Let Me Spell it Out
Ever laid down to sleep and had an epiphany on something that could dramatically improve your business? During tanning season it’s hard to remember to breathe sometimes, let alone remember all the brilliant ideas you have in the moment. Lists are the easiest tool you have to keep yourself organized and ensure that dreams become reality, here’s why:
Some of the greatest plans are made from failures. It is hard to know what you need to fix until it is broken. When busy you are inundated with issues, comments, and real-life struggles that you may, or may not have time to fix at that moment. When things slow down it is easy to forget the tiny things that could make a big difference to your customers. Maybe you had a customer comment that the smell of the hand soap in the bathroom gave them a headache? Or maybe that if you were open just 30 minutes later at night, they would be able to purchase an EFT membership because they could get there before closing. Whatever it is, these little nuggets of information are priceless. You may not have time to change your hours on all your marketing and social media while also trying to schedule employees later and still make it to little Bobby’s (insert extracurricular activity here), but you will when things slow down. Cueing into these little clues’ customers give and accommodating what you can will go a long way in cultivating long-term, loyal customers.
Make it simple. Let’s face it, if it doesn’t fit into your life then you won’t do it. A list can be as simple as having a notebook behind the counter that you and employees can jot things down but for some, it is just one more thing, they don’t have time for. No problem, you can make it as easy as “Hey Siri”, or “Hey Google”. Most people are plugged into one electronic device 24/7. Put it to work for you by letting it take dictated notes for you to refer to later. If you are a real techie, you can create spreadsheets, picture lists, and vision boards. Who are we kidding, if you had time to do this you probably wouldn’t need a list in the first place?
Now is the time to start taking down all of the ideas and solutions you have thought of so that you can implement them. Image how smoothly things will go next season if you improve the things that held you back this season.