Groundhog Day, weather, and worry.

It’s a February newsletter, so I decided to have some kind of February theme. Most people would naturally go the Valentine’s Day route, but if I know my audience, most would stop reading right there. The natural next holiday is Groundhog Day.

My kids recently went to a nature center to learn about Groundhog Day. As they told me how it all worked in kid simple terms, my mind wandered….if it had been going on this long, it must be pretty accurate right? It turns out, the groundhog has seen its shadow 86% of the time. It was only right 39% of the time. It turns out that the trusty Farmer’s Almanac is a better source than the Groundhog. Depending on the report you review , it is right 50-80% of the time. That is actually pretty good when you consider how well the local TV people do. It’s no wonder they spend so much money on all the fancy radar. With that equipment, you can see what is actually happening and report it.

Even with today’s technology advancements, we can’t predict the weather. Unless we are seeding clouds for rain or snow, we can’t really control it. But still, people whose living depends on the weather, like farmers, some construction workers, fishermen, etc. worry about the weather. The reality is that they are wasting their time worrying about something that they cannot predict or control.
 

Customer Identities

At the beginning of the year, we went through an exercise where we put all of our best customers up on the board and put down reasons for why they were doing business with us. After throwing random thoughts up, we started to notice that distinct groups naturally formed.

We had thought going into the exercise that the groups would be formed by “hard” ideas. Things like distance from our shop, types of industry, work performed, etc. would be the defining factors. But those things were all over the board. When you deal with a bakery on Monday, and a jet engine manufacturer on Tuesday, those two do not have the “hard” facts in common.

Here are the groups we formed and the qualities of each group.

Experience Enjoyers
This group likes the personal interaction side of our business. They learn our guys' names, pick who they like to deal with, and form relationships with our people. They see us as an opportunity to upgrade themselves, either by integrating our people alongside theirs, using us for training, or using us for things that they don’t necessarily want to “experience.” This group also uses us to find results to their problems. We are rarely implementing a solution that has already been determined- we help find the answers.

Constant Improvers
This group either has an individual or a company culture of constant improvement. They are always elevating safety standards, operations, or quality expectations. The “norm” is not good enough; this customer thinks that things should and can be better. They operate in a mode of doing more with less, doing it better than before, and they look everywhere for waste. This group’s decision making is not bound by economic conditions. When the economy was pumping, they were getting better even though they were busy, now they are getting better to grow profit margins on less volume. If it saves money, they are going to find a way to get it done.

Trust Seekers
This group elevates trust above all other things. Trust is more important than performance or ability. If we say we can do it, we better do it. If we say we can’t, there is no doubt that we can’t. When things go wrong, the truth must come out. A trusting relationship is developed and grown over time, and that need is expressed in the very beginning of the relationship. This customer likes everything from actual job costs, to profit margins out in the open. Their view is that if everyone works toward each others’ success, everyone will be successful.

The customers that we are most successful with fit into one of those groups. If you find yourself in one of those groups, let us know which one it is. It will help us focus on the things that you find most important.

If you see yourself fitting in to one of these categories but haven’t previously worked with us, let’s talk. We would like to learn more.