The Simple Way To Make More In A Recession By Thinking Outside The Box

A few weeks ago I attended a business meeting on a Tuesday night at a fairly large restaurant by the name of Doc’s Sports Retreat in Livonia MI. As I pulled into the restaurant parking lot, I was flabbergasted.

During this Michigan recession, the parking lot was almost completely full. Once inside, I could see the place was near capacity.  As the evening progressed the restaurant became totally packed. This is a Tuesday night mind you!

On the way out I asked the head waitress if there was  something special going on that evening. She said “oh no, this is the way it usually is, seven days a week.”

A few days later I called the manager, Todd Clickner and asked him what they were doing that allowed them to earn so much business. Todd spoke passionately about the values he and his staff shared and lived. He explained to me that they were doing a number of things.

First, they believed that their number one priority was to take care of the people that came into their restaurant. They made it a point to reach out and touch people and get to know them. They demonstrated this by greeting their clients as they came in the door, making them feel good during their visit, and thanking them as they left.

Todd went on to say that they believed in giving back to the community. They put their “money where their mouths were.” They actively supported the area by giving to all the community high schools and youth programs.

Next, they were a unique facility with a sports theme, indoor and outdoor seating areas, a large pond on the south end of the restaurant that created “an up north atmosphere,” so, it was a nice place.

Finally, their food and service was excellent and reasonably priced. No wonder his business was packed on Tuesday night in the middle of a Michigan recession. Enough said.

Here is my point: one of the best ways to grow your business in a down economy is to start looking outside your business. What are other small businesses or organizations, like Doc’s Sports Retreat, doing that could work for you?

Pick one of the things they are doing right and adapt it to your business. Try it out, measure the results, evaluate the results then tweak it so it fits your business or organization. If it works, keep using it. Your customers and clients will be glad you did and so will you.

– Tom