// RETAIL STRATEGIES
BY TOM SHAY
NOT THE RIGHT THINGS TO SAY
Recently , I attended two trade shows , and at both I visited with a different store owner I had known for some time . Each of these owners I had not seen in a couple of years , however , because of the pandemic . During our conversations , I asked how business had been since our last time seeing one another . One owner responded with something to the effect of , “ Things are starting to get back to normal .” The other owner said something more like , “ We are just riding the wave .”
Both are the wrong way to consider the current situation .
While we understood the first comment to mean that the stress of the pandemic has subsided , each of those responses warranted follow-up questions . These were not rhetorical questions that we posed , but asked with intent to let each owner rethink how they are currently operating their business .
To the first owner , we asked ,“ How do you define ‘ normal ’? Are there things in your life that have changed since the pandemic ?” And because the answer was an expected , “ yes ,” our follow-up question regarded their business .
“ If your life has been changed , and we can expect your customers have had similar experiences , why are you looking to your business to return to the way you operated in 2019 ?”
Perhaps with a recession , it would be reasonable to expect that a business would operate in post-recession environment much like it did pre-recession . But the pandemic has been much different than a recession . It brought about significant changes . During a visit to a chain fast food business , we found a sign detailing the 13 ways that the business could take payment . ( Yes , one of the payment methods was cash .)
There are plenty of businesses , primarily chains , that are taking away conveniences
PHOTO CREDIT : © AUREMAR - STOCK . ADOBE . COM provided to customers . They have done so under the guise of ease and health , along changes stating that the reasons are staffing challenges .
Here ’ s our question to you : Are you making the after-effects of the pandemic , and the changes made by the retailers just mentioned , work to your advantage ? Now that customers expect something different , how have you adapted ?
With the second owner , the comment of “ just riding the wave ” is perhaps indicative of recognizing what has happened since March 2020 , but not seeing opportunities and / or challenges .
With the exception of dry cleaners , bars , restaurants and some other small-business categories , there was a lot of extra business during the pandemic because of restrictions placed on our lives . With so many things we could not do , so many ways we could not do things , we found other ways to consume our time and money . It was , as this owner stated , “ a wave .”
Your business experienced an uptick . Your business benefited from new and more-frequent customers . But as things now change post-Covid , giving people opportunity to consider other things for their time and money , what are you doing so that your business retains these customers ’ focus ?
There are many who visualize the pandemic business wave in the same way as someone who is surfing a literal wave at the beach . Eventually , the wave dies down as it approaches the shore . But it does not have to be that way for your business . Instead , let ’ s use the experience of a cruise ship that has a wave-maker machine .
Move the example to your business . Your creativeness , marketing skills and drive can be the wave-making machine in your business . Keep the momentum of that wave forever in forward motion .
Want your business to continue strong ? “ Just riding the wave ,” or “ Things are getting back to normal ” are two expressions that do not belong in your vocabulary . BW
Tom Shay is a lifelong small-business owner and manager . He has authored 12 books on small business management ; a college textbook on small business financial management and co-authored a book on retailer / vendor relations
Summer 2023 • Beverage Wholesaler 5