Being the owner of a business, everything falls squarely on your shoulders. That includes setting the tone for the company culture and, or emotion. A company is in a way its own living breathing entity but you are the motivation, the parent and ultimately the one who will lead it to great success or allow it to meander off into oblivion and failure. It is difficult enough to keep yourself constantly motivated and upbeat, but then to be able to pass that undying positivity and inspiration along to the rest of the team can become exhausting. The flurry of work that accompanies success can result in your enthusiasm waning. In turn your employees and even customers seeing and feeling the letdown of emotion and drive. Click here to learn why you are the reason that your sales have declined.
When the business was new, you had the time to personally contact customers and potential customers to get their feedback and engage them about your business. But as the company grew, you had more production and management tasks to complete and less time to work on the public relations and sales tasks. Your customers are feeling the change and missing you. Setting the precedent of personal contact with the owner impressive but also a tall order to continue to serve. So go back to what made you so successful, reach out to clients and thank them. Show them that you still care about them and their satisfaction with your company.
The same personal touch that captured the loyalty of your customers also captured the loyalty of your employees. They could be feeling the same disconnect that your customers are. Nothing can replace your personal contact with the troops. There might be a new chain of command that provides an additional layer of middle management so not everyone is a direct report to you any longer. But a short conversation or email from you to reconnect with your team members will help them to reengage and feel a connection to you and their job. A simple word of thanks from you can go much further than a small raise or bonus. Click here to learn how your actions can and will change the culture within your company.