Market share and the company you keep
We have all been through some brutal challenges to our business operations and presentation. Between the awful attacks on normality caused by COVID and natural disasters, we also have some resultant and sensitive situations that can test our patience and threaten our bottom line. Recovery from the recent demands and damages of the pandemic, and some severe environmental events, has been and continues to be a long, difficult and costly process.
One of the subsequent problems has been the plain fact that recovery has not been a fair or even process. In many instances, in typical commercial clusters, some facilities have not been able to remedy damages. It could be that due to illness, necessary operations modification, and serious financial deficit, your neighbor's property presentation is too slowly recovering, or has not recovered at all.
If you happen to be a retailer striving to recover — re-staffing, refreshing and restarting, it is anything but comforting to note that you are now surrounded by empty storefronts, boarded front window sites or neighboring retailers with shortened store hours due to shortened staffing. Spaces without tenants often become unsightly including deteriorating landscaping, peeling paint and faded signage. Landlords responsible for some of the properties have serious problems, too. Absentee owners may not be fully aware of local conditions.
Shoppers tend to frequent business clusters — downtowns, malls and centers — where there are multiple opportunities. Noticing a few operating sites, with multiple out-of-business neighbors is a definite put off. They usually move on to where one stop and one parking challenge offer less hassle and more choices.
The challenge to the retail segment is quite different from that of services — intangibles. Truth be told, while there are definitely pandemic and climate related challenges for the services sector of the business community, physical access is not as critical as it is for retailers. The Internet and its many innovations (such as Zoom and Face Time) have transferred much of the service business sector essential activity to offsite, electronic function and operations!
The flood of analytical data is overwhelming, and literally fraught with suggested remedies for how to recapture your market share following disasters — and that, from a consumer pool itself trying to recover.
The company you keep in your specific business location, its location in your community, and that community in its region, are unavoidably and critically connected to your bottom line; and, more so and particularly when all of it is in recovery.
The question, the problem and the headache all sit squarely on the collective shoulders of the overall business community. Seeing that is the first challenge. The second is not unlike herding cats! The difference can be illuminated through leadership and innovation.
Have you really taken a hard look at the company you keep at your business location? Of course, some would suggest that if you don't like it here, just move! But, perhaps your business history and your customer following, are right where you are — and moving is not an option or even a good idea! There are several good resources for help with assessing your situation (if it is less than ideal), and exploring ways to help your business neighborhood recover while improving your market share potential.
The business company you keep is critical. Just as a beautifully presented business Interior is an important marketing tool for that business, Exterior presentation is the invitation for a prospective customer to take the next step inside. It is the partnership that loudly speaks to your market share, and the market share that meets your bottom line.
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer in private practice for over 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision© in collaboration with writingservice@earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@ BusinessDesignServices.com or visit www. BusinessDesignServices.com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.