November 2021
Volume #22 Issue #12

FedEx, the Internet and Chewy; all causing change

Today we are thinking of things that have changed the way independent businesses do things.

We first remember FedEx which was created in Little Rock in 1971. "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight", was, and still is their slogan. There was a time for both product and service businesses that your customers would accept something less because there were no other options. But when this company offered to deliver something across the country for a few dollars, expectations changed.

When the Internet arrived for the public in 1993, the delivery of products, services, and knowledge also changed. It is, unfortunately, too often that the customer knows more about a product or service than the person they are interacting with.

This gets us to the third part of the title of this month's article: Chewy. It is not just Chewy, but any type or size of business. Amidst the current focus on social media and in traditional media, of doing business with a local business, we hear the local business focusing on customer service.

That may be so, but many of these other businesses are doing an exceptional job of giving attention to their customers. A few weeks ago I saw a Facebook posting by a friend who was saying Chewy was the best place to shop and she would never shop elsewhere.

Of course, I am curious to ask why she gave such a strong testimonial. I know of a couple of local pet stores. They have a sizable selection and have a reward program for people purchasing pet food. And if you ask the clerk to help you find something, they will either point to the correct aisle or sometimes come from behind the counter to take you to the location where the product you want is displayed.

However, here is the difference. Chewy has a reward program, but they also have an automatic fulfillment program. None of the local stores do. My friend had to call Chewy to cancel the automatic fulfillment order because her pet had died.

Two days later, a sympathy card and floral arrangement arrived from Chewy. Nothing is going to move her from being a Chewy customer. My point? As locally owned small businesses, we may be the leader in customer service, but the competition is not as far behind as we would like to think.

Mattresses, wine and inventory - Our Article of the Month

The audience for the article of the month for November was initially the managers of the Main Street programs. It is however, very appropriate for any business that has inventory. Even with the many product shortages today, there is a need to understand and plan inventory purchases.

Properly controlling inventory is not a difficult task. On the Profits Plus website, we have several free tools that will help you with the planning and allocation of spending. You don't need to subscribe to some inventory control software program, or hire one of these individuals that promote themselves as inventory consultants. Whether you call it "inventory control" or "open to buy", we invite you to visit this link for some free tools.

Article of the Month

Book of the Month - Shoe Dog

Heading into the Christmas season, we know this has the potential to be a very challenging year. By most observations, 2021 can be a great year for a business that is able to fully staff their business and have the necessary items to sell, or items for providing services to your customers.

We thought it appropriate to take a slightly different twist in our book suggestion for November, by suggesting "Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike". We found it interesting that Phil Knight, whose own father would not give him a job, did work for his father's competitor and later created Nike with his coach from his track days at the University of Oregon.

Book of the Month

Internet Tool for Your Business - Open to buy

We mentioned inventory control/open to buy with our article of the month; let's continue the point. The math is very simple and we offer a free Excel chart, along with the appropriate instructions, to help you and your business.

When calculating open to buy, there are several factors to be considered:
What is the size of the minimum order required by the vendor?
What size of order is required for free freight or extended terms of payment?
How quick can the vendor get the items to you?
Considering the possibility of a future product shortage, do you need to stock up your inventory?
How fast are you selling the item considering the possible seasonality of the item?
And, do you have the projected cash available to make this purchase?

Each month we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scene, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information.

Internet Tool for Your Business

Staff Incentive for Your Business - No "good job" comments

We read a report recently that spoke of a Disneyland management technique. Their managers were told to resist using the phrase, "good job".

The phrase is generic and shows no personal attention or understanding of what the employee is doing. Instead, a vocal recognition was to be specific so as to demonstrate that the manager has closely observed the employee and their efforts. It is a way of sincerely connecting with an employee and appreciating their work.

We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.