By: Mark Lenske
Actually, I believe we should always be in the mindset of “what’s next”. In business and in our personal lives, we spend an awful lot of time planning our next move: the next promotion, potential remodel, the next purchase, the next expansion, the next family vacation and so on. We do this in the interest of being one up on the competition, exceeding last year’s goals, having the freshest product available for your customer, making sure everything is set for vacation to minimize stress levels. Planning is an everyday activity and we should embrace it.
During my time in the coin machine industry, I remember a location friend of mine saying, “You are only as good as your last promotion.” He was right; you are only as good as you were yesterday. What are you going to do tomorrow and beyond to be better?
Having short term and long term plans is critical to success these days because the competition is right next to you and you can bet they are watching and planning as well. I’ve seen examples both domestically and now in my international travels where businesses are planning for:
– The next attraction: VR, roller coasters, bowling and other activities
– Freshening up the game room with new titles
– Hiring the brightest and friendliest people to work with your customers to maximize the experience
– Promotions to provide the best value for customers like Birthday Parties, packages, off peak deals, discounts
– Redesigning a space to reflect a trend or style to keep customers coming back.
– Expansion/Development – we see it here at Bay Tek with our growth along with our customer’s growth into other markets and countries
For some, planning is a challenge and they chose to “wing it”. Typically this is not a recipe for success. Get a team together within your organization, look into the future and get ideas both short and long term, and put a PLAN in place. The plan will evolve and change but it will help be a road map to your success.