Customer feedback: On the way back: SWFL companies write their feedback

opinion

Michael Wynn Special for Press News

Posted on June 22, 2020 at 12:22 pm EDT

After the last difficult months following COVID-19, Southwest Florida is ready to recover.

Although it is still early, there are clear signs that we are going in the right direction. Businesses have suffered a sudden blow, but their comeback stories have one thing in common: the ability to listen, learn, and adapt.

I recently had the opportunity to share my thoughts with business and community leaders about Restart SWFL, the FGCU Economic Recovery Initiative. Like any company, Sunshine Ace is affected by the corona virus, but our company and team remain strong. Here are six factors that can help companies recover further in the coming weeks and months:

1-Stay true to your values

The character of a leader shows up under pressure. Your business reflects your leadership. Are you going to bring profits to people? Will you save too much and lose key talent, or decrease the value and service your customers come to you for? It is difficult to manage in times of crisis. They try to reconcile the protection of life and the protection of livelihood. If you deal with your team honestly and transparently, you will trust them when you make difficult decisions. Not only do we have to support other local businesses, we also need to find ways to give back and support to community organizations that care for the most vulnerable among us, even in difficult times. It has never been so important to make ethics a priority and take care of your neighbors.

2-security first

Employees and customers focus very much on their personal security and support companies that do the same. Sunshine Ace asks our team to wear protective masks. We have also installed disinfection stations and plastic grids around cash registers and service counters, all visible signs that safety comes first. Many retail stores and restaurants work overtime to give internal cleaning teams enough time to disinfect, disinfect floors, doors, cash registers, counters and other contact points. In addition to our own internal cleaning records, Sunshine Ace has a contract with uniformed daily cleaning teams who work during business hours to ensure that the shopping and working environment is clean and sterile.

3-Listen to employees and customers

With fewer sales and more tasks, time has never been so valuable. However, we all have time to slow down and listen. To be relevant in a business environment where consumer behavior and requirements change quickly, we need to be receptive to new ideas and new contributions. Listen to your team. Listen to your customers. Often the best ideas come from them! What requests does your team say "No"? What new services or amenities are your customers willing to pay for? Listening to your two most important stakeholders is important to quickly transform your post-COVID offers and ensure the sustainability of your company.

4-Adjust the strategic plan

At the beginning of 2020, we carefully defined our goals and annual business plan. However, insert a global pandemic and many of these goals are no longer relevant. We cannot change the challenges of COVID-19 or an economic recession. However, we can use the talent of our team and work tirelessly against all problems that result from continuous innovation and the adoption of changes. Regardless of whether this necessary change involves new products, services, partnerships, vendors, sidewalk deliveries, or cleanup logs, I have great confidence in southwest Florida entrepreneurs to make these difficult calls and build a stronger business.

5-local support

Local and independent companies understand the essential role they play in the local economy. For a dollar spent in a local company, about 67 cents are spent in the local community. That's almost 60% more than a dollar spent on a national chain. Local and independent companies are the soul of our community. While we often practice encouraging our customers to shop locally, we also need to be careful that our spending also supports local businesses. When was the last time you checked your company purchases to make sure you were with your independent colleagues? This is something our company is sensitive to, be it to ensure that the meals we buy for our team are forwarded to independent local restaurants or to check that we are from local companies. for our daily deliveries. If we all agreed on this commitment, we would have a significant impact on our collective economic recovery.

6-free resources

There is no game manual or business plan for a pandemic that contains a roadmap for success. However, our region has collective experiences. The FGCU restart SWFL offers free resources and webinars. The chambers of commerce also offer information on government stimulus packages, security protocols, benefits and toolkits for corporate returns. Don't forget your colleagues as a resource. I personally joined the zoom calls with local executives to share best practices and success stories.

Business in southwest Florida is improving and growing stronger than ever.

Michael Wynn is President of Sunshine Ace Hardware, a local company with nine locations in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, and Pinellas, and two Crowder Bros. branches in Manatee County.

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