There are two types of owners that need to grow their view of the business they own.  One type of owner spends a lot of time on numbers.  They see the trends and how the customers respond to the marketing or employee efforts.  The “Number Cruncher” is a good master of his domain.  He is up to date on what has happened in his business and what works.  He can plan and explain his business in terms of dollars and cents.  Why is this not a big enough view?  He is good with changing to a new plan.  He can see what works and plan, but moving to a new plan is outside his view.  Limits like this are part of an old way of doing business.  I grew up in this format.  I am happy to look through these eyes.  I also know that if I want to make stores successful I need to look bigger and make changes quickly to stay ahead of the competition and fire up my team.  Numbers tell no lies, but they also do not inspire growth.  People do.

The second type of owner is the marketing guy.  He can tell you what works and why.  Coupons, discounts, and media buys are part of his lexicon.  There is no way he is going to let a customer get away without knowing what his business is all about.  Branding is a key to his success.  Finding new ways to communicate to customers is his passion.  This guy is his own best marketing…just ask him.  Why doesn’t this work well.  If you are focused on marketing outside your business, you may the operations  and the reason customers come back.  Ever watch a commercial, try out a new business and then never go back? Why?  The hype did not match the service, the products, or a combination of both.  Marketing is critical, yes critical, to every business.  It just can not be the beginning and the end of the game. Save marketing until you have something to brag about.  Then yell it!

Look at the whole picture.  Crunch numbers to see what works best.  Take the best parts of a campaign, product, or service and build your store around it.  The best businesses ask more questions than make statements.  Every question or answer should bring more questions or answers.  Look bigger.  Dream about where your business can grow.  Do not EVER be comfortable.  Comfort is good for a blanket, but bad for a business model.  Be ready to change.  Look inside your business first to ensure that when you go out and invite customers in you are ready to make them say “WOW”.

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