March 13, 2003
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| Wartime and your business |
| By Andy Birol |
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| Six key lessons learned from Desert Storm |
In the winter of 1991, my team and I were full of anticipation and proud of what we had prepared. As director of the $40 million NEBS' (New England Business Service) retailer marketplace, I was launching the company's most ambitious new product line ever. One year's work had gone into developing over 150 stationery, florist, gift, check writing and point-of-purchase display items designed to spearhead the company's strike into this one billion dollar marketplace.
Production teams were standing by new machines ready to produce and ship out some 250 anticipated weekly orders. Forty thousand catalogs were printed and mailed. Two hundred well-trained telemarketers and customer service reps stood ready to close sales and serve customers. Press releases, media kits, and advertising were all on their way to reporters and readers. As all of NEBS leadership anxiously awaited their phones to start ringing with orders - and nothing happened. Precisely at the same time, a different attack, Operation Desert Storm, had begun. The world was glued to CNN and commerce of any kind virtually ceased for the next two weeks.
While the world's focus returned to doing business and my product line survived despite its early bad luck, we all vowed we would learn from this experience. As the marketplace braces for the possibility of a similar experience, here are six key lessons we learned about doing business in wartime.
| 1. | While life must go on, you and your business will not get much attention. |
| Customers will be preoccupied and appear to be "going through the motions." They will rely on brands and suppliers they trust to bring some confidence and stability into their lives. Make sure your business keeps selling exactly what it always has. Do not change your processes now.
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| 2. | Reassurance and relationships are foremost on minds of your clients, employees, and suppliers. |
| Everyone will be looking for support. Just as in 9-11, take extra time to listen when people need to talk, vent or even cry. Relationships are the most important aspect of smaller business, and this is the time to focus on making yours better.
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| 3. | Patriotism and contributions are not just window dressing. |
| We will all have friends, peers and coworkers whose loved ones are in harm's way. Make a genuine commitment of help based on your or your business' best and highest use. At NEBS, we provided and sent free customized stationery to anyone's loved one serving in the war theatre.
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| 4. | Basics and reserves will sell more than luxuries and anything new or unproven. |
| Understand people will be stockpiling essentials and ensuring that they can depend on critical services. If you have to ration what you have, do so for your most loyal customers and those in greatest need.
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| 5. | Sacrifice and indulgence will coexist in peculiar ways. |
| People will cut back one day and then spoil themselves the next. Keep both necessities and some luxuries on hand. People will cope in peculiar and irrational ways. Do not survey them now; just be there for them.
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| 6. | Pent-up demand for your services will take you by surprise. |
| While commerce shuts down in the early stages of a war, production and demand will certainly slingshot back. Anyone supplying military contractors, retailers or distributors is likely to be told "hurry up and wait," followed by "I need it yesterday." As contradictory as this sounds, keep as lean and mean as possible with ample resources on call. |
We all hope this article will be irrelevant if confrontations in the Middle East and Korean are avoidable. Nevertheless, anticipating and preparing for threats makes good business sense, and living and learning from previous mistakes is the reward for growing older. Therefore, while your business world will not end, it will be rocked if we go to war. Be as prepared as possible, and be a source of confident strength, service, and value to your business peers. We have survived and prevailed through many previous wars and together we will do it again.
Andy Birol
is president of Birol Growth Consulting, a Solon-based firm that helps owners grow their businesses. Andy can be reached at
abirol@andybirol.com,
440.349.1970 or through his Web site, www.andybirol.com.
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