How to prosper in a down economy

Jan. 1, 2020
Repair shops can prosper by using defined processes, eliminating waste and maintaining a keen focus on the business.
Shoemaker ABRN auto body repair collision repair growing during a recession

What you do in your business today will make a difference on how your business operates tomorrow, and that will be true for the next day and the day after that. The collision industry is changing daily, the recession has disrupted our comfort zone and the demands on our industry have grown.

Nobody has escaped from the impact of the recession, but there are those who have excelled. They are the ones who paid attention to their business and not the direction the economy is moving.

I remember an instructor telling me in driver's education class that your vehicle will go in the direction you are looking. That is true in business also. If you look in the direction the economy is going your business will move in that direction. Now is not a time to rest. You need to keep moving, keep growing and keep achieving your goals by maintaining a strong focus on your business.

I know growth is not something a lot of people are thinking about right now, but the ones that are growing have been succeeding in our current climate. They have trained their people, they have expanded their marketing and they have refined their processes moving their business forward in an unstable economy.

It is easy to lose your focus when you are faced with a downturn in the economy, but in actuality now is the time to stay focused and look at your business plan. Are you reaching your goals? What is stopping you? What are you doing to energize your business to move you forward? Confront this downturn head-on and take advantage of it. Maintain your vision on where you want to go and don't let panic change that focus. Base all your decisions on fact not on the panic or fear that is generated through emotions.

Keep reaching for your goals. You might have to change some processes or downsize to reach them but that might be very beneficial. Now is a good time to look at all your processes and see what tasks can be eliminated to become more streamlined. Look at your key performance indicators to make sure you are operating within your parameters. While you are streamlining your processes you should also consider cross-training your staff. This will allow you to stay productive during absences and ensure customer service is maintained. Customer service is paramount in our current environment and great customer service will give you an edge over your competition.

Eliminate the roadblocks to your success. Define them, isolate them and remove them one at a time. Don't go after a handful of things at once, which will squash your efforts, pick one, eliminate it and go to the next one. I am not suggesting you make drastic changes, just look at the things that are preventing you from reaching your goals and fine-tune your operations. It could be personnel, a vendor or a process. Do you have people who are not pulling their weight? Do you have a vendor that is loading you up with inventory and tying up cash flow? Removing choke points or constraints will produce a smoother, more productive process that will increase your profits, allowing you to sustain the recession.

Is your marketing working? Are you still relying on that yellow-page ad? Now is the time to look at your marketing tracking and see where you are getting the return on your investment. Times are changing, your business environment is changing and the age group of your customers is changing. If you are still marketing the way you marketed 10 or even five years ago you are behind the times. Digital marketing has grown tremendously over the last few years to meet the needs of the Generation Y market. The Gen Y market is the fastest growing and highest spending group in our history. It is a group that wants it now, that demands immediate results, and whose members mostly communicate through mobile devices. In most cases you will spend less money and be more effective with a digital marketing program.

Compare your business to your competition and see where you stand. Take the time to look around and see what makes you different and what makes you better. Find that niche and capitalize on what makes you better. Promoting yourself as well as value and quality will make you stand out in a crowd that is dead set on discounting their way to profitability.

"Business as usual" doesn't exist anymore and the recession has definitely disrupted our comfort zone. Most in the collision industry will survive by employing some out-of-the-box thinking. By using defined processes, eliminating waste and maintaining a keen focus any business can prosper in a down economy.

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