Category: Consulting

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The Isolation of Ownership

Bottomline First: Owners don’t really have anyone to talk to about their problems. Reach out to those in your care.

Outside of a preacher in a small church, I don’t know of a more lonely calling than a small business owner.

I will often ask them, “Do you know what your friends think of you?”

They look at me with stunned incredulity since I had only met them a couple of hours earlier and know none of their friends.

I proceed to tell them, “Your friends think they have it made, they think you come and go as you please, hire people to do what you don’t want to do and write it all off on your taxes!!  They think you have the Life of Riley!”

Then they say, “You know, you are absolutely right!”

And I assure them if they try to convince their friends just how hard it is owning a business, they think you are pulling their leg!

And THIS is during the GOOD times!  The loneliness is only getting worse in the economic environment of the day!

Many times business owners will become overly friendly with their employees to cope with their isolation knowing they get the day-to-day stresses with which the owner is dealing. But that becomes a management problem within the business and makes it almost unthinkable to furlough them when times get tough.

Business owners are seen as “having it all together” not only by their friends and the public at large but also by their families.  I can’t tell you how many times I have interviewed a business owner during an analytical survey of their company who was showing a loss on their P&L only to discover he (or she) had not told their spouse. And let’s be honest, men, we are more guilty of this than our sisters-in-business. That stinkin’ EGO of ours gets us in trouble and then cuts off the support we so desperately need!

So to you advisors of these stalwart but hurting heroes of our economy, reach out to them! They need to know there are people and places that can be safe for them to unmask their pain.

Bankers, attorneys, wealth advisors, CPAs, insurance agents, consultants, accounting firms, HR firms – any trusted advisor in their life can just BE THERE for them and let them know it is OK for them to share anything that is bothering them.

If you are in a role they might not feel comfortable due to the business relationship (like their banker), try suggesting they might want to talk to a friend of yours.

As Charles Dickens wrote in the Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of time…”  We have been brutally snatched out of “the best of times” and forced into what is arguably “the worst of times.”

As a man of faith, I would that all men and women would seek guidance from the Creator of us all to lean into Him and His wisdom for our individual and corporate deliverance.

Let’s all be there for each other as we walk through the valley of shadows.

Ralph Watson

Ralph Watson has a varied and extensive career spanning 45 years of increasingly responsible positions in both sales and operations in a very diverse mix of industry specialties, including food processing, textile and apparel, financial services, and professional management consulting.

 

 

Ralph served as a Senior Executive Analyst with a number of international consulting companies focused on the family-owned, privately held market where he distinguished himself as one of the top analysts in a highly competitive field.  In early 2014, he personally coached 10 businesses in Europe.

Ralph C. Watson, Jr.    404.520.1030

Ralph.Watson@BeGreaterFaster.com

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Are You Loyal to Your Customers?

Doug Reifschneider

We love our customers

Loyalty, not such a long time ago, was a fairly easy thing to cultivate. You give a punch card or green stamps (or even wooden “round-tuits,” some of you may recall) to your customers, and they reward you with frequent visits or purchases so they can earn the points or badges to pocket free stuff.

Even today, as businesses like restaurants, retail stores, airlines, and hotels work to digitize and mobilize loyalty programs, customers still find it exciting and compelling to rack up the rewards.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the bank—loyalty, it seems, can be a fairly fickle concept—and even with the ease of participating in today’s e-programs, they don’t seem to be creating the brand affinity and “stickiness” that companies crave.

In fact, a third of customers will vote with their feet after a single instance of poor customer service, according to one survey. Keep ‘em happy, however – with outstanding personal service, great products, and minimal gimmickry—and you have an 80 percent chance of cementing that loyalty.

The message here: Being loyal to your customers, in today’s uber-competitive landscape, is as critical—if not more so—as customers being loyal to you.

If it seems like the script has been flipped, you’re right. In the days of Loyalty 1.0, those green stamps paved a one-way street of loyalty, from consumer to company. But now, in the world of Loyalty 1.5, with the ability to gain insights through apps, clicks, interactions, and views, it’s easier than ever to open a reverse lane of loyalty traffic from the company, right back to the customer.

So, let’s step back for a moment and think about what we really want to do. How do we tool our loyalty programs to demonstrate our love of, and affinity for, our consuming public? And, in particular, how do we replicate this online, without the benefit of the human interaction that comes with bricks-and-mortar businesses?

How to be loyal to your guests

Here’s an example using a counter service fast-casual restaurant concept.

Imagine if you will, striding into a local fast-casual restaurant near your office.  You’ve been in about once per week for the last two months because it is close, and you like the food.  You decide you’re in the mood for their grub again for lunch, so you cross the street, walk in the door, and take your place in line.

As you wait, you look at the menu and think about the meeting you just departed. Now, you approach your cashier, Susan (you know because of her name tag) and she looks up and says, “Hi, Mr. Smith! Great to see you. Would you like the usual today?”  You are shocked she knows your name and are impressed she knows your usual order. You reply, “Yes, please,” and add a drink. Susan goes on to say, “Mr. Smith, you’ve been in a lot recently and we love serving you.  Lunch is on us today!”

In this scenario, it’s easy to see why you would be floored. Susan not only knew your name, but she comped your meal too. The rest of the experience is equally as stellar (clean restrooms, a spotless restaurant, a follow-up visit from the manager) and you return to the office and tell six of your co-workers. The restaurant was loyal to you — which created an emotional bond, and the intensification of your love for that restaurant brand.

Loyalty 1.0 and 1.5 promised the ability to scale loyalty, and in most cases it did. But to add personalized messaging – like that offered by the restaurant chain — and to attempt to be loyal to your guests on this type of grand scale, takes time and a mastery of technology. Is your company up to the challenge?

If you’ve been around for awhile, perhaps you felt a little déjà vu when you heard loyalty platforms would save your team time?

Many years ago in a galaxy far, far away, a similar promise was made…

The Machine of The Year – 1982

Promise to save time

At the dawn of personal computing, and before PCs and laptops became ubiquitous, we were promised that these gizmos were going to make our lives easier and give us more time to enjoy life.

The impact of the Apple II and the IBM PC was fully demonstrated when Time magazine named the home computer the “Person” of the Year for 1982. It was the first time in the history of the venerable publication that an inanimate object was bestowed with this award.

An excerpt from an accompanying article, “A New World of Dreams,” painted a rosy picture of a promised future:

“…Point is, it will save you time. Time time time. And we need all the time we can save. Can’t kill time without injuring eternity. Thoreau said that. Great American, Thoreau.

You say: Why should I want to save time? I hear you, friend. I hear you. You wonder where it gets you, saving all that time when you think about old Henry Ford’s gizmo that was supposed to save a peck of time. Only instead of conquering the open road, we wound up living on it. You’ve got a point. You a college boy? But this is the country of the A-bomb and the zipper. We always save time, good and bad. Tempus fugit. Time is money. Most of all, time is dreams. And computers give you time for dreams.”

Loyalty 2.0

So, how do we upgrade to Loyalty 2.0? How do we blend all that we have learned to produce a loyalty relationship with our clients that is as strong as the one we wish them to have with us? A good starting point is to replicate the 1-to-1 experience – with as much richness as we can – in the digital universe.

For a Loyalty 2.0 program to succeed, it needs to have a few of the following features:

  • Social media integration
  • Detailed analytics
  • Targeted email marketing
  • Targeted text message marketing
  • Smartphone integration and an app
  • Software that’s integrated with POS
  • Segmentation tools
  • Campaign tools
  • Customer recognition
  • Loyalty automation

The last four points are the most important. Most Loyalty 1.5 platforms lacked automated campaign and segmentation tools. Or, took too much time and effort from your teams to create the kind of personal connections we are advocating for now.

To get your company on track quickly, you might consider a provider like Punchh, LevelUp, Paytronix, and others that live in the Loyalty 2.0 space.

All of these are vendors that are purely focused on the B2C experience. They are dedicated to providing clients with a mobile-first strategy. It makes it easy to analyze customer behavior, generate insights, and develop sophisticated marketing automation. And it makes customized campaigns and promotions possible. Most offer deep integrations with leading eCommerce/online ordering, POS, and payment providers. All that provides marketers with a single view of the customer for omnichannel engagement across physical retail and digital channels.

Are you ready to take a leap forward into the world of two-way loyalty? By adopting a Loyalty 2.0 mindset, you will find it easier to be loyal to your customers. However, you’ll still need to commit corporate resources to execute with success if your customers are to feel the love.

 

Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

Doug Reifschneider is a dynamic results-oriented, data-driven professional, Douglas drives nationwide growth through the creation and delivery of unique, creative brand strategies enhancing customer affinity and market position. With 25+ years of executive marketing experience, he strengthens brand equity with resonating positioning strategies. He uses successful marketing programs and innovative marketing campaigns that boost revenues. An innovative leader with strong team-building and collaboration skills, his strategic initiatives generate substantial shareholder and franchisee value and open new revenue opportunities.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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Business & The Virus

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself (or ‘seeks refuge’): but the simple pass on, and are punished.  Proverbs 22:3

Ralph Watson

Regardless of where Covid-19 originated, it is an actual virus and it is among us.

Mass hysteria has gripped our country emptying our grocery stores and gun shops and tanking our economy. I’m not making a political statement nor placing blame.  I am simply acknowledging the current reality of our world and the tragic effect it is having on our businesses, large and small.

Let me invite you to step away from the madness for a few minutes for a dispassionate chat about our current situation.

At this point, there is precious little we can do with the country on lockdown.  Our customers are not circulating in the marketplace, but are rather cocooned in their homes possibly shopping online. That doesn’t mean we can’t do ANYthing!

In his seminal book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey presented his Time Management Matrix exposing the relationship between Urgent tasks and Important tasks.

Quadrant I was the “Urgent & Important” containing all the fires that business owners face all day long: operational breakdowns, customer complaints, employee disagreements, accounts receivables, job bidding, and the list goes on ad infinitum! This is the quadrant in which we spend most of our waking business hours.

Quadrant II was the “Important but NOT Urgent” containing – honestly – all the most important issues of life: date night with the spouse, children’s ball game or dance recital, thinking & planning, reading important literature, praying or meditating, taking care of our health and on it goes.

The paradox of these two quadrants is that the ONLY way to get Quadrant I under control is to camp out in Quadrant II and DO the Important work of strategic business planning and management self-improvement! As you are able to become proactive and look down the road to see potential dangers, you are able to make those provisions to avoid the fires and reduce the size and tyranny of Quadrant I.

Although this may be the first time our current living generation has seen what is happening, it is not the first time for our country.  Let me acknowledge that during the Great Depression, there were bakeries that went out of business – but there were bakeries that survived. There were clothing stores that went out of business, but there were clothing stores that made it.

The point is that no business segment vanished. Some businesses in every category made it in spite of so many of their competitors folding for good.  So while we are all currently forced out of Quadrant I, now is a great time to take full advantage of the situation to get seriously deep into Quadrant II and not squander this unique opportunity to Be Greater Faster!

Read a management book. Call friends who own businesses to talk about common issues. Engage with a professional consultant – a generalist if you need overall help, or a specialist if you feel you need specific help like marketing. Reconnect with distant family. Get spiritually recentered.

Now maybe a good time to do a deep clean on your business. If you own a restaurant, pull all your equipment from the wall and clean behind that greasy frier and refrigerator. If you have inventory, get it straightened up, pull inactive SKUs and sell them off online if you can. Take a close look at your shop floor to see if there is a better way to improve the flow of production.

Now is NOT a time for deer-in-the-headlights paralysis!

If you need inspiration, reach out to someone you can trust!

Ralph C. Watson, Jr.     404.520.1030

Ralph.Watson@BeGreaterFaster.com

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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Can I Be of Help? Offering a One-Hour Conversation…

David Shavzin

…to you, your clients or other business owners who could use a sounding board at this time: Input on urgent problems (surviving); Thinking through strategy in order to come out of the crisis (thriving); Focus on building/rebuilding value if working toward a sale. Happy to share insights from 20 years as a consultant, coach, and exit strategist; helping clients grow, solve problems, build value and design their exit strategy & succession planning. Working together, we WILL get through this! Stay safe and healthy!

 

David Shavzin, CMC, Exit Strategist

Founder & President, The Value Track // Co-Founder, Exit Planning Exchange Atlanta

LinkedIn Profile // Our BLOG // 770-329-5224 // David@GetOnTheValueTrack.com

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Complimentary Offer For Coaching, Consulting, and Mentoring During Pandemic

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

This is a difficult, even unprecedented time.  There is great uncertainty, and many are fearful.  Some are suffering through this alone. Thankfully, this pandemic comes at a time when our technology makes forced isolation bearable.

In difficult times the American Spirit shines brightest because we face our challenges together.  Given the strength of our relationships, the value we place on one another, I am confident that we will overcome this scourge.  We may be bruised, but we will emerge stronger.

 

From a personal perspective, I believe my life’s mission is to help however I can.  My goal is to focus on what I can control and avoid dwelling on issues beyond my control.

I know that my core strength is helping people navigate the new normal for employment and career management. In many respects, this was the genesis of ITB PARTNERS.

I want you to know that I am here to help you. In fact, I am happy to offer my services free of charge to help you through this difficult time.

There are many things we can discuss, but I may be most helpful in the following areas:

  1. Navigating the quarantine.
  2. Developing a Personal Recovery Plan.
  3. Maintaining relationships with your customers, clients, and network.
  4. Viable Job Search Strategies.
  5. Key considerations to anticipate from the recovery.
  6. Significant trends to consider in your planning.
  7. Evaluating options and setting priorities.
  8. How to start a business.

Ultimately, I’m available to talk with you even if to bounce around some ideas or offer introductions from my vast network.

So, here’s my offer:

If you would like a free 30-minute consultation, email Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com  with this subject: “I Want  to Schedule a Free Consultation.”   I will respond back with my calendar tool to schedule a telephone or video call.

I hope you find this useful and will schedule a call.  If nothing else, I would enjoy an update from you to know how you are coping.

Best wishes for your continued health and safety.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

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Buying Local: How Multi-Unit CEOs Can Win at Marketing in Anytown, U.S.A.

There was a time, generations ago, when buyers didn’t venture too far from their home to satisfy their basic needs. Today, most consumers don’t think twice about using a few keystrokes to get the necessities shipped from some distant warehouse to their front door.

Despite this phase shift, “buying local” remains a relevant concept and even a source of pride for communities that rally around the brick-and-mortar businesses that still dot the landscape.

So, in the face of Amazonian-sized efforts to get consumers to do otherwise, how can you, as a multi-unit CEO, provide the necessary marketing support to your local units to keep the lifeblood flowing?

Local store marketing, or LSM, though not easy, isn’t really that hard. Once you commit to a strategy, the actual motions can be exceedingly easy. Nonetheless, LSM requires patience, commitment and resources; and execution can be time-consuming and tedious. And unlike online marketing, where data flows in both directions, many LSM efforts are still measured by feet (the human kind), and not 0s and 1s.

So, how do we define LSM, and what are some key considerations to foster success?

LSM – A Definition

First, let’s consider the following examples:
• A local restaurant drops off a catering menu to your office.
• You notice that a little league baseball team is sponsored by the local hardware store.
• You encounter three dry cleaners within a mile of where you live, each with a sign that promotes their price or extra benefits.

Of these, which would you consider to be LSM? If you answered “all,” you would be correct. Whether you know it as guerilla marketing, shoe-leather marketing, neighborhood marketing or even just plain old “local marketing,” all of these fit the definition of LSM – marketing and advertising for a small business location to augment other national or regional marketing, IF the small business is part of a larger brick-and-mortar chain.

Lather, Rinse and Repeat

To be effective, LSM has to be executed every week, all the time. Sponsoring a little league team once, or replying to online reviews twice per year, or buying an ad in the local shopper twice is what we at Chief Outsiders call “Random Acts of Marketing” – those sporadic and non-strategic one-offs that do little to move the needle.

To be truly successful, LSM needs to be a fixture of every local store’s marketing plan – in the words of Vince Lombardi, “it is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing.” The best way to make this happen is to commit resources to it as part of your overall marketing mix. Since it typically comprises but a small percentage of your chain’s overall marketing budget, it is built for endurance – not speed – so you need to be patient with the outcome.

Site Awareness is as Important as Brand Awareness

I’ll share a true story about an experience I had when I was at Firehouse Subs. The story takes place several years ago, when online reviews weren’t yet a big thing, and mobile didn’t have the pervasive influence that it does today.
It was at a time when Firehouse Subs had about 300-400 restaurants, and we determined that, without the air cover of regional or national advertising, we had to do something to jump-start sales and get franchisees engaged.
One way we did this was by conducting “Founder’s Tours.” The co-founders, COO and many of the rest of the HQ staff went on bi-weekly road trips, known as Founder’s Tours. On one trip, we pulled up to a restaurant in central Florida and clamored out of the bus. There were 12 of us on the bus that day and when we arrived at the restaurant at around 9:30 a.m., we were given a map of neighborhoods and businesses to visit and bags filled with catering menus, courtesy cards, cookies, and chips. Of course, one person had to remain behind to be the sign waver.

That’s right – the sign waver. That’s because the two primary LRM tactics we were modeling for the franchisee were:
1. Neighborhood canvassing to get to know your neighbors
2. Sign waving to draw attention to the location

Shows example of sign waving
Sign waving in the rain

While I waved a large sign with a Firehouse Subs logo on it, six teams of two people each went into the trade area and visited as many other local businesses as they could in about two hours. When everyone returned to the restaurant, we debriefed.

Here’s what we learned:
• Each team covered a distance of about ¾ – 1 mile from the restaurant
• Most businesses were happy to receive the “free” goodie bag
• About 75 percent had heard of Firehouse Subs (Brand awareness, yes!)
• Over half of those visited did not know of the specific location of this restaurant

I’ll let that last bullet point sink in for a moment. Over 50 percent of the people we talked to within a mile of the restaurant had no idea they were less than a mile from the restaurant. Had this been a new location, site awareness would have been expected to be low. Unfortunately, the business had been open and operating for more than 4 years at the time of the Founder’s Tour visit.

That’s when we realized that brand awareness is one thing, and site awareness is another. Having brand awareness without site awareness is worthless.
How can a small business let potential customers in their trade area know where it is located?

Be active in the community, get to know your neighbors — and be visible.

In other words, commit to local marketing for your locations, and be found.

About the Author

Doug Reifschneider is a dynamic marketing leader with 30+ years of experience in the restaurant industry and a demonstrated history of driving growth through the creation and delivery of unique, creative brand strategies enhancing customer affinity and market position.

Contact Doug at:   reif78@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting our blog.

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

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The BEST Consultant!

 

Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors, there is safety.  Proverbs 11:14

I have a lot of professional friends who are consultants in a variety of fields of discipline, as am I. So this blog post is not intended to slam any of them or any other consultant or advisor.

I’ve worked with hundreds of business owners over the years and I came to the realization over time that businesses try to talk to their owners!

A business will try to tell their owner if someone is stealing from them, or if their scrap or rework is too high if their marketing isn’t working, which employees are most valuable, which customers are making the most of their profits if their productivity is slipping, and on and on – – –

The question I then ask these business owners is: “Do you have the ‘ears’ to hear what your business has been trying to tell you for the last 20  years?”

It’s humorous when they non-verbally shake their head side-to-side, acknowledging that in fact, they can’t!  Their business IS their VERY Best consultant, but they can’t understand what it is trying to tell them because they do not have it structured to provide its wisdom in an understandable “language.”

It’s like a radio station broadcasting EVERYTHING about the business 24/7, but the business owner doesn’t have their “receiver” set to the proper frequency!

You may have seen the NetSuite commercial where the founder says, “If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business!”  And he is absolutely right!

Most business owners understand the fundamentals of a P&L – income and expenses over time. They can look down the expense sheet, see “Telephone” “$350!” “Got it!”

But put a Balance Sheet in front of them and the fog starts rolling in!  And most have never even heard of a Statement of Cash Flows!

But this “Three-legged Stool” is designed by CPAs to primarily do their taxes, and they are by design and utility, historical records – a ‘backward’ look at the business. In a sense, it is like driving down the road with the windshield of their truck painted black trying to steer by looking in the rearview mirror!

Business owners need FORWARD-looking management reports that can tell them on a daily, or even minute-to-minute, basis, where they are going.

One critical report is an Exception or Variance Report! But the business owner MUST have a BUDGET before they can have an “exception!”

I always ask the business owner if they have a budget, and if they say “No,” I assure them that they DO in fact have a budget, the only question is: “Who wrote it?”  Because if the business OWNER did not write the budget, the BUSINESS is writing it for them!  And it is an UNCONTROLLED Budget!!  Not one that drives increased profitability!

The other essential forward-looking management report is a KPI or Flash Report or a Dashboard report that captures all the data most relevant to the performance of the business. These must be custom designed from an in-depth analysis of the business and its processes.

In closing, many small to mid-market, privately held companies need help with their basic accounting package to get their Chart of Accounts cleaned up and a budget added to their system. Another sign that this has to be a priority is if there are maverick spreadsheets or other rogue financial reports being utilized in the operation OUTSIDE of the main accounting system.

So, take heart, my fellow consultants!!  Just get comfortable being the SECOND BEST consultant your client has AFTER you help them get their financial reporting house in order!!

Ralph C. Watson, Jr.  404.520.1030

Ralph.Watson@BeGreaterFaster.com

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

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Things Will Change – New Habits Will Be Created

Early in my career, I learned that it is unwise to rebuild a retail outlet on site when there is an option to build on another site better positioned to serve the trade area.  Taking an outlet off-line for reconstruction, forced our customers to seek alternatives.  They began shopping with other brands, creating new habits.  And, the rebuilt outlet seldom regained their full sales volume.  It was a bad investment.  Building a new outlet in a better location avoided the lost revenue while creating excitement for the new store.  It was usually a better investment.

Once a new shopping pattern is established (read – a new habit), it is difficult to revert.  This experience gives me confidence that the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak will create new habits and accelerate other trends.

Trends to Watch

  • Improved/Greater Focus on Personal Hygiene
  • Remote Working
  • Internet Shopping/Home Delivery
  • Tele-Medicine
  • Virtual Meetings

The first change I expect is an increased vigilance toward sanitation.  It is obvious that people are likely to become accustomed to washing their hands more often, hopefully using anti-bacterial soap.  It’s reasonable to expect retailers and other employers to adopt measures to better protect their customers and employees.  Who knows, this might lead to a reduction in overall flu cases, reducing absenteeism.  Even now, I have a client in the Janitorial Services Sector who is generating significant add-on sales from an innovative sanitizer product.

My friend Faith says that this pandemic will be the catalyst to make telemedicine a more widely accepted modality of care. “Telemedicine has been operational for 40 years.  It has had a tremendous resurgence since 2016 and continues to increase in utilization.  Telemedicine, including telehealth, is viewed as a viable option to access needed care.  Copays and other fees are being waived both for commercial and Medicare patients.   The virtual platform that is steering patients will become more widely accepted and utilized. There was already a push for digital applications to handle chronic conditions, urgent care, follow up visits, and medical consultations.  It will be difficult to resume pre-pandemic modes of care.”

As I begin my third day of voluntary quarantine, I have changed the plans for our monthly meeting in favor of a ZOOM meeting.   Based on government guidance, I decided to conduct a virtual meeting instead.  It isn’t as useful from a networking perspective, but the content of the meeting will be presented well, and I will record the meeting for future reference.  I am hearing that many of my colleagues have been engaged in virtual meetings this week.   I imagine that many will become more accustomed to virtual meetings during this quarantine.

As people work from home for the next two weeks, many managers who are uncomfortable with remote working will have an opportunity to change their thinking.  Imagine the overall benefit of working from home. Less commuting time via automobile will benefit employee mental health and productivity while lowering the cost of owning an automobile.  The benefit to the environment and maintenance of infrastructure will be enormous.   Mass commuting to and from work by automobile is no longer practical or sustainable.

Yesterday, I heard that Amazon.com is hiring another 100,000 workers.  It’s safe to say that the home shopping trend, including restaurant delivery, will experience a surge of growth.  One can imagine how restaurants will change their business models to accommodate more home delivery.  I expect the creation of outlets providing delivery and carry-out only, without any accommodations for dine-in customers.  This is a huge opportunity for grocery stores as well.

For the next two or more weeks we will be living outside our normal patterns.  Disruption of our typical routine will certainly result in the creation of new habits.  Working from home, making greater use of technology and new applications will reveal better ways to accomplish our work.  I expect that our quarantine will be a catalyst for accelerating change.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

 

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ITB Partners Announces the Opening of its Company Store: www.shopitbpartners.com

Many thanks to Ron Weinstock, of Weinstock Marketing and ITB Partners for facilitating this Partnership.

What is a Company Store?

A company store is an on-line, fully integrated e-commerce site that gives you complete control over your branded merchandise program.

This is not a new concept as many printers have expanded their services, providing companies an outsourced solution for the logistical management of marketing collateral and branded products.  A dedicated company store provides employees, dealers, franchisees, agents and even consumers the ability to easily purchase branded merchandise.  “The more people who see our logo, the greater the likelihood they will call ITB Partners to resolve their problems.”

“Symphonix Solutions will handle everything for us, from acquiring and warehousing the merchandise for our store to maintaining the web-portal and executing order fulfillment.” 

 

SYMPHONIX SOLUTIONS CLIENT BRAND MANAGEMENT PLATFORM IS CALLED  “ONBOARD”

From this customized web portal, you can oversee brochures, displays, promotional products and digital brand assets, control and track projects, costs, create reports control inventory and send direct response emails.

At Symphonix Solutions, we have a variety of solutions to make it easy for our clients.

The ITB Partners’ Portal is

www.shopitbpartners.com

 

To learn more about Symphonix Solutions and how we can help promote your brand and your client’s brand, contact Michelle Mehnert at mmehnert@symphonixsolutions.com.

 

 Contacts:

Symphonix Solutions

PRINT  MARKETING  TECHNOLOGY  FULFILLMENT

9825 Marina Blvd, Suite 100

Boca Raton, FL 33428

Michelle Mehnert <mmehnert@symphonixsolutions.com>

Rob Finkelstein <rfinkelstein@symphonixsolutions.com>

Boca Raton: 561-826-3242

Charlotte: 704-372-7888

info@symphonixsolutions.com

 

Symphonix Solutions

 

Since 2008, Symphonix Solutions has been helping clients manage their marketing and sales materials providing customized solutions that improve the production, distribution, and control of their assets.  “Our proprietary technology provides each client with a customized portal to track inventory, costs, and delivery from anywhere in the world.”

“Our clients want the best quality, cost-effective, easy solutions, and Symphonix delivers.” With the highest level of service and a dedicated team you can trust, Symphonix partners with the best provider network to produce the best results from people who care about your projects and consistently deliver because they love what they do.

 

Symphonic Solutions stands ready to help you and your clients with their printing needs as well!

 

Posted on

The Coronavirus’ Effect on Businesses and How HR is Managing It

The Coronavirus Disease 2019, or COVID-19 has officially started spreading in the United States as many predicted it would. We’ve all seen the precautions to take and how to prepare at home, but what exactly does this mean for your business? In this state of unpredictability, we recommend that companies take steps to make changes and updates now. It is important to build resiliency, stability, and become better equipped to survive through such challenging times.

 

Employers need to also consider the increase in absenteeism and consider cross-training personnel, so they are able to perform other work duties than their own in case this becomes necessary.

 

Jim Cichanski, CEO of Flex HR, Inc. a full-service Atlanta based Human Resources firm, advises “the biggest thing to do if you have not done so already, is create a written plan for emergencies (from bad storms like tornadoes, emergency closings, to viruses) which may mean updating or adding to your current Employee Handbook and or company policies.” First and foremost, meet with management as to how to correspond and carry-out the company procedure. Furthermore, communicate this information with your workforce immediately to lessen the emotions and anxiety associated with the hype. Encourage an open dialogue and share newly determined action plans or ones in development.

Some of the major companies such as Coca-Cola, Google, Amazon, and IBM have already put tactics into place such as asking those employees that have traveled out of the country to voluntarily work from home for two weeks as a preventive measure. Others have asked their workforce to limit travel plans or have canceled previously arranged international business trips. You may want to take similar actions.

Here are 5 things businesses should do now to prepare:

1. Revisit company policies and allow flexible alternatives.

Regardless, if employers break down their paid time off from their sick days, employees often come to work with a cold, so they don’t have to use up one of their days. Of course, no one wants for a co-worker to come to work sick, but they do so in order to save their days for when they are very ill or if their child must stay home from school sick. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention have recommended that employers establish flexible, “nonpunitive” policies, encouraging employees who are sick or exhibiting symptoms to stay at home. A spokeswoman from IBM noted, “IBM is having employees work from home where recommended and deciding on participation in large meetings and trade shows on an individual basis.”

Often small companies may not be able to afford all the luxuries like paid time off, or even allowing employees to work from home as a large company may be able to afford. There is no law stating you must pay non-exempt (hourly) employees if they are not at work. For the smaller firms, HR may require employees to use up paid time off, however; in doing so managers will need to open up their policies and allow employees to use paid time off prior to accruing the hours. A simple rule would be to grant them the total years’ amount of accrual, even if they have not earned it yet.

2. Sanitize first. Then sanitize again. And sanitize once more.

It’s an obvious statement that every single person should be following multiple times each day, but with the Flu and now Coronavirus its more essential than ever to stress that the entire workforce should be practicing virtuous hygiene measures. HR knows the prominence of the handwashing posters that should be placed near sinks and restrooms in the office, so now is a good time to ensure these are all in place instructing employees to clean their hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60-95% alcohol or wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. You should also highly consider putting up temporary posters all over your office recommending “Wash Hands Frequently” or “Sneeze into your Elbow” to prevent spreading viruses. Provide alcohol-based hand sanitizer throughout the office (maybe even at each worker’s desk), tissues and disposable disinfecting wipes. Furthermore, check-in with your firm’s cleaning team to guarantee they are consistently wiping down all surfaces, and especially those that are frequently touched such as doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls, desk areas, and the kitchen after each workday.

3. Confirmation of positive Coronavirus test.

If an employee is confirmed to have Coronavirus it is mandatory that the employer notify fellow employees of their possible exposure to the COVID-19. Employers do not need to mention that person’s name under Federal Law, but that there has been a confirmed case and others should be aware. Anticipate that staff may be fearful and anxious and that some rumors will need to be addressed to properly convey the facts of the matter. If an employee feels well but has a sick family member that tested positive for Coronavirus at home, they should inform their manager right away to determine if that person is able to work from home as a precautionary measure.

4. Serious COVID-19 Outbreak preparations.

Every day we hear about the Coronavirus headcount increasing as well as expanding across the U.S. Employers should prepare by putting action plans into place quickly and communicating with your workforce that there is a strategy should it need to be applied. Continue to reassure your staff that the risk of exposure is very low at this time. And although the risk is minimal, employers need to recognize and protect those workers that may be at a higher risk for adverse health complications or be ready to take action to reduce transmission among staff. As people travel to other countries and return to the USA, they may be at risk of this virus or carrying it and not even know. So be knowledgeable and get prepared. Employers need to also consider the increase in absenteeism and consider cross-training personnel, so they are able to perform other work duties than their own in case this becomes necessary. Talk with managers about what work they may need to absorb or what projects they need to delegate to others in this scenario.

5. Ensure technology plans are in place.

Many companies do not have work at home policies, so preplanning is crucial in the event that it becomes necessary for a portion, or an entire organization, to telecommute temporarily. System connections, access to computers and internal networks all need to be predetermined prior to someone simply working from home. Transferring of phone calls and incorporating all the details needed to make that work smoothly needs to be considered and also written out so if the time comes to integrate plans, the process can be easily followed. If your company has an internal IT department be sure to strategize with the team as soon as possible. During this unknowingly challenging period, it’s crucial that Human Resources departments are planning for the worst. Business owners, managers and especially HR ought to take the time to review and update company policies allowing flexibility, communicate the updated protocol, practice hygienic routines around the workplace, create an emergency strategy that includes technology back-ups and telecommuting procedures in the event an employee becomes ill and/or business closure is indispensable.

Flex HR serves almost every industry in all 50 states, including Georgia, Florida, California, North Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Canada, and Europe supporting U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies.

Our Flex HR specialists serve thousands of different organizations, in countless industries, varying from a few to over 75,000 employees.

To Learn More about Flex HR Contact Us.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

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Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners