions, who can be reached at: PO Box 128, Dardanelle, AR. 72834. Phone 727-823-7205. It may be printed for an individual to read, but not duplicated or distributed without expressed written consent of the copyright owner.
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Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business
Management
Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.
Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?
Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.
We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.
Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.
Article of the Month
Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.
And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.
The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."
Book of the Month
Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.
As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.
Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
