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Stay True to What Works!

Guest post by: Gregory Kopchuk

Article Overview: Stick to your core and see your profits rise

Stay True to What Works!

Lately I've been reading a lot of Marketing and Strategy books. I love reading these. They inspire me and give me energy to run my business. It's always great to have new ideas that you can test and measure. So how many of you heard about Canadian Tire going back to basics?

It's ok if you missed it, because we've all seen this story a million times: a new CEO takes over at company x or y & says what the CEO always says: we're going back to basics.

We heard this from Starbucks last year. We heard it from McDonald's the year before that. No doubt the new CEO of Westjet will say the same thing next year. If he doesn't, someone else will.

Why? For the reasons Mr. Wetmore describes:

"I was extremely concerned that we were wandering away from our core business - naturally, maybe, with Marks and financial services making so much money...We're not performing as well as we should be in our core business," he added. "I don't think anyone truly realized that entering the apparel business and financial services meant we were more susceptible to a downturn in the economy. ... So let's concentrate on the performance of the core."

Translation: the money looked good. And we wanted it. Meanwhile, everybody forgot about the money in the first place.

I bring this up because as an ActionCOACH, I get a lot of anguished emails/calls from businesses, wondering why their expansion plans aren't working out. The answer, 99% of the time, is the same: they neglected the core.

For example - Starbucks. You used to go there, get your coffee, and go. Those days are long gone. Now you stand in line for hours, while the people in front of you mull over their (many) options: how long they need that donut heated up for, how much caramel to drizzle in their non-fat cappuccino, what kind of goat's milk cheese in their Panini, etc, etc. ( That's why I don't go to Starbucks!!!)

But I'm not picking on Starbucks: Tim Horton‘s is doing the same thing as I write-you stand in line longer and longer, as they go further and further away from what made them good in the first place. The lineups go out the door as people choose what kind of steeped tea will be the best fit for their cream of grilled asparagus soup.

My point? I am not arguing against expansion, trying new ideas, or growth. Far from it. I AM saying never, ever, while trying all these great new things, forget what attracted your customers in the first place. Canadian Tire somehow forgot that men buy a lot of paint. Learn from their experience!

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Article Tags: Business, core business, marketing, sales, small business, strategy



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