(Time to read this important Blog article is about 2 minutes)
Much of what we believe about our customers, our staff, our future and our bottom line is simply not true. Some of it never was true…and some of it was, but isn’t anymore. As business owners and managers, we’re making important decisions based on myths, lies, and false assumptions…and it’s killing us.
How do we come to believe all these dysfunctional myths and lies? They’re in our culture. We repeat them over and over until they become ‘real’. We pass them on to others as business advice. We even pay consultants to assure us that they’re true.
For example, most businesses believe that there’s ‘no such thing as customer loyalty anymore’, when the truth is that we’re all desperately searching for businesses to be loyal to in every part of our lives.
Here’s the truth about customer loyalty. People are loyal to what’s best for them, or what they assume is best for them. So, are you the ‘wise choice’ for your target customers? Are you ‘best’ for them? If not, stop whining about there being no customer loyalty anymore and do the work to be the wise choice.
What compelling functional, emotional and financial value can you create and commit to consistently deliver that will ‘grab’ your target customers, clearly differentiate you from your competitors, make you famous and grow your bottom line? That’s what it takes to deserve loyalty. Mediocrity is no longer an option.
Then, when you’re doing the ongoing work to be the ‘wise choice’, you need to effectively communicate your compelling value story in everything you do. There’s no point being the best if you’re also the best kept secret.
Another myth is that you can’t get great staff anymore. But the truth is that the best people have to work for somebody…it’s just that you have to deserve them. Do you deserve great staff? Do your working conditions, business culture and career opportunities attract, engage, excite, challenge and reward top performers? Are you a talent magnet? If not, stop whining, take ownership of the problem and fix it. Take 2 pieces of paper and set aside 60 minutes.
- On the 1st piece of paper take 20 minutes to describe, in detail, the kind of business in your market, in your industry, that the best people would want to work for. How would it recruit, welcome, pay, train, coach, mentor, encourage, reward, ‘hug’, thank and celebrate each employee? What kind of management style and culture will attract, engage and retain top performers?
- On the 2nd piece of paper take 40 minutes and document in detail what you have to fix or create do to become the kind of business that you just described on page #1 …including how you must change and grow as a manager and leader.
That’s it, 60 minutes and 2 pieces of paper to take ownership of and start to solve one of your biggest challenges. Get your Team involved in this process to help you. They know stuff and they hate it when you don’t ask.
There are many other myths and lies that are holding us back and hurting our bottom line. We’ll talk about some of them next week.
How Donald can help: Until it’s safe for groups to meet in person, we’re offering remote Business Coaching to business owners and managers around the world who want to improve performance in some or all of these 5 key areas:
- Create compelling customer value and experiences that give them a clear competitive advantage.
- Market and promote more effectively in a crowded and cynical marketplace. There’s no point being the best if you’re also the best kept secret.
- Attract, lead and retain a dedicated and top-performing team. The real battle in business today is the battle for talent.
- Manage smarter and improve long-term profitability…and to,
- Create a clear direction for the future of their business…and a clear Action Plan to get there.
To chat about how I can be helpful, just email us at donald@donaldcooper.com, or phone us at 416-252-3703 in Toronto.
That’s it for this week…
Stay calm…live brilliantly…and do at least 3 important or kind things each day!
Donald Cooper
