Breakfast Business Lesson

 2 Responses »
Oct 052011
 

Bar, florist & boulangerie/patisserie

The picture on the left was taken in the small town of Dol de Bretagne, twenty minutes or so drive from the ferry port of St. Malo. We had declined to rise early and join the hordes for a ferry breakfast and instead stopped at the first town en route. We found a bar and ordered coffee while I nipped into the nearby boulangerie to buy croissants. Despite the early hour it was warm so we sat outside and watched the young owner of the adjacent florist set up her display. By the time she had finished it was more like an art installation than an extension of a shop window. It was an object lesson in how to attract attention for your business.

As is typical in France, the bar did not sell croissants and the boulangerie did not sell coffee. Each stuck rigidly to its specialism and co-existed in a spirit of co-operation, undoubtedly to the benefit of both. Two business lessons over breakfast within a very short time of arriving in La Belle France!

But just to prove we can do imaginitive window displays, here’s one in Ironbridge in Shropshire.

A Sty(lish) window!

Ultimately it’s about communication. Making your potential customers notice that you are there and communicating that you are a bit different and, hopefully, a bit special.

Enjoy your breakfast!

Share

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

 2 Responses »
Sep 202011
 

I have recently returned from holiday in France. We rented a house in the Loire Valley. The owners (English) who lived opposite greeted us. I say greeted rather than welcomed. “Would we ensure we turned off the downstairs lights at night?” Er, yes, why wouldn’t we? “Would we make sure we shut the windows if it rained or if we went out, in case it rained?” ”Just call us if there’s anything you need.” Well, as there are three of us, more than two wine glasses would be good. “Huff and puff.” I could go on with a list of things that would have been nice – for example, enough cutlery so that we could use the dishwasher rather than having to wash knives and forks after every meal. The pictures must have come from a car boot sale – none was relevant to a holiday cottage in France. The whole place looked like it had been set up on a miser’s budget and the attitude of the owners rather confirmed that. It is customary in France to find a welcoming bottle of wine. You’ve guessed!

Chenonceaux (not the house we rented!)

A look at the visitors’ book was revealing. Usually you see entries from people on second or third visits. Not in this one. So these owners saved themselves a few euros on equipping the house and a few centimes on saved electricity from the one person in a hundred* who might leave the lights on. But they lost hundreds on potential repeat business because of their miserable attitude. Penny wise and pound foolish indeed. Or should that be euro wise and centime foolish?

* 67.35% of statistics are made up.

PS – If you plan to rent a house in the Loire Valley I can tell you where not to go!

Share

Waiter, There’s A Computer In My Soup!

 No Responses »
Apr 272011
 

A couple of weeks ago we stayed in a very decent hotel up north. After the day out and about, dinner should have been a relaxing conclusion to the day. But somehow it wasn’t. There was technology in abundance – computer terminals at the restaurant reception desk, at a couple of strategic points in the large room and, presumably, in the kitchen. Staff seemed to spend an inordinate time peering into screens and tapping at keyboards. Despite, or maybe because of, this there was a feeling that they were teetering on the brink of out of control. Oh, and there was a disconnect between the hotel main reception and the restaurant. Reception believed they were booking specific tables e.g. a window table, whereas the restaurant perceived it as any old table and moved people around to suit themselves. Hopefully an encounter with Wike has cured them of this unsatisfactory practice!

Last night we were eating in a local restaurant. We placed our order and sat back. And waited. And waited. An equiry and investigation brought a very apologetic waitress to say that the order printer in the kitchen had broken at the moment our order was being processes and it had fallen through the slats (my words). A re-order was expedited whilst we were soothed with complementary drinks and more apologies from this smiling young woman.

Learning points?

  1. Don’t rely exclusively on technology.
  2. Make sure that everyone understands the technology and its limitations.
  3. Be generous with your apologies but back them up with action.
  4. A problem dealt with effectively and with good grace has the opportunity to provide a better customer experience than no problem at all.
Share

Community Cake

 2 Responses »
Apr 122011
 

Over the last few weeks, Basepoint business centre in Bromsgrove has become my second home … or office. Oddly enough I seem to find myself there on Friday mornings. The fact that they have a weekly coffee morning with cakes on Fridays is completely coincidental of course! It is intended primarily for those with businesses in the centre but they don’t seem to mind waifs and strays coming in off the street. It is mainly the small businesses – often one man or woman bands – that participate. It is a great way to build a community spirit in the building and is also a great way to network. Very important, especially for small businesses.

In a way it is reminiscent of an office I worked in during the early 80s. We worked very hard, often doing long hours. Basically we did whatever it took. Friday lunchtimes we’d retire to the pub to discuss strategy and other matters. Attitudes were a bit more relaxed then. Our attention to the detail of the length of our lunch break was often overlooked. Usually encouraged by our managers. I well recall arriving back in the office around 2.30 on one occasion and bumping into one of our directors. He didn’t understand the concept of team building and enquired what our immediate boss would think of such wayward behaviour. Emboldened by a couple of glasses of lemonade we pointed out that he’d need to pop along to the pub if he really wanted to know the answer because said boss was still there when we left!

Elaine Beaumont and her team at Basepoint are doing a wonderful job building a business community out of cake. Long may it continue. Although, of course, I don’t touch it myself. Usually.

Share

(PG) Tips For Sales Success

 2 Responses »
Mar 312011
 

Last week we ran a workshop for people who are nervous about aspects of speaking in public. We discovered that each person who signed up knew either me or my co-presenter or someone who knew us. Mass marketing may have its place but this experience underlined the importance of personal contact and word of mouth for small businesses.

This got me thinking about personal contact and how we make it work (or not). For a start, personal contact has to be personalised. At a recent networking event one person was going round the room distributing his business card without any attempt at conversation. It went into the bin. At another, a lady went round the room asking for cards from everyone. I enquired why. Because she was going to send an email. I expect it is in the junk folder.

Tea, Coffee & Brownies

I recall Nicky Kriel telling how she had had spent considerable time talking to someone on a stand at a business event because they were offering chocolate brownies. A friend who runs a branch of a large insurance broker commented on how offering a cup of coffee to prospective clients increased the sales rate. In the joining instructions for our workshop we said we’d be on hand for half an hour beforehand to serve tea and coffee. One participant emailed back to say how welcoming that sounded.

In this era of sophisticated communication media it is easy to forget that social niceties can have a considerable impact. A little effort cultivating personal relationships is time well spent.

Share
 Older Entries

site tracking with Asynchronous Google Analytics plugin for Multisite by WordPress Expert at Web Design Jakarta.