Change Your Ways or Go Out of Business!

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I recently stopped into the local pizza place for a quick slice.  I seemed to be the only person in the place during lunch hour on a typical work day.  When I asked the owner where everyone was, he grunted and said “Nobody comes in any more”.  He added, “The last four months have gotten worse and worse”.  When I asked him if he thought of any different ways to get customers back in the door, he just grunted again and looked defeated.   

Small businesses like delis, pizza shops, thrift stores, and other shops will close their doors in a down economy.  Business owners that were previously making a good living off their great reputation and quality product will have to change their ways.   The old saying “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” doesn’t have much practical application during a recession.  You won’t get what you’ve always got because you’ll go out of business!  

Let’s look closer at what the pizza shop owner should do to get people back to his store. He could bring free pies to the local high school during some after school activities, club meetings or sporting events.  While there, he could hand out flyers for pizza specials (buy a slice get one free) to all students and teachers.  He might consider offering some of the local offices a free pizza lunch or arrange a special to all company employees that come into the pizza store for lunch on specific days of the week (for example, buy two or more pizzas this Tuesday and get 1 free pizza the following Tuesday). 

No matter the type of product or service, if you don’t take action on something that gets you off your butt and making proactive changes to your business or the way you sell your product, things will change in spite of you and for the worst. 

Take a day, a couple of days, even a week to brainstorm new ways to bring your product or services to your customers.  Run it by some people who know about your business.  Tweak your ideas, then run with them.  You must get your business name out “there”, even if you’ve been a staple in the community for years.  The rules of the game are different during a recession.  You must step out of your comfort zone, change the way you think about your business or product and adopt new sales techniques, promotions and systems. 

By taking new actions, you will have an immediate effect on your business, allowing for growth and innovation.  Remember, movement is the force of creation.  In the great words of Albert Einstein, “Nothing Happens Until Something Moves”.