Welcome criticism? Those are two words that are hard to swallow. Don't you just hate criticism? I mean, think about it. It doesn't make you feel good. You tend to question the agenda of the person giving it; is their intention to help them look better in the eyes of others at your expense? Pure and simple, criticism is a painful experience. So why should we welcome it?
The largest retailer in the United States in the 1950’s was Sears. In May of 1950 Sam Walton founded Walmart and Sears was not concerned. Today Walmart is ranked #29 on the Forbes Global 2000 (Companies) List based on revenues, profits, assets and market value … and Sears declared bankruptcy, October of 2018.
91% of customers who are unhappy with a brand will leave without complaining. This process of ‘QUIET ABANDONMENT’ can adversely affect a company’s image, sales and certainly their profits. Customers today, don’t even give you a chance to fix the problem. WHY? Here is one reason why. 79% of consumers who complain about a poor customer experience, are ignored. Customers are getting so conditioned to “nothing being done” when they complain … that they have quit complaining; they just leave. They quietly abandon doing business with you.
Why are some rules, polices, procedures or business practices that are obsolete or dead, still being followed? Researchers have found that once a “RULE” is written down and used in a company, it is very difficult to be eliminated … even though the original reason(s) for it being created has disappeared. The “RULE” becomes the LAW, not to be challenged by anyone. It seems that employees who challenge or question rules are seen as troublemakers or agitators, who are viewed negatively by senior management. That type of business culture will eventually devastate any company.
Some of the biggest challenges with companies today are “RECURRING PROBLEMS”. I’m talking about situations, hassles, and mistakes which happen over and over again that never get resolved. These occurrences are worse when they happen to customers, because if they happen once too often, customers will quit doing business with you. Consider what “RECURRING PROBLEMS” do to employees; frustration sets in, morale plummets as well as productivity and profits.
Once upon a time the newspaper industry was one of the largest employers in America. No more. At its peak (1990) in the United States, the newspaper industry employed 457,800. Today that number has almost totally evaporated. Now only 38,000 are employed in that industry. New research shows that over 2,000 newspapers have closed in the last 15 years. Circulation of daily newspapers has dropped to a 77-year low, signaling an end to print and a shift to all-digital delivery.
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March 1, 2020
by Robert Stevenson