Not long ago, I was sitting in a restaurant known for its breakfast.
It’s 7:40 AM and I am the only customer.
Ten years ago, you couldn’t find a seat in this place at this time of day. Now it’s a question of how much longer can the restaurant hold on.
What changed? Everything, but the restaurant.
The economy of the area is up at least 50% in the last 10 years, but along with the growth has come new competition and changing consumer habits. The result is the restaurant will be closed soon, and yet the food it serves is good — even great.
The food may be awesome, but the management never got out and looked around. They felt comfortable doing what they always had been doing, and they never were compelled to answer the wake up call.
If only management had been looking around, watching what was happening and, more importantly, adjusting where they needed to adjust, they would be in a far different position today.
What are you failing to see?
What is happening around you that may not impact you today, but could impact you tomorrow?
I’m guessing the management of the restaurant is somewhat concerned. I mean, how could they not be concerned?! But concern alone is not going to solve the problem.
What I see is too much complacency and willingness to accept the status quo, even in the face of an obvious drop in business.
Big mistake!
What do you need to change today to remain relevant to your customer base and your market?
What do you need to be looking at changing in the months or years down the road to stay ahead?
The tragedy of all of this is that it didn’t occur overnight or even over 100 days. It has been a slow death. Maybe that is what makes it that much harder to deal with, because it was harder for management to see.
Even a mere 10 minutes later and still only 2 more customers have come in for breakfast. Sorry, but that’s not enough to save the place.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
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