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>I realize the truth of “If your only tool is a hammer, >every problem looks like a nail.” It’s tempting to >keep recommending marketing methods. >There’s been a lot spoken & written about giving back >to communities. Even if your tendency is to avoid >making your community involvement obvious, it may be >better to make it more evident. Truth & perception >aren’t always the same. Unrealistic perception is >stronger than truth. It’s important to show buying >from you is beneficial in many ways. >When supporting your business is also a way of >supporting themselves, it’s harder for people to >justify buying from another business. > >I can understand why workers there would be cautious. >But it seems they’re staying in a situation in which >they hope they’ll be OK, but they’re sure they won’t >be. That kind of stress is literally deadly. People’s >health will definitely decline when they think that >way. >I know blind optimism is bad. Some very optimistic >people say realists are pessimists, but there the ones >who usually argue about the glass being half-full. >That debate is mostly useless, it can be used >profitably as a paradigm. >What’s realistic is - When a stock car is sliding >toward a wall, it’s very tempting to stare at that >wall as if knowing the moment of impact will prevent >it. To avoid impact, drivers need to look in the >direction they want to go. This doesn’t guarantee >their safety, but it greatly improves their odds of >continuing the race. >I worked for Montgomery Ward when it was closing the >stores. We felt the ax was about to fall at any time. >Morale was abysmal. >I know people can work well even when they don’t like >what they do. After all, W-M has survived so far. But >adequate results, of depressed, angry workers, aren’t >as good as productivity from motivated workers. >Feeling this way literally drains people’s mental & >physical energy. Working requires more energy than >before to overcome this. Workers can’t concentrate >well & make mistakes. Some will sabotage the company. >Even if incidents are small, they’re cumulative & >morale falls further & faster. >One reason for the decline of U.S. auto makers in the >1970’s to 80’s was neglect by disgruntled workers. The >product quality was substandard & people refused to >buy lemons. > >Are the owners/headquarters of the workplaces near you >or far away? If they’re near you, who in town has >enough influence & is willing to talk to the owners >about staying? Government officials, retired officials >& executives who live in the city, consultants, >business magazine & newspaper editors & writers & book >authors are possible advocates. >If the employers in the area would commit to staying >in town for a year or maybe more, I think it would >help workers feel better. Then after 9-10 months, >employers can reassess the situation & determine if >the commitment sufficiently inspired better results & >if there’s a big enough market for the >products/services. >There may be case studies of companies finding success >in situations like these. Those can be presented. >People in Economic Development Departments should know >how to get that information. > >Too often employers feel they have all of the power & >privileges. After all, they pay employees. As if >they’d still do it if the workers stopped working. Pay >for work completed is an exchange of value. Workers >have power too, even without unions. >But workers should realize if quality slips, employers >will have more justification for leaving town. If >workers keep demanding pay raises, then foreign >laborers will be more affordable. > >Do you belong to a business association in the city? >A group of business owners can work with the city >government & find out what will inspire employers to >stay. Then they can work with employees to provide >what employers need. >Us versus them mentality leads to an eye for an eye >mentality. Then everybody involved ends up blind & >bitter. None of them benefit from that. It’s like the >social trap concept I wrote about below. >In the area I live in, we’ve experienced the effects >of big employers merging, downsizing, moving out or >going out of business. Some other employers have >started up here & other have moved in or expanded. We >still have some abandoned buildings, but we’ve >survived. >Business groups & local governments are working >together to avoid problems & reduce the effects of >problems that still exist. > >For your business, you probably have some old >(distressed) inventory. There are quick ways to >liquidate it. I wonder if you’ve tried bartering. >You’d still pay tax on the fair market price of the >products, but that’s better than having money tied up >in inventory. Plus you could get some value for it. >Some trades include money with products /services. So, >bartering doesn’t have to be cash-less. >Accountants &/or lawyers should know about this & can >give you guidance. > >Some business owners auction slow-moving inventory in >online auctions. eBay has some competitors. Some >online businesses already accept payments through >PayPal & PayPal is owned by eBay. So, if you set a >PayPal account for using eBay, you’ll be on your way >to using PayPal for an online store. > >Business owners, in other counties, may be able to >sell your current merchandise. It seems like you may >need to change product lines. Maybe those business >owners, facing a similar situation or saturated >markets, have things your target market can afford & >are willing to buy. > >Since you brought up the subject of Internet marketing- >“A consumer typically visits an online store 3-7 times >prior to making a purchase.” Entrepreneur Magazine. >So, those who click out may click back in. I don‘t >what the time frame is. I know retailers need sales >TODAY so they can survive into the future. There are >ways of accelerating sales processes, but those depend >on the individual businesses. >Shipping & handling charges can be major factors in >whether people buy things from Internet stores. >Locally-based stores can fulfill orders in person, >which may or may not reduce delivery costs, but it >might speed up delivery. If UPS or FedEx ship the >packages, there’s paperwork involved & somebody is >sent to get the packages & bring them to shipping >centers for processing. > >By forming or joining an existing group, you’ll show >your desire to solve problems. It’ll be obvious you >have a financial reason for doing it, but you’d be >working with others who have something to gain or lose >depending how things turn out. >Being linked with efforts to improve the situation >should increase how much others trust you. Just >knowing you expended the effort may help convince >people supporting you & your business is better than >supporting businesses with little or no commitment to >the community. > >Now you should be determining what you can do to >improve the circumstances for everybody involved. Some >may have already given up or may soon give up, but you >don’t necessarily need everybody’s effort. Some who >have dropped out of the process might drop back in >when they see momentum building. > >Even if I had all of your knowledge of your situation, >I’d still need to recommend testing different >approaches. I know it can be hard to show the value of >what you sell & build the value of continuing effort. > >Dennis S. Vogel >thrivingbusiness@email.com >The best marketing increases the actual & perceived >value of what you offer. So, what you need is the best >marketing program for your business. It’s not >expensive, especially compared the less profitable >alternatives >http://web1.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ >http://www.voy.com/31049/

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