Page 41 - Flathead Beacon // 11.26.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM BUSINESS MONTHLY BUSINESS IS PERSONAL Mark Riffey
NOVEMBER 26, 2014 | 41
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The Magic Triangle of Small Business
TAKE A LOOK AT ANY reality show business turnaround and the story is always the same: Quality, customer service, management.
It’s the magic triangle of small busi- ness, much less the formulaic basis of most business turnaround reality shows.
What’s a bit stunning is that peo- ple actually wait around for the real- ity show hero and their crew to show up before they take action to clean up the mess they’ve made – and even then, it’s orchestrated by the show. Sure, there’s some money and some not-so-good pub- licity involved, but most of the time, they’d be ahead financially and publici- ty-wise if they simply took care of busi- ness without waiting for the show people to arrive.
Think about what these people would do if they showed up at your busi- ness tomorrow.
They’d taste your food or try your product or service. They’d see how clean the place is. They’d monitor your ser- vice. They’d look at your books. They’d ride around with your delivery rigs.
Yes, these are the same things you should be doing in one way or another.
MANAGEMENT
Sometimes other things creep into the equation, but they’re almost always rooted in the magic triangle.
Cleanliness ... is management. Hiring ... is management.
Knowing your numbers ... is manage-
ment.
Knowing who your clientele is, and
isn’t ... is both management and market- ing.
Focusing your marketing and cli- ent care on exactly the right people ... is management.
Being focused on the quality of what you produce and sell is management, as is how you deliver it.
QUALITY
Think about the things you’ve seen in other businesses. The service you’ve complained about.
Is any of that happening at your busi- ness? How do you know? Have you called the last several customers you lost? Are you even aware who they are?
What about the last few new custom- ers? Do you know who they are?
If you don’t know the last few you lost
or the last few you got, it’s tough to check in with them and ask how things went. If you can’t do that, you’re probably guess- ing or assuming how things are going.
Is there a TV truck out front yet?
THEPHONE
Think about the last time you were served well over the phone. Or about the last time you had a terrible phone expe- rience with a business. Remember how you felt? Remember the “I’ll never use this business again” thought process – or something like it.
Now, with that thought cemented in your mind – are you sure that your busi- ness isn’t having those same kinds of is- sues with customer calls? Are you posi- tive?
Have you called your business lately as a customer? Have you talked to any- one who has? If the answer to both ques- tions is no, how do you know that your clients are being properly cared for by phone?
Try calling your accounting depart- ment and asking a question about an old invoice. Once the conversation is done, ask them to send you a copy of the in- voice. Do they refuse? Does the copy ever show up? These are the kinds of things that set customers off on a daily basis.
Call your sales and service depart- ments as well. How does that go? Try be- ing a “good customer” as well as a “bad” one. How does the experience change? Are they following your training? Speaking of, are they being trained?
ONBOARDING
What’s your new customer “on- boarding” process like? Is it consistent? Does it set expectations for how things will go after that? Do you train them how to do business with you?
What’s your process like? Think about the process that other businesses have put you through, or used to wel- come you into their “family”.
Which do you prefer? Yours, or theirs? If you prefer the ones you’ve ex- perienced elsewhere, is there a reason why you haven’t adopted parts of their process and made them your own?
Pay attention to the magic triangle and everything that it touches. Don’t wait for the TV truck to pull up – it may not arrive soon enough.
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“HAVE YOU CALLED YOUR BUSINESS LATELY AS A CUS- TOMER? HAVE YOU TALKED TO ANYONE WHO HAS?”
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or
marketing problem? See Mark’s site, rescuemarketing.com, or contact him via email
at [email protected].
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