Just recently on a ride home from church, my husband and I observed that a local restaurant conveniently located between five churches with an estimate of five to seven thousand congregants sat forlornly on the side of the road with hardly any cars in it’s parking lot.
We marveled at this observation because on more than one occasion we visited this restaurant and could confidently vouch for the quality of their food. The delectable menu boasts of a carefully crafted southern style cuisine that is hard to come by in our area.
It’s a common assumption that “southern church folk” like to enjoy a great meal following a great Sunday sermon, however, this parking lot was practically empty with a skeptical looking "Open" sign peering through the stores bleak windows. What was the problem? The store faces a main thorough-fare that requires policed trafficking on Sundays because of the many members flooding the two lane state road. So it could be conceivably ruled out that location was the culprit masquerading as the hindrance to this business’ lack of growth.
Within less than a block on the opposite side of the street tucked away in a gas station plaza, there was a local pizza eatery with a mediocre recipe for pizza that was literally crawling with patrons. So here is where my family and I parked for a much desired after service Sunday meal. Why? What was the draw that lured us from mouth-watering country goodness to an over crowded less than sub standard pizza?
It was mutually concluded by my husband and I, that the lack of creative thinking on the other restaurant’s part was a turn off, and this very lack suggested to it’s passers-by that the owners just didn’t care enough about their business to woo it’s potential clients.
As a business consultant to small to medium businesses, the one thing that I have noticed time and time again that cause businesses to lose money and decrease their customer base is the lack of willingness for them to think outside the box. Here a just a few things a local business should always be aware of when servicing the general public:
1). Know the variations of your demographics: For example, if you have a store front, learn your traffic patterns. For instance in the case of the 2 restaurants, if you know that Sundays will yield a higher flow of traffic, plan for Sundays to be your busiest day.
Capitalize on the fact that more families with hungry children in tow will pass by your doors. Give them a reason to stop, by appealing to the needs of their children first. Perhaps this will require visible signs that offer “Free Child’s meal with the purchase of an adult meal”.
If you are not a store front, you still have to know the variations of your demographics by capitalizing on events and holidays; people: i.e., senior citizens, children, boys, men, college students, women (ages 35-54), teenage girls, etc; animals; seasons; weather conditions; mergers; or whatever changes are note worthy. For example a great season for people who work with youth is summer; the same is true for those in the travel industry. Think outside the box by capitalizing on your demographics.
2). Get out of the box of – “Limited Advertising”: It amazes me, how little information local business owners are willing to share about themselves with the public they are hoping to service. If a business owner is stingy with sharing information by making investments in standard advertising, then why should a customer trust the service claims they “say” they provide? The most basic and necessary form of advertising consists of paper and an internet portal to their business. A business owner should always have a business card to give out with website information for the receiver to follow-up on. I have serviced businesses that have been in business for over 20 years and just refused to catch up with the times. These owners built a loyal customer base when competition was nominal; therefore they have been able to remain in business because they have generational clients and a strong referral base. However, a business owner now has more competition and changing industry trends to keep up with. In both instances, the business owner with over 20 years experience and the brand new start-up, have to have a strong website to properly meet the demands of an ever changing society.
3). Rev up your creative thinking: In a downturn economy, finding ways to creatively stay afloat with little costs is crucial to the survival of any business. The internet is a great place to start for ideas and resources to help you do just that. Getting out of the box simply means that you can no longer afford to just put an open sign on the door and hope that people will stop in because your neon sign is lit. Creativity reveals to your potential client that you have a valid reason why they should choose you over your competitors.
As in the case of the two restaurants, people want to always do business with the owner who “appears” to be successful, even if the food is not that great. I personally will not eat at a restaurant whose parking lot is empty. Please note that this is true of any business, whether you are a landscaper or an attorney.
If your business does not ‘draw’, then it can be assumed that it ‘repels’. Get out of the box, because if you don’t it will cost you more than you ever thought you could lose.
©2009 Carmen A. Gray. All rights reserved. Unlawful duplication prohibited unless authorized by author.