This article will look at the habits that businesses get themselves into and how they become resistant to change.
‘We’ve always done it this way.’
All businesses develop their own way of doing things. Their own practices and routines and those things that come to define how they conduct their business. ‘That’s just the way we do it here!’
The point is that those working practices and habits were never really thought about or planned; they just evolved.
The world changes at a faster and faster pace and the world of the pool professional – the wet leisure industry – is no exception. So habits that benefited your company in the past may now be holding it back.
Work smarter, not harder.
When people look at their own business, there are usually one or two things that are taken as absolute truths. Aspects of their business and how it functions, that they consider to be fundamental truths are quite often the exact things that are flawed or need to be changed to keep their company in step with an ever-changing world.
It’s hard to break the mould, but you should at least look at your business with fresh eyes from time to time. If you were starting again from scratch would you make all of the same decisions and choices or would things be different?
Then think about making those changes now.
[adrotate group=”4″]
Step back.
Many businesses are having to work harder and harder in these challenging times. This can easily mean that they feel they have no time available to step back and take stock of where they are and where they are trying to go.
Time spent away from the phones and your customers, thinking about your business and its future may be time very well spent.
Look at some of your competitors and see how they do things differently from you. You could also look at other industry sectors and see if there are useful ideas that you can pick up. There might be practices you find in the health and leisure industries that could benefit you. You could write a blog to let people know about your latest projects. You could join the world of social media and have a company page on Facebook or you might choose to use your customer database to email people with news of offers or promotions?
A bad habit is anything that doesn’t help your business grow and run smoothly.
A bad habit might be something that gives people the wrong impression about your pool business. A bad habit takes up the time that could be filled with a new, good habit.
You should experiment. You can’t know whether a different habit will work or not until you try it. Mix around with key habits until you find those that suit you. Talk to your customers but talk to and listen to your staff as well. Quite often the people in your company who deal with your customers the most can see where the problems lie but don’t feel that it’s their job to tell you. Some of your staff might already have the information that would cost thousands of pounds for a market research company to discover.
Business is increasingly tough and we all work hard to stay on top, but sometimes hard work isn’t enough. It takes hard thinking too.
At Wet Leisure we are committed to innovation and knowledge within the wet leisure industry. For more information on marketing and promoting your business check out the other articles on this website, join one of our many industry specific groups or speak to a member of our team.
Do you have something to add? Agree or disagree with our suggestions? Add your comments in the box below…
[adrotate group=”4″]
