Pay attention and be mindful of how you get your information. As our grandparents have said, “Don’t believe everything that you hear, and half of what you see.” With this simple, yet straight forward admonishment, I want to delve this week into watching more than the numbers with your business. My daughter has been studying about atoms at school and it can lend us a lesson. That big solid paperweight sitting on your desk turns out to be made of billions of atoms. According to Micotrends, this is the ultimate way to conceptualize the true micro trend. It reminds us to not miss the tree, because of the forest.
Here is an example. When President Clinton was elected into office, it was the general theme that “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” The basic idea was that the economy was horrible, and there were no new jobs being created. Once November statistics from 1992 came out, the period showed actual growth. Attitudes prior to the election had been stirred to be quite negative in a time of actual growth. The public was sold on the idea of doom and gloom based on “the forest has a problem” message when in fact their own personal tree was probably not doing so badly.
I bring this fine, but significant point out as we begin to emerge from the recession. The reminder is to check your attitude. At risk of sounding like a bad scene from “The Office”: Attitude is Amplitude. Cliché, but true. The challenge is to collect your information from multiple sources to include your own instincts as you move into 2010.
According to Robert Guest writing for the Economist, we are indeed emerging from the recession, and many companies will do so leaner and stronger. Households will emerge leaner as well. Not surprisingly, consumption patterns are predicted to continue to change in response to the slimmer side of buying patterns. Though the United States will continue as the biggest economy, over-stretched American consumers will no longer drive the world economy as before. Expansion bent markets will continue to look to China, Brazil and India for growth. This will push trade issues directly to the front, and the risk of a protectionist sentiment may arise. We have seen governments work together to contain the global financial crisis, but will they do so when it comes to trade? We should take a moment to think about the impact of this if China decides to stop lending us money. Hmm… Compound on this the harbinger of rising taxes as a method to ease budget deficits and the ultimate affect on not just corporations but business owners, and you can perhaps agree that now is a time to REALLY pay attention.
We have discussed in previous articles here that there is a growing distrust of government and big corporations. Think about the impact on the bottom-line when consumers retract further from spending due to a “pass through” tax that makes its way from the corporation to the consumer in the form of price increases. This should certainly stop us and make us think as it creates serious concern of back sliding into recession again with an economy that looks like a “W” instead of a “U”.
The challenge is to stay informed and to take control of the controllable. One big controllable is in fact your attitude as mentioned above. Would Vietnam please come to the front of the class? Again, Micro trends research shows us that much of the success of Vietnam in recent years is due to their abject optimism. Gallup World surveys show that 9 out of 10 Vietnamese Citizens state that this year will be better than the last. (Greece was the most pessimistic, edging out Iraq.) We would be wise to recognize the distinct differences between Capitalism and Democracy as presented by Vietnam. According to author Mark Penn in Micro trends, doi moi is the secret. Doi Moi is a series of market based reforms designed to stimulate the Vietnamese economy. Their constitution (Yes! They too have a constitution!) was amended to guarantee equal treatment for state and private companies, and eliminate bureaucracy. While all is not perfect in a country that we still view as an “Authoritarian” state, that rate of economic progress is still stunning in a country that has been so very war torn, and speaks to the serious entrepreneurial force that has brought it to this path. A quick look in our own towns of Fultondale and Gardendale will give us strong examples of the burgeoning nail shops that our Vietnamese friends own, and manage.
Take some time this week to seek out information as it pertains to your National, State AND local political decisions. It will impact your business sooner or later, so jump in there now and get involved.
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
AdVISE
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Customer Loyalty
The essence of marketing isn’t about goods and services. It isn’t about selling. It isn’t even about profits or beating the competition. It’s about developing a relationship with customers so that they will grow loyal to a company’s goods and services. It’s about developing trust between customers and the firms from which they purchase goods and services. Let’s face it, getting and keeping customers is an expensive endeavor. The average U. S. business loses half its customers in five years. Generating a new customer costs five times as much as keeping a current one and firms pay a steep price when customers stray to other brands. In a slow economy, creating unsurpassed value for a customer so that they stay with you is even more important. Contemporary Marketing, Boone & Kurtz, p. 3.
How do we keep our customers? An important trend in marketing planning is relationship marketing. Relationship marketing looks at customers as equal partners in the buyer-seller transaction. When this process works the way that it should, what you see is a motivated customer entering a long term relationship in which they repeat purchases and buy multiple brands from the same firm. This allows marketers to get a more clear understanding of their customer needs. This intern leads to better customer service and improved products. The end result is increased sales with lower marketing costs.
You can develop an intentional approach to retaining customers by cultivating your relationship marketing plan. Your plan can be centered on some straight forward strategies such as routinely offering small, but noticeable, favors for your customers. Fulfilling orders early, upgrading software before it is requested, thank you notes, calling customers when sought after items arrive in the store, answering the phone with a person instead of an automated system, all of these are just a few ideas of an intentional strategy to understand and manage your customer preferences. Don’t stop there. As we have discussed before in this opinion, empower your first line sales people or service representatives to creatively add value, boost referrals, and create retention. Think about how you feel when you go to your favorite restaurant and ask for “YOUR” waiter or waitress; the one that really takes care of you, and makes your visit unique.
An important measure of relationship marketing is the “lifetime value of a customer.” This refers to the revenues and intangible benefits such as referrals and customer feedback that a customer brings to the seller over an average lifetime, less the amount the company must spend to acquire and service the customer. In keeping with our restaurant theme for example, let’s suppose that a customer eats at O’Charleys in Fultondale twice per month and spends $25.00 each time over five years. That business translates this calculation to revenues of $600 per year or $3000 in five years. When the business owner then subtracts out the average cost for labor, food, and overhead, she is left with a per-customer profit. This type of information helps the business owner to focus on drivers to enhance the customer relationship, control marketing costs and ultimately lead to increased sales.
Bottom-line is this: If you have an infinite stream of potential customers you can probably keep them happy only once and perhaps still grow your business just fine. But, if you are like the rest of us, a strategy to include some relationship marketing strategies that will keep your customers coming back could really help to drive your sales, fine tune your customer service, decrease your marketing cost and sell a good bit more.
Remember to take care of your customers or someone else will.
How do we keep our customers? An important trend in marketing planning is relationship marketing. Relationship marketing looks at customers as equal partners in the buyer-seller transaction. When this process works the way that it should, what you see is a motivated customer entering a long term relationship in which they repeat purchases and buy multiple brands from the same firm. This allows marketers to get a more clear understanding of their customer needs. This intern leads to better customer service and improved products. The end result is increased sales with lower marketing costs.
You can develop an intentional approach to retaining customers by cultivating your relationship marketing plan. Your plan can be centered on some straight forward strategies such as routinely offering small, but noticeable, favors for your customers. Fulfilling orders early, upgrading software before it is requested, thank you notes, calling customers when sought after items arrive in the store, answering the phone with a person instead of an automated system, all of these are just a few ideas of an intentional strategy to understand and manage your customer preferences. Don’t stop there. As we have discussed before in this opinion, empower your first line sales people or service representatives to creatively add value, boost referrals, and create retention. Think about how you feel when you go to your favorite restaurant and ask for “YOUR” waiter or waitress; the one that really takes care of you, and makes your visit unique.
An important measure of relationship marketing is the “lifetime value of a customer.” This refers to the revenues and intangible benefits such as referrals and customer feedback that a customer brings to the seller over an average lifetime, less the amount the company must spend to acquire and service the customer. In keeping with our restaurant theme for example, let’s suppose that a customer eats at O’Charleys in Fultondale twice per month and spends $25.00 each time over five years. That business translates this calculation to revenues of $600 per year or $3000 in five years. When the business owner then subtracts out the average cost for labor, food, and overhead, she is left with a per-customer profit. This type of information helps the business owner to focus on drivers to enhance the customer relationship, control marketing costs and ultimately lead to increased sales.
Bottom-line is this: If you have an infinite stream of potential customers you can probably keep them happy only once and perhaps still grow your business just fine. But, if you are like the rest of us, a strategy to include some relationship marketing strategies that will keep your customers coming back could really help to drive your sales, fine tune your customer service, decrease your marketing cost and sell a good bit more.
Remember to take care of your customers or someone else will.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Trends in Business Continue
I have truly enjoyed the last few weeks searching for information concerning trends in business that are driving our undercurrent of change. In my search for more information, I was able to attend a lecture this week by Frank Luntz, noted Political Pollster and Communications Professional. Mr. Luntz was the key note speaker among several noted speakers at the Business Council of Alabama 2010 Health Reform Update. Luntz has been called the Poll Czar by Fox News, and his research tells us what Americans are REALLY thinking. While the presentation by Mr. Luntz focused heavily on the health industry, I find his ideas to have far reaching relevance to many areas of business. Luntz has conducted much respected research that is helping us to better understand the hopes and fears of Americans. As the saying goes, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” and it holds particular relevance in today’s fight to stay competitive.
According to Luntz, what customers want is to RESPECT the company that they buy from today. Stretching this idea further, loyalty to corporations and governments has declined to such a degree that it is imperative that it be regained. How do you do this? A good start may be found in seeking ways to regain respect of the employee and the consumers. According to Luntz, the directive to company leadership should be to allow the customer to feel more in control of the buying decision. Alternatively, it is important for the employee to feel a sense of ownership in the decisions that drive business. A sense of control on the part of both the buyer and the seller is the bedrock to building trust.
This is a tall order given that consumers are expressing serious frustration with corporate America where CEO’s continue to give themselves big bonuses while they lay off people. In Luntz research he states that only 22% of people favor Corporate America, and even fewer at 15% favor CEOs. He positions that the employees view of the company, not just the consumer is at risk. According to Luntz, employee trust in employers is gone. They have grown to resent the stock options, year end bonuses, and golden parachutes that are funded by employee layoffs, wage freezes, and benefit limitations. Government does not escape this ire. Issues with healthcare remain in play in spite of a solid lack of support by American voters. Pundit Dick Morris states this morning that the bill is highly likely to get passed anyway. Astonishing! Makes you wonder who is really listening.
As companies continue to reinvent themselves for the coming decades, much of the work and energy toward branding and identity creation may want to pull from the work of Luntz. Taking a lesson from his first book entitled, “Words that Work: It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear,” Luntz encourages businesses to focus on opportunities to exhibit social responsibility and accountability, as well as measureable results. He encourages us to be mindful of our word choice and to say what you really mean to be best understood. For example, we should say “free market”, “not private.” Say words like performance, not bonus and profit. Use words like lawsuit abuse, not tort reform, prevention, not maintenance and health, not healthcare. You get the picture. Words mean something and people are listening as well as watching. Consumers want to buy from a business that has more in mind than just the bottom line. Employees want to work for a company that has more in mind than just the bottom line. Communities want leadership that is accountable and responsive and interested in more than getting reelected. Consumers are expressing a desire for companies and government leadership that can do it all. They want to work for companies that make quality products that they can afford without causing loss of jobs and without excessive wasteful spending. They want to live in cities where leadership keeps them and their children at the forefront of decision making.
Can it be done? Time will certainly tell, but there is a trend emerging from the frustration with corporate America that may be driving the growth in Stay-at-home workers. This trend represents a 23% increase from 1990, and 100% increase from 1980 in the number of people who work at home. This doesn’t include the estimated 20 million people who work from home “sometimes”. What is allowing this exodus from corporate America? According to Micro trends, the primary reason driving work-at-home is because you can. Blackberries, cell phones, videophones make the home office nearly indistinguishable from the office. Think about it, does it really matter if you take that conference call from your office at work, or the Starbucks around the corner? Besides, when you work from home, you feel more in control, more like the boss, and closer to the day to day decision making and challenges. Hey, you may just become the very boss that you were complaining so much about!
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
According to Luntz, what customers want is to RESPECT the company that they buy from today. Stretching this idea further, loyalty to corporations and governments has declined to such a degree that it is imperative that it be regained. How do you do this? A good start may be found in seeking ways to regain respect of the employee and the consumers. According to Luntz, the directive to company leadership should be to allow the customer to feel more in control of the buying decision. Alternatively, it is important for the employee to feel a sense of ownership in the decisions that drive business. A sense of control on the part of both the buyer and the seller is the bedrock to building trust.
This is a tall order given that consumers are expressing serious frustration with corporate America where CEO’s continue to give themselves big bonuses while they lay off people. In Luntz research he states that only 22% of people favor Corporate America, and even fewer at 15% favor CEOs. He positions that the employees view of the company, not just the consumer is at risk. According to Luntz, employee trust in employers is gone. They have grown to resent the stock options, year end bonuses, and golden parachutes that are funded by employee layoffs, wage freezes, and benefit limitations. Government does not escape this ire. Issues with healthcare remain in play in spite of a solid lack of support by American voters. Pundit Dick Morris states this morning that the bill is highly likely to get passed anyway. Astonishing! Makes you wonder who is really listening.
As companies continue to reinvent themselves for the coming decades, much of the work and energy toward branding and identity creation may want to pull from the work of Luntz. Taking a lesson from his first book entitled, “Words that Work: It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear,” Luntz encourages businesses to focus on opportunities to exhibit social responsibility and accountability, as well as measureable results. He encourages us to be mindful of our word choice and to say what you really mean to be best understood. For example, we should say “free market”, “not private.” Say words like performance, not bonus and profit. Use words like lawsuit abuse, not tort reform, prevention, not maintenance and health, not healthcare. You get the picture. Words mean something and people are listening as well as watching. Consumers want to buy from a business that has more in mind than just the bottom line. Employees want to work for a company that has more in mind than just the bottom line. Communities want leadership that is accountable and responsive and interested in more than getting reelected. Consumers are expressing a desire for companies and government leadership that can do it all. They want to work for companies that make quality products that they can afford without causing loss of jobs and without excessive wasteful spending. They want to live in cities where leadership keeps them and their children at the forefront of decision making.
Can it be done? Time will certainly tell, but there is a trend emerging from the frustration with corporate America that may be driving the growth in Stay-at-home workers. This trend represents a 23% increase from 1990, and 100% increase from 1980 in the number of people who work at home. This doesn’t include the estimated 20 million people who work from home “sometimes”. What is allowing this exodus from corporate America? According to Micro trends, the primary reason driving work-at-home is because you can. Blackberries, cell phones, videophones make the home office nearly indistinguishable from the office. Think about it, does it really matter if you take that conference call from your office at work, or the Starbucks around the corner? Besides, when you work from home, you feel more in control, more like the boss, and closer to the day to day decision making and challenges. Hey, you may just become the very boss that you were complaining so much about!
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Technology for All
Who knew? I am a reformed Luddite. No, it is not some rare sect of Post-Reformation religion, but a Luddite is someone who feigns and even shuns technology. I, however, have seen the light. I am reformed, and proud of it!
The Luddites were protesters during the Industrial Revolution who smashed their textile machines in protest to the change, and in particular to loosing their jobs to the new technology. This is not to be confused with the 70 Million people, or approximately 25% of the US population who do not use computers at all. According to the Pew Center on the Internet and American Life, the bulk of these people are aging boomers and seniors who find technology intimidating, rural Americans who do not own computers, and low-income Americans who find them too expensive. The real “New Luddites” are just those who simply choose to not use the technology even though it is available. According to the Pew study, the new Luddites shun and even rebel against their computers and blackberrys.
While slow to start, I have hastened my move from my Luddite thinking to fully embrace the vast array of tech offerings that we have today. According to Microtrends, I am not alone. There was a time that the “quiet, smart girl” would love her technology and be a happy introvert. It seems that those who embrace technology have now made the move from introvert to extrovert. Computers and technology are not just the diet of the classic science and research geek, but now are the mainstay of the socially organized. It is the staple of the party organizer, and can drive the family social life center. It may have you happily purring about Linked In, Facebook, Blogs and all the great mysteries of the internet.
Recall for a moment the Myers-Briggs personality test questions. These questions center on a person’s habits, attitudes and preferences, and can be applied to just about everything including technology. The Myers-Briggs quadrants are divided into 4 primary categories of Drivers, Expressives, Analyticals, and Amiables. In general, Drivers and Expressives tend to be extrovert personalities that do a lot of telling and do so in direct, and colorful ways. Analyticals and Amiables are the introverts that do a lot more asking of questions, and tend to be more subdued. Interestingly, when these queries are made with respect to preferences in technology, nearly 60% of the most enthusiastic tech users are extroverts. In the Mictotrend research, those who tend to shy away from computers tend to be the ones who shy away from a social life. It seems that the technology that was once the refuge for the socially inept, is now the haven for the socially ambitious. The quiet techie geek, who had no friend prior to Facebook, now has an impossible number of Friends with which to keep up. The average thirteen year old can have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook.
Another point of interest is the larger number of women compared to men who are deep into the high tech binge. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, girls are more likely than boys to use mobile phones and digital cameras. Think about this if you walk into Best Buy any time soon. Historically not a store focused on women, Best Buy is shifting some of the focus to personalized shopping, softer lights and music to enhance appeal to women shoppers. Think for a moment about the thirteen year old next door with the cute bling-bling on her cell phone case. Are there any ladies reading this who will admit to changing your computer briefcase color as well as your purse color to compliment the changing seasons? It seems that women want technology that will accentuate, not take over. And look at all of the choices! My recent mailing from Franklin Covey made my head spin with the selection of binder covers, and brief case styles. AAAHHHH!! Spring!!!
You still may not know “what women want,” but if it rings, beeps or clicks, it had better be cute!
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
The Luddites were protesters during the Industrial Revolution who smashed their textile machines in protest to the change, and in particular to loosing their jobs to the new technology. This is not to be confused with the 70 Million people, or approximately 25% of the US population who do not use computers at all. According to the Pew Center on the Internet and American Life, the bulk of these people are aging boomers and seniors who find technology intimidating, rural Americans who do not own computers, and low-income Americans who find them too expensive. The real “New Luddites” are just those who simply choose to not use the technology even though it is available. According to the Pew study, the new Luddites shun and even rebel against their computers and blackberrys.
While slow to start, I have hastened my move from my Luddite thinking to fully embrace the vast array of tech offerings that we have today. According to Microtrends, I am not alone. There was a time that the “quiet, smart girl” would love her technology and be a happy introvert. It seems that those who embrace technology have now made the move from introvert to extrovert. Computers and technology are not just the diet of the classic science and research geek, but now are the mainstay of the socially organized. It is the staple of the party organizer, and can drive the family social life center. It may have you happily purring about Linked In, Facebook, Blogs and all the great mysteries of the internet.
Recall for a moment the Myers-Briggs personality test questions. These questions center on a person’s habits, attitudes and preferences, and can be applied to just about everything including technology. The Myers-Briggs quadrants are divided into 4 primary categories of Drivers, Expressives, Analyticals, and Amiables. In general, Drivers and Expressives tend to be extrovert personalities that do a lot of telling and do so in direct, and colorful ways. Analyticals and Amiables are the introverts that do a lot more asking of questions, and tend to be more subdued. Interestingly, when these queries are made with respect to preferences in technology, nearly 60% of the most enthusiastic tech users are extroverts. In the Mictotrend research, those who tend to shy away from computers tend to be the ones who shy away from a social life. It seems that the technology that was once the refuge for the socially inept, is now the haven for the socially ambitious. The quiet techie geek, who had no friend prior to Facebook, now has an impossible number of Friends with which to keep up. The average thirteen year old can have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook.
Another point of interest is the larger number of women compared to men who are deep into the high tech binge. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, girls are more likely than boys to use mobile phones and digital cameras. Think about this if you walk into Best Buy any time soon. Historically not a store focused on women, Best Buy is shifting some of the focus to personalized shopping, softer lights and music to enhance appeal to women shoppers. Think for a moment about the thirteen year old next door with the cute bling-bling on her cell phone case. Are there any ladies reading this who will admit to changing your computer briefcase color as well as your purse color to compliment the changing seasons? It seems that women want technology that will accentuate, not take over. And look at all of the choices! My recent mailing from Franklin Covey made my head spin with the selection of binder covers, and brief case styles. AAAHHHH!! Spring!!!
You still may not know “what women want,” but if it rings, beeps or clicks, it had better be cute!
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Governor Riley, State of the State, a Perspective
I had the pleasure of attending the last State of the State Address by Governor Bob Riley this week in Montgomery, Alabama. What a privilege to be able to sit (or stand as it was standing room only) to hear how his leadership plans to continue into 2010. His platforms have remained consistent with a commitment to Charter Schools, Ethics Reform, Work Force Development and a removal of slot machines from Alabama. He remains committed to the Alabama prepaid tuition program as well. We have been discussing trends in the past few articles here for 2010 and beyond for Alabama, and it would seem that many of his ideas remain consistent in supporting the quiet undercurrent of change that will continue to take hold of our State. Our challenge is to seek out information about these opportunities and make informed decisions based on rational thinking and understanding. As State Senator Scott Beason has reminded us, Alabama is a legislatively driven state, and to that end, we should remain fiercely open to debate and discussion as we work to move some of these initiatives, and ultimately Alabama, forward.
One undercurrent of change is the growing presence of women in the work place and a trend toward more women working in general. According to The Economist (1/2/2010) it is truly a woman’s world, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. It seems that three of the four people who lost jobs during the recession were men; female unemployment runs at 8.6% which is measurably less than the 11.6% for men. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up more than two-thirds of the employment in ten of the 15 job categories likely to grow fastest in the next few years. Consider this fact: by 2011, there will be 2.6 million more women than men studying in American Universities. It seems that much of this opportunity is born in accepting the challenge of finding ways to blend work and parenthood. Countries in other parts of the world manage this trend by placing a focus on preschool education. For example Norway places an emphasis on women returning to work and children getting started into kindergarten. Other countries such as Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and the Netherlands support mothers working part-time. It has been suggested that women who work will be the beneficiaries of the growing “war for talent”. An ageing workforce in a skill dependent economy will need to make better use of their female populations, especially since they seem to be the greater number pursuing higher education.
Here is another fact of interest for you: the number of privately held companies started by women has increased twice as fast as the number started by men. Women owned companies employ more people than the largest 500 companies combined. If these women are like many that we know, a proper education opportunity for their children is a high priority and they will be watching the Charter School debate.
It seems that women have a growing presence in the work force, are working more, and becoming increasingly more politically active. Consider what this means for schools, and the debate that we will see this legislative session with regard to Charter Schools. Millions of families in Alabama struggle with insufficient child care facilities and a school day that bears no resemblance of their working lives. Governor Riley suggests that there is merit in an open discussion about the Charter School option for Alabama. He reminded the audience during his State of the State this week that Charter Schools ARE public schools and that Charter Schools would not re-segregate schools because discrimination is prohibited. In addition, approving Charter School legislation would help to secure up to $200 Million in federal grant money for education as well. Take a moment to seek out information on Charter Schools as this will be a very significant discussion for the legislature, and has high impact potential on the education of our children and their ability to grow prepared future workers. The best distinction between Charter and Public schools that I can find as yet indicates that there is simply less bureaucracy and that has to be a good thing. Again, according to The Economist, governments are trying to adjust to the new world of work, and the working parent, specifically the female working parent. Charter schools for Alabama may hold some measure of promise as it has for other areas of the country. Some of the most popular American charter schools offer longer days, and shorter summer holidays which does match up more neatly with the lifestyle of working parents.
As we move into our work week, take some time to catch the headlines, or read a quick update of what Montgomery is doing for you. I am confident that if you are informed about the debates taking place on work force development, ethics reform and school initiatives, not to mention gambling, you will be better prepared to place a vote for leadership that will make pro-business decisions.
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will. You can find additional readings on my blog at http://businessadvise4u.blogspot.com
One undercurrent of change is the growing presence of women in the work place and a trend toward more women working in general. According to The Economist (1/2/2010) it is truly a woman’s world, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. It seems that three of the four people who lost jobs during the recession were men; female unemployment runs at 8.6% which is measurably less than the 11.6% for men. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up more than two-thirds of the employment in ten of the 15 job categories likely to grow fastest in the next few years. Consider this fact: by 2011, there will be 2.6 million more women than men studying in American Universities. It seems that much of this opportunity is born in accepting the challenge of finding ways to blend work and parenthood. Countries in other parts of the world manage this trend by placing a focus on preschool education. For example Norway places an emphasis on women returning to work and children getting started into kindergarten. Other countries such as Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and the Netherlands support mothers working part-time. It has been suggested that women who work will be the beneficiaries of the growing “war for talent”. An ageing workforce in a skill dependent economy will need to make better use of their female populations, especially since they seem to be the greater number pursuing higher education.
Here is another fact of interest for you: the number of privately held companies started by women has increased twice as fast as the number started by men. Women owned companies employ more people than the largest 500 companies combined. If these women are like many that we know, a proper education opportunity for their children is a high priority and they will be watching the Charter School debate.
It seems that women have a growing presence in the work force, are working more, and becoming increasingly more politically active. Consider what this means for schools, and the debate that we will see this legislative session with regard to Charter Schools. Millions of families in Alabama struggle with insufficient child care facilities and a school day that bears no resemblance of their working lives. Governor Riley suggests that there is merit in an open discussion about the Charter School option for Alabama. He reminded the audience during his State of the State this week that Charter Schools ARE public schools and that Charter Schools would not re-segregate schools because discrimination is prohibited. In addition, approving Charter School legislation would help to secure up to $200 Million in federal grant money for education as well. Take a moment to seek out information on Charter Schools as this will be a very significant discussion for the legislature, and has high impact potential on the education of our children and their ability to grow prepared future workers. The best distinction between Charter and Public schools that I can find as yet indicates that there is simply less bureaucracy and that has to be a good thing. Again, according to The Economist, governments are trying to adjust to the new world of work, and the working parent, specifically the female working parent. Charter schools for Alabama may hold some measure of promise as it has for other areas of the country. Some of the most popular American charter schools offer longer days, and shorter summer holidays which does match up more neatly with the lifestyle of working parents.
As we move into our work week, take some time to catch the headlines, or read a quick update of what Montgomery is doing for you. I am confident that if you are informed about the debates taking place on work force development, ethics reform and school initiatives, not to mention gambling, you will be better prepared to place a vote for leadership that will make pro-business decisions.
And remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will. You can find additional readings on my blog at http://businessadvise4u.blogspot.com
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Birmingham Economic Forecast 2010
I recently attended the 2010 Economic Forecast presented by the Birmingham Business Journal and hosted by Samford University’s Brock School of Business. Brought together for this event was an esteemed panel of guests to include Mickey Gee, Executive-in-Residence at UAB, Cynthia Lohrke, Professor at the Brock School of Business, John Norris, Managing Director for Oakworth Capital Bank, and Jacksonville University Associate Professor of Economics, Christopher Westley. This panel fielded a variety of questions concerning opinions and predictions of the Birmingham marketplace for 2010. To follow is a summary.
Consumer confidence appears to be rising and is expected to continue into 2010. Of course this is good news for the retail industry, and December numbers will be out soon to show exactly how 2009 finished. In general, retail department stores have been seen as surviving the holiday season by creating value as opposed to deep discounting as a manner of creating sales for the holiday season. It was noted that 74% of the US economy is driven by consumer spending, and has seen a low of 61% last summer. The drop in consumer spending was due to the increase in unemployment, and decline in consumer confidence. Unemployment for the state has hovered around 10.2% and 9.9% for Birmingham. Some areas of Alabama are experiencing real unemployment of upwards to 25%. Interestingly 16-17% of workers at this time are part-time employees. News that Joe Consumer is pulling out of this tail spin is great to hear. But, a move to full employment according to this group will be driven by the part-time workers that shift back to full-time employment first, followed by hiring of the unemployed. Any businesses that support the Temporary job sector should be a good bet for growth in this type of marketplace. The company ManPower was sited as one of the top ten businesses in 2009. During this time of employment unrest there does seem to be a silver lining. Baby Boomers are not taking on more debt during this recession, and the savings rate has started to increase.
A discussion of the role of Federal stimulus dollars that may find its way to Alabama centered on recommendations as to where funds should be allocated. Most agreed that there has been no real stimulus money impact as yet, with most of the funding going toward government stabilization. In specific, the monies have gone to government expenditures for education, health and human services, and even 4% to transportation (considered a non-business expense). Stimulus dollars that go to support large companies with government contracts will prove to be a frustrating competitive playing field for any small business that competes with them. The real need for use of these funds is to fund real business expenditures to drive the economy along. Most on the panel agreed that now is the time to invest in innovation and to take the time to build strong strategy. In particular technology is strong for software development, and it was interesting to learn that we have an iphone developer right here in Alabama. It has been suggested that there is a need to invest in wireless and broadband infrastructure. In general, most agreed that the stimulus money has not altered the economy that much, just simply moved the demand curve forward. Eventually, the same costs will still be due. The 787 billion dollars that have been tagged are actually slated to be spent this year, not last year, which just so happens to be an election year.
Though Washington has released monies to support small business loans, access to these funds will continue to be restrictive with some loosening of credit by the end of 2010. Amazingly, it was stated that private sector job growth has been at zero since 2001. Any growth seen has been produced by “government growth” as created by what has been called the warfare state and the welfare state. The concern here is that this is not real capital creation, and is most likely not sustainable.
Opinions were raised with respect to the Jefferson County Business License tax as a revenue source for Jefferson County. Essentially, the point was made that most counties that have an occupational tax do not do well. With regard to business friendly strategy, the panel reminded us that a tax increase of 1% is still a tax increase. Of course the full impact of the healthcare bill remains to be seen too.
So how does a business owner continue to break ahead of the pack and earn the biggest gains as we pull out of the recession? The good old fashioned way: Customer Service, reliable experience, and a heavy dose of ethics. One certain area for growth in the near future is a demand for graduate level education. This higher level of education will help create and drive technology growth, energy growth (specifically green), healthcare industry and technology (contingent on the healthcare bill outcome), and most fascinating to this writer is the recommended need to learn Mandarin as a second language. Bottom-line for Alabama: We need to have academic specialization, think globally, and bring the business opportunity and job creation home. We will need workers with high knowledge and critical thinking skills. Not surprisingly there is a direct correlation between education levels and per capita income.
As you think on some of these opinions and thoughts concerning developing and changing business here in Alabama, ask yourself how this applies to your position. Are you using knowledge to leverage your position? Are you adaptive to technology? Does your strategy still embrace and compliment your mission? Do you have a corporate culture which leverages the least costly business strategy available which is concrete customer service? Lastly, are you involved with your City council, local government and Chamber of Commerce? If not, then start today. The positive interaction between your business and these leadership entities will be the driving force behind strong economic development.
Good customer service is free, and is as simple to implement as a change in attitude. So remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
Consumer confidence appears to be rising and is expected to continue into 2010. Of course this is good news for the retail industry, and December numbers will be out soon to show exactly how 2009 finished. In general, retail department stores have been seen as surviving the holiday season by creating value as opposed to deep discounting as a manner of creating sales for the holiday season. It was noted that 74% of the US economy is driven by consumer spending, and has seen a low of 61% last summer. The drop in consumer spending was due to the increase in unemployment, and decline in consumer confidence. Unemployment for the state has hovered around 10.2% and 9.9% for Birmingham. Some areas of Alabama are experiencing real unemployment of upwards to 25%. Interestingly 16-17% of workers at this time are part-time employees. News that Joe Consumer is pulling out of this tail spin is great to hear. But, a move to full employment according to this group will be driven by the part-time workers that shift back to full-time employment first, followed by hiring of the unemployed. Any businesses that support the Temporary job sector should be a good bet for growth in this type of marketplace. The company ManPower was sited as one of the top ten businesses in 2009. During this time of employment unrest there does seem to be a silver lining. Baby Boomers are not taking on more debt during this recession, and the savings rate has started to increase.
A discussion of the role of Federal stimulus dollars that may find its way to Alabama centered on recommendations as to where funds should be allocated. Most agreed that there has been no real stimulus money impact as yet, with most of the funding going toward government stabilization. In specific, the monies have gone to government expenditures for education, health and human services, and even 4% to transportation (considered a non-business expense). Stimulus dollars that go to support large companies with government contracts will prove to be a frustrating competitive playing field for any small business that competes with them. The real need for use of these funds is to fund real business expenditures to drive the economy along. Most on the panel agreed that now is the time to invest in innovation and to take the time to build strong strategy. In particular technology is strong for software development, and it was interesting to learn that we have an iphone developer right here in Alabama. It has been suggested that there is a need to invest in wireless and broadband infrastructure. In general, most agreed that the stimulus money has not altered the economy that much, just simply moved the demand curve forward. Eventually, the same costs will still be due. The 787 billion dollars that have been tagged are actually slated to be spent this year, not last year, which just so happens to be an election year.
Though Washington has released monies to support small business loans, access to these funds will continue to be restrictive with some loosening of credit by the end of 2010. Amazingly, it was stated that private sector job growth has been at zero since 2001. Any growth seen has been produced by “government growth” as created by what has been called the warfare state and the welfare state. The concern here is that this is not real capital creation, and is most likely not sustainable.
Opinions were raised with respect to the Jefferson County Business License tax as a revenue source for Jefferson County. Essentially, the point was made that most counties that have an occupational tax do not do well. With regard to business friendly strategy, the panel reminded us that a tax increase of 1% is still a tax increase. Of course the full impact of the healthcare bill remains to be seen too.
So how does a business owner continue to break ahead of the pack and earn the biggest gains as we pull out of the recession? The good old fashioned way: Customer Service, reliable experience, and a heavy dose of ethics. One certain area for growth in the near future is a demand for graduate level education. This higher level of education will help create and drive technology growth, energy growth (specifically green), healthcare industry and technology (contingent on the healthcare bill outcome), and most fascinating to this writer is the recommended need to learn Mandarin as a second language. Bottom-line for Alabama: We need to have academic specialization, think globally, and bring the business opportunity and job creation home. We will need workers with high knowledge and critical thinking skills. Not surprisingly there is a direct correlation between education levels and per capita income.
As you think on some of these opinions and thoughts concerning developing and changing business here in Alabama, ask yourself how this applies to your position. Are you using knowledge to leverage your position? Are you adaptive to technology? Does your strategy still embrace and compliment your mission? Do you have a corporate culture which leverages the least costly business strategy available which is concrete customer service? Lastly, are you involved with your City council, local government and Chamber of Commerce? If not, then start today. The positive interaction between your business and these leadership entities will be the driving force behind strong economic development.
Good customer service is free, and is as simple to implement as a change in attitude. So remember, take care of your customers, or someone else will.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Customer Service: My Top Ten Rules
On the theme of taking charge of things in your business that you can control, let’s dig a little deeper into the realm of customer service. In a recent review article entitled What Service Customers Really Want by Dougherty and Murthy in the Harvard Business Review (Sept. 2009), we find a discussion of the extent to which the consumer landscape has shifted. Dougherty and Murthy discuss that while superior customer service is essential as companies emerge from the recession, it is important to understand how the consumer has changed. They point out that brands have weakened, customers have easy access to vendor information, and the barriers to switching among competing products have eroded. Bottom line, we now have the creation of a much more competitive market place in the area of service.
What this means is there is a new type of customer. When a customer contacts a company for service, they care most about two things: Is the frontline employee knowledgeable? And is the problem resolved on the first call? As the owner, manager or leader, ask yourself this question: Do I measure my service by speed or hold time? If so, you may be rushing your front line person too much and succeeding in your eyes, but failing in the eyes of your customer. Customers want to know that their service will be efficient and thorough, and that time will be taken to handle their issue.
This article continues to suggest a few ways to assess and understand what your customers are experiencing. A manager can draw on a variety of information to include customer service surveys and even recording customer-agent conversations for training purposes. In the end, when there is an issue to solve, do you give your employees the leeway and authority to meet individual needs and provide positive experiences?
As you create your own vision of customer service, think about the following. I call it my Top Ten Ways to Improve Customer Service.
10) Enjoy your work. Specify what your drivers are in business. For example, my drivers are leadership, learning and fun.
9) Work in such a manner that even your competition will speak highly of you
8) Be honest and clear about what you can (and can not) deliver
7) Be faithful to your work and give your best
6) Get and Take Customer Feedback Seriously. Don’t put the “cuss” in Customer Service
5) Take care of the person in charge, and remember to thank the person, big or little, who insures that things get done
4) Take Time to Study and Prepare
3) Speak well of others or not at all. Stay away from office politics
2) Have a mentor and bug them to death
And finally, the #1 way to enhance Customer Service is:
1) Support something bigger than yourself, and share a common goal with your customers
I will leave you with this last thought and case study example. Think about the last time you went to Chick-Fil-A. We have two in the Gardendale and Fultondale area.) This company trains their employees on customer service as rigorously as they train their employees in product preparation. It is no rare event to have someone say “It’s my pleasure!” as they give you your change, or deliver your meal. According to local manager Mike Holmes, empowering the employee to handle a customer issue immediately is part of their success, and training them how is part of their strategy.
I hope these ideas will be of assistance to you this week. Sharing a few ideas on improving customer service has been my pleasure!
What this means is there is a new type of customer. When a customer contacts a company for service, they care most about two things: Is the frontline employee knowledgeable? And is the problem resolved on the first call? As the owner, manager or leader, ask yourself this question: Do I measure my service by speed or hold time? If so, you may be rushing your front line person too much and succeeding in your eyes, but failing in the eyes of your customer. Customers want to know that their service will be efficient and thorough, and that time will be taken to handle their issue.
This article continues to suggest a few ways to assess and understand what your customers are experiencing. A manager can draw on a variety of information to include customer service surveys and even recording customer-agent conversations for training purposes. In the end, when there is an issue to solve, do you give your employees the leeway and authority to meet individual needs and provide positive experiences?
As you create your own vision of customer service, think about the following. I call it my Top Ten Ways to Improve Customer Service.
10) Enjoy your work. Specify what your drivers are in business. For example, my drivers are leadership, learning and fun.
9) Work in such a manner that even your competition will speak highly of you
8) Be honest and clear about what you can (and can not) deliver
7) Be faithful to your work and give your best
6) Get and Take Customer Feedback Seriously. Don’t put the “cuss” in Customer Service
5) Take care of the person in charge, and remember to thank the person, big or little, who insures that things get done
4) Take Time to Study and Prepare
3) Speak well of others or not at all. Stay away from office politics
2) Have a mentor and bug them to death
And finally, the #1 way to enhance Customer Service is:
1) Support something bigger than yourself, and share a common goal with your customers
I will leave you with this last thought and case study example. Think about the last time you went to Chick-Fil-A. We have two in the Gardendale and Fultondale area.) This company trains their employees on customer service as rigorously as they train their employees in product preparation. It is no rare event to have someone say “It’s my pleasure!” as they give you your change, or deliver your meal. According to local manager Mike Holmes, empowering the employee to handle a customer issue immediately is part of their success, and training them how is part of their strategy.
I hope these ideas will be of assistance to you this week. Sharing a few ideas on improving customer service has been my pleasure!
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