Vision - September/October 2008 - (Page 33)

by dan cole ] • [ Motivational ideas for the ce industry eye On buSineSS “Our industry is constantly changing, and it rewards the companies that adapt as technologies and consumers’ tastes change.” $ $ Refute the Market W ith oil prices rising and the cost of food and other living essentials rising with them, companies and employees may run scared. Keep your head and refute the market nay-sayers. Consumer electronics are a fantastic value, and our industry is positioned well to ride out the storms. This issue, we tackle two questions on shining bright while the economic skies seem overcast. The downturn in the economy is bringing down the morale of my staff, and I’m hoping my best employees don’t jump ship. How can I keep them motivated? Begin by focusing on the positives. The overall economy is slowing down, but CE sales continue to fare well. CEA and GfK Group forecast that global consumers will spend $42 billion more on CE products in 2009 than in 2008. Remind your employees of those statistics. Remind them that the CE industry is one of the best to be in. Next, while the industry may be doing well, are you challenging yourself and your company to keep changing and innovating? Employees (and customers for that matter) www.ce.org stay passionate when they know they can be creative. Are you providing outlets for that creativity? “Business as usual” doesn’t ever work in the CE industry. Our industry is constantly changing, and it rewards the companies that adapt as technologies and consumers’ tastes change. Last, thank your employees for being creative. Highlight your employees for their ideas. Take your best employees out to lunch Dan Cole or dinner to thank them. If possible, invite their significant others to come too, so they can hear how well you appreciate the employee’s input. You can even give them stock or equity in the company. Employees that feel appreciated and are emotionally and financially invested in your company will be reluctant to jump ship. With the bleak economy, I’m preparing for a lackluster holiday sales season in comparison to the past few years. What can I do to beef up my sales? First, let’s start with your premise that we’ll have a lackluster holiday sales season. The economy may be weaker than earlier this decade, but CEA and GfK Group forecast that worldwide CE sales revenue will grow 10 percent this year. Consumers may be feeling squeezes on their wallets, but they still recognize the value that CE products bring to their daily work and home lives. In fact, as they cocoon more with the high gas prices, they look to better the entertainment and communication options in their homes. CEA’s annual holiday sales forecast will come out in October with more concrete statistics on what consumers will buy and how much they’ll buy this holiday sales season, but you can still count on consumers to fill stores this fall and winter. Second, to beef up sales, go right to the core message: Consumer electronics have unparalleled value. In your advertising, your floor pitches, your website and your grassroots discussions with your local community, keep on this message. If it costs $100 for a family of four to go the movies (see the home theater article in this issue on page 12), then it’s a perfect time to pitch the value of home theater and how your staff will make set-up and operation easy for the customer. When you have sales training for your staff, teach them to show empathy to the customer’s financial concerns, but then have them emphasize what a great value CE products are in any economy. They can help streamline commuting costs. They give nearly unlimited access to education and entertainment. They help families stay connected even when they can’t afford to travel to see each other in person. For just pennies per use, CE products bring incredible benefits to consumers. To send questions for future “Eye on Business” columns, e-mail dcole@CE.org. • September/October 2008 Chuan Khoo/Getty Images 33 http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - September/October 2008

Vision - September/October 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In this Issue The Economist Visionary C4 Trends Coming to a Neighborhood Near You IPv6: Connecting People and Things Israelis Spend Big on the Latest CE Devices Tech Speak Tech Policy CEA Newsline Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - September/October 2008

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