Are you planning for inevitable changes in your business? What might those changes be? Too often we accept the status quo without strategically planning for what’s next, despite the rapid changes in our society. I own and operate a snow and Ice management company, a sister company to my green industry business, and we recently ran out of salt for our de-icing operations. In an effort to preserve cash flow we reduced our inventories too low and had to make spot purchases on the open market at a premium price. We preserved our level of service, but at a price. As we waited and waited for our usual supplier to come through, we were ultimately informed of the truth – they were supplying the needs of municipalities ahead of ours. We weren’t happy about this, but we understood.
Archives for January 2007
Focus on Your Existing Customer
Connect with Your Market – Make it Come Alive!
Last Friday I was driving home from the airport after a speaking engagement. When I’m helping other business professionals with their marketing efforts, it catalyzes my own thinking about my businesses. It makes me more aware – not just of the steps I need to take to connect with my customers, but everything in general. Awareness seems to spill over from one part of our lives to another.
I was listening to the radio while I drove and the song "Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds" played. I listened to the words and for probably the first time actually imagined a clear visual picture of "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" and "cellophane flowers of yellow and green towering over my head!" What a beautiful image I had; it just came alive. I wondered about John Lennon’s vivid imagination and what he must have been thinking when he wrote that song. He made a connection with me.
Are you making the right connections with your market, your staff, your employees or your family? How can you give your "audience" a clearer picture of what you are all about? Sometimes these moments in our lives tell us we need to do to be more aware of who we are, and how we can express that to make a connection. What might be blocking you from doing this? Maybe you are trying to do too much. Simplify and take what’s important and breathe new life into it – make it come alive like that song did for me! Let go of some of the clutter in your life so that the really important comes alive. If your focus is marketing, this might start with your current customers and why they value you, your company, and its products and services. If you can do this, you are definitely going to create a buzz that will catalyze your efforts and make the whole process more enjoyable!
