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Slow Times Are the Go Time for Tuning Up Your Business
 No matter the size of your business, the volume in your pipeline is bound to fluctuate. And for many of us, it can be an uneasy feeling wondering when the phone will start ringing again.
Rather than resorting to gnashing of teeth and slashing of budgets, view those lulls between busy times as a welcome opportunity to run a complete diagnostic check on your business.
Essentially, use your slow times to plan for the future.
Take the time to re-examine and retune every aspect of your operation. This will help position your business to improve, grow in a sustainable way and, ultimately, better withstand future quiet periods.
Use your down time to look at all aspects of your operation in particular, including:
Market Research
How well do you and your sales and marketing team ― even if they are one and the same ― understand the makeup of your pool of potential clients? Make sure that you understand the social, cultural and physical makeup of your market.
Are you in a predominantly baby boomer market, a pool of Gen Xers or a mix? What does research show to be their remodeling preferences, and where are the trends going in materials, style and budget?
Is the majority of the housing stock in your market area 25 years old, 50 years old or barely past 10?
Do you need to expand your territory or improve your focus on more lucrative geographic areas, such as those with a growing need for repair and maintenance work?
All of this information is available in surveys like the NAHB’s Remodeling Market Index and from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and your state and local government. Use your slow time to dig deep into the numbers and ramp up your strategy to outsmart the competition.
Branding, Marketing and Advertising Strategies
What does your company’s image — your logo, crew’s uniforms, job site signage, even door hangers — say about your company?
Are they making an effective connection with the key target groups you’ve identified from your market research?
How does your message compare with those of your competitors in terms of hitting hot-button issues like green remodeling, professionalism and warranties?
Hiring a marketing student from a local college to do some re-writing for you could be an investment worth considering when budgets are tight.
Advertising tends to be the first line item on the chopping block when cash flow slows. Don’t be tempted to cut back during a slow period just when you need to work the hardest to maintain your visibility.
Also, don’t forget that, just as you are planning during the slow time of the market cycle, home owners are mulling over their options before they take action. Today’s remodeling-savvy home owners are likely to keep files of potential contractors on hand. Make sure your company is included in those files.
A lot of our job as remodelers is educating consumers. Don’t take your knowledge for granted. Instead put it to use.
Send then a simple newsletter that features products and methods that save home owners time or money, are environmentally friendly or otherwise appeal to your market. This will help build your company’s image as being reputable and reliable.
Internal Systems and Processes
Once you’ve got your message out, it is mission-critical that you ensure that your in-house systems are ready to handle the follow-through on leads that builds your customer base and client loyalty.
Use your down time to examine the efficiency of your entire project flow, from the first inquiry to the final customer satisfaction survey ― and every step in between.
Whether you have a staff of two or 20, slow periods are ideal for one-on-one reviews and troubleshooting of their on-the-job experiences to make your company run better.
Make sure that your business administrative tools pass muster.
This includes your telephone system, your estimating and billing software and everything in between. Be sure that every minute ― and every dollar ― is being tracked and can be analyzed and that your customers are receiving superior service.
Clients on terminal hold or in voicemail jail every time they call aren’t going to keep calling for very long, and given the critical importance of word-of-mouth in marketing remodeling, you can’t afford a reputation for poor customer interface.
If you’re hiring and firing more than you are closing leads, a slow period is a good time to examine your recruiting and retention strategies. Who’s leaving, who’s staying and why? Who’s always late to the job site and who has leadership potential?
Re-examine Your Reasons for Being in the Business
Once you’ve taken an in-depth look at the operation, take stock of where you are and why you got into the business in the first place. Ask yourself if you are doing the type of projects you’d like to be doing with your firm.
If the answer is no, set your new course and sail in that direction because before your know it the wind will be picking up.
Bob Birner, CGR, CAPS, is vice president of Amazing Siding Corp. in Houston, Texas. He also co-hosts, “Remodeling Pro Radio Show,” a weekly radio talk show about remodeling. For more information, e-mail Birner, call him at 281-378-6000 or visit the Amazing Siding Web site at http://www.amazingsiding.com.
 Get Your Professional Designation at IBS
Earning the CAPS, CGR, CGB or GMB designation demonstrates a commitment to excellence and keeps builders and remodelers on top of industry innovation.
A number of International Builders’ Show pre-show courses qualify for these builder and remodeler professional designations or for continuing education needed for other NAHB designations.
For more information, visit www.buildersshow.com/PreShowEducation.
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