MY 2 CENTS
(Editor’s note: The following article was published previously in 2017.)
Acouple weeks ago, a visiting friend asked if his teenaged son could bring his fly rod to fish on the pond behind my house. The young man reported a few hits on his lure, but didn’t catch anything.
The same visitors returned this weekend and were surprised how much fuller the pond appeared after last week’s rain. When the teen voiced that he wished he had his fishing gear, the father teased him saying, “If you couldn’t catch one when the fish were all huddled in the small water, how will you catch one now that they are all spread out?”
Later that evening, I sat on my patio, staring at the water and thinking about the creatures in the pond. Much of the time, the pond is full, clear and beautiful with little springs that shoot up ice cold water from the bottom. But sometimes it drops very low, leaving dry crusty banks and appearing murky from above. Or it swells way beyond the banks, grabbing up nature’s debris in a swift, muddy rush.
I had a new appreciation of the tenacity of the perch, bass, and turtles who dwell in those waters.
In my role as Chamber president, I receive continuous feedback on how business is performing. Who’s up, who’s down, sales number, traffic flow versus sales and the like.
And, it’s a lot like my pond. Most of the time, there is consistency, but there are also dramatic ebbs and flows.
With the approach of Oktoberfest, arguably the largest-attended festival in Fredericksburg, soon followed by Thanksgiving weekend and the Christmas holidays, businesses are gearing up for the big muddy rush. The abundance of flow is a tremendous blessing, but it is so much, so fast, that it may feel hard to catch the flood of customers.
When the clinking champagne glasses of the New Year grow silent, business will typically slow as consumers navigate the “after Christmas, before taxes” part of the year. There will still be customers to catch, but the fishing hole will be smaller for a while.
Rather than worry too much about the water levels, I think it’s better to spend our time working on our fishing strategy.
We know droughts and floods will come and historical sales data can help us forecast their length and severity. So how do we prepare for each? The fish that are still there when the water level is low make me think of our local, or repeat customers. The care and feeding we give this group is critical to the replenishment of the pond and will sustain our business. Therefore, they are not to be taken for granted. They likely will not bite during the flood, but they will be loyal sustainers if they receive the service, product mix and access they need when the rush passes.
The floods can be good, because they bring opportunity for new customers. But there are perils. Large weekends bring a host of capacity issues and if we are not adequately prepared, guests may simply pass by, feel undervalued in the fast-moving flow or never be noticed at all. Do we have the product mix that can appeal to what may be a one-time customer, but also the service that lures them to return?
It is very challenging to deliver a consistent and genuine experience in each of these conditions. But we have to try. We have data to predict the cycles. We have past experience to guide us in inventory supply and selection.
Our workforce shortage makes staffing difficult, but we all know people power dramatically affects not only capacity, but the delivery of quality.
Let’s plan on catching some fish!
McBride is the president and CEO of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce. Email her at penny@fbgtxchamber. org.
Credit: Source link
