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Email: ByBobLeduc@aol.com
Can Your Business Respond To Change?
Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc
http://BobLeduc.com
Many new business
owners expect to devote reasonable time
and effort to getting their business
established. Then, they plan to relax as the business runs itself and
continues to grow.
This was an achievable goal in the past. But it is
not today.
Aggressive, innovative competitors and rapidly changing
technology make it impossible to establish a system today that will
automatically meet all future challenges.
But there are some things you
can do to minimize the impact of change - and even benefit from it. Here are
3 of them:
1. Expect Change
Develop the habit of looking for the
early signs that something is changing and confront it before you start
losing business.
Assume a "change is normal" attitude. Recognize that
you are
never going to reach the point where you know your business
so
well you can stop learning. Just when you think you've
mastered the
operation of your business something will change and disrupt your
growth.
Make it a habit to look for changes that may be a developing
trend. Then try to determine how this trend may impact the
growth of
your business.
You can develop the best solution to a problem when you
catch it early and take your time to carefully work out your
response.
There's nothing more difficult than trying to make
good long term business
decisions at the same time you're
trying to rescue rapidly falling
sales.
2. Diversify
Diversification is your best defense against
the impact of change. Take defensive action by diversifying in 2 major
areas:
(1) Diversify the products and/or services you
offer
The primary reason you want to offer a variety of related
products or services to your customers is to maximize your income. But
there's a second reason.
Changing market conditions or an aggressive
competitor can
cause sales for a product or service to decline, often
suddenly. The impact won't be devastating if a variety of other products
and services continue to produce business for you.
(2) Diversify your
marketing activities
You will reach more prospects and generate more
sales by using a variety of marketing methods instead of just one or
two. And it also protects you from suddenly losing a substantial volume
of business because one of your marketing methods stopped producing
results.
Tip: Keep looking for and testing new marketing tools and
old ones you haven't tried yet.
3. Look for Opportunities Hidden In
Change
The challenge of change often forces you do discover a hidden
opportunity you can exploit to gain more business.
For example, I
recently spoke with the owner of a sporting goods store near a fast growing
city in the Southeast. Two years ago a large retail chain started building a
new superstore nearby. The store included a large sporting goods
department. Jeff wasn't going to be able to compete with their prices
and stay in business.
Instead he set up a used sporting equipment section
in his store and started advertising to buy and sell used equipment.
Today most of Jeff's income is generated by sales of used equipment. His
total income has almost doubled and he's even planning to expand his used
equipment business to the Internet.
It's an opportunity Jeff
wouldn't have recognized without the challenge of competition from that
superstore.
When you decide how to respond to a challenge, look for a
hidden opportunity to increase business. You may find a source of
additional sales and profits you previously overlooked.
You will
never be able to put your business totally on autopilot and have it
continually grow. Rapid changes and innovative competition make that
impossible. But by following the 3 guidelines revealed in this article, you
can minimize the impact of change and actually benefit from it.
Bob
Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and
increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build
Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from
Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll
find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com
or call: 702-658-1707
After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
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