Don’t mention the C word. The end of the end of the world

Written by Peter Boswell @ SAStalks.com

It’s not often that the world is affected in such a profound way by one particular event, certainly not felt so widely by the individuals of a population. But it’s March 2020 and crikey have things become serious for us all! But this is not the end, it's the end of the end.....

If I manage to get through this article without mentioning the C word then we’ll all be relieved right? Let's see if it's possible. (If you are reading this in the future, please look up what was happening in the world in March 2020 before guessing which C word I am referring to!)

I have worked in Hospitality/Retail for the past 21 years and during this time I’ve seen recessions, smoking bans, licensing reforms and terrorist threats hit the industry, to name but a few. Each and every time we have come out the other side stronger, closer and wiser as a result. We forge friendships and alliances in times of difficulty, and I have seen rivals build bridges and join forces in order to survive.

Naturally business isn’t as easy as that and we have to face the challenges with real strategic thinking while acting fast in order to navigate through the problems. And that makes sense to me, navigate the problems quickly but strategically. What other options are there? Well you can continue like nothing has happened and hope they fix themselves, or you can quit and let things fall apart. You could choose these options but they don't sound great do they?

If you have ever seen inside the brain of most true Hospitality/Retail professionals, you will see that the idea of quitting is not one that shows up very often. We are not quitters!

And yet our industry is one that is hit first with every new issue, it is our industry that sees the biggest impact of global issues and it is our industry that has to adjust and adapt most often.

A Thousand Opinions

Are we good at adapting and will we be able to sustain the impact of such a volatile market? Well I explore a number of scenarios below.

So what have we seen with the current situation and what do I think would help see the industry through? I know there are a thousand opinions out there, here are mine….

1)    Footfall has significantly dropped across the Hospitality/Retail industry

2)    Jobs are being put at risk

3)    Online presence is a luxury that is now a necessity (Look at Apple who have closed their stores worldwide but will still see billions in sales)

4)    Nobody has answers or timelines for things to get better

My Thoughts

My thoughts on the these 4 issues are:

1)    "Footfall has significantly dropped across the Hospitality/Retail industry"

It is clear and obvious why footfall has dropped; nobody wants to risk their lives. But the contingency doesn’t seem to exist. Businesses CAN still attract sales with some clever approaches. If I was offered a “Buy now, redeem later” offer with a handsome discount or added perk then I would likely spend money still. Saving more money long term by spending some money now is appealing. This would also inject money into your business in order to keep trading.

When your customer calls to cancel their plans with you, let them do it but also talk to them, what can you do to encourage them back and how can you use this call to build and strengthen customer loyalty?

I cancelled a reservation myself and the phone call was very clinical and didn’t encourage me to come back at any point. I want a reason to return and I want to know what you are doing to value me and bring me back

I would encourage every business to get every brain in one room and talk about answers to the problems together, some genius ideas will come out of it I am 100% sure. Then be agile, move quickly and make the plan happen.

2)    "Jobs are being put at risk"

Just look on LinkedIn and you will see the fallout beginning to happen. Redundancy is hitting the industry hard; jobs are starting to fall.

But is this the answer? It is only for each business leader to decide on this ultimately.

What happens when the crisis is over, how do you pick up where you left off if you have no talent left?

Businesses need to ensure they make sound decisions and keep their people informed. Would anybody take a voluntary period of leave? Would the whole group rotate in doing this? 1 whole salary could be saved if 12 people could take a month off.

Would another business benefit from your employees’ skills for a short period and could bear the cost of a few months’ salary but not a whole year? This would take a group effort of senior leaders to get together and talk about this

There are so many creative ways to negate the need for redundancy which shifts the problems only for a short period.

Deep and alternative thinking is what’s needed here. Set the new standard in what to do in a crisis and your business has the opportunity to flourish long-term.

3)    "Online presence is a luxury that is now a necessity"

“I can’t have an online presence, I’m just a coffee shop” I heard this from an independent retailer earlier this month.

Live video feeds, online chats and education sessions, redeemable offers and social media engagement are all things that don’t need professional web development in order to implement. It just takes some imagination and a bit of clever interaction.

If my local coffee shop made it more appealing and more easy for me to shop with them then I would, the strength of the big retailers is their big marketing campaigns and seamless ordering. But there is something magical about a smaller retailer making small changes that rival the big players.

If your teams make a small plan to make some small changes, the impact can be massive.

Now I don’t claim to be a marketeer, but I do have my fair share of good ideas I am confident in.

4)    "Nobody has answers or timelines for things to get better"

Of course nobody knows all the answers, timelines or when the issues will cease to exist. That is the problem that most businesses look at.

But where does that get us besides nowhere? What if we looked at the issue as the new norm, the new market, this is how things will be from now on.

There is always a new angle for business and there is always a way to grow and improve your trade.

I don’t know any more than anybody else when things will get better but I do know that if we take first three points here and combine them with this point, there will be a huge wealth of brainpower that can make a positive difference. Let’s not look for the end of this issue but let’s look at the start of something new, a new way of doing business.

My World

My world, for 21 years has been Learning & Development. But Learning & Development touches every part of the business from HR, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Purchasing, Sales etc etc. The list is endless.

It’s your people like us who have exposure to every area of business and can give a rounded view of improvement areas. Why? Well it’s our job in Learning & Development, how can we ever teach, coach or train people if we have no idea what each function does? It’s our job to be nosey, interested and conversant in most areas of business. It is this resource that gives us a seat at the table.

In the current trading climate, I am glued to the business media and seeing the wild steps that are being taken in an attempt to overcome the issues. I am waiting for a business to embrace the crisis and realise that with so many talented people being thrown in to the job market, now is the time to swoop and scoop them up. Take these awesome people who have been let go and use them to make your business thrive.

When the chaos is over, you will find yourself with an engaged, motivated and committed workforce who will literally change the world for you. They will have ideas that they will readily share and will go out of their way to make you look good.

Marketeers, Finance, Sales, Operations, Social teams, Directors

So this post applies to Marketeers, Finance, Sales, Operations, Social teams, Directors…in fact every role you can imagine. How about we redefine responsibility and allow creative input from all departments for all that we do?

I remember a few years back, I had a really good working relationship with one of the finance team where I worked, I happened to be working on a huge new project which needed rather a lot of creativity.

I was having one of those days, you know the one where you can’t think of anything new. My mind was blank and all I could think of was rubbish ideas that I knew wouldn’t hit the mark.

During this chat with my finance friend she came up with a killer idea, and I mean an absolute nugget. We talked about it, developed it and made it into something incredible. I will leave it to your imagination what it was but it included a paddling pool, some skittles, and a few other weird and wonderful tools.

Perhaps if you are in a training session with me one day, you may see the paddling pool scenario……only then can you steal it!

The point of this article is to get you thinking, to get us thinking and to get our wonderful industry thinking. We’re all competitors who rely on each other to succeed and today is the perfect time to put an hour aside and see how we can get through the tough times together in order to truly flourish during the good times.

I’d love to know what changes you are making in your business, whichever position you hold. Perhaps the comments below is a good place to get started, say something, connect and begin to make a change…..it’s over to you.

I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn so feel free to add me and tell me your thoughts.