Mirror, Mirror On The Wall . . . By Director Wayne Hall

December 1, 2009

It’s great to be busy…going full steam…but it can have its downfalls. Most notable is the lack of time to reflect…to work through what has gone well and not so well…and why.
We can learn a great deal by looking back and analysing, but it’s easy to rationalise that we don’t have the time to do it.


2009 has been one of the more challenging times for the business-to-business music industry. A global financial crisis, significant licensing issues, and the ongoing pressure to deliver new technology solutions that “work” and have a decent shelf life have put more then a few new wrinkles on foreheads.

Fortunately, being prompted to reflect can come from anywhere, at anytime. In my case it came about recently from two conversations within a 24-hour period.

The first involved a discussion with a guy who provided car detailing services. The passion with which he described the way he went about cleaning a car - including his “checklist” for making sure all customers received the same “unsurpassed” attention - and the way in which he differentiated his service from “drive through places” left me thinking one thing…“this guy is lucky - he loves what he does”.

He also had no problem countering my “trick” question:

“So what sort of music do you like to listen to when you detail a car…?”
“It depends on my mood, but I NEVER touch the dials on a clients dashboard" , (he’d passed the test), "…and I always make sure the seats are back as they were. The vehicle’s configuration should be just as it was when delivered…only spotlessly clean."

No shortage of passion (a bit scary, actually)…and, not surprisingly, no shortage of clients. In fact he’d found 2009 to be busier then usual…

“This year my customers have held on to their vehicles for a little longer because of the economic climate…they’ve opted for the “more-frequent-clean-feel-good” experience as a substitute for the “new-car-feel-good” experience. I guess you could say that my business model is recession-proof…”

(don’t you hate it when people seem so on top of things…)


The second conversation was short and sweet. It came on the back of the recent ARIA awards here in Sydney…and the use of the phrase “overnight success” during award presentations.

As one of our SBA team (who’s an artist) commented: “None of these people are an overnight success…even the younger artists have been at it for years…writing, performing, knocking on doors…”

Which in turn reminded me of Huey Lewis’s answer, back in the early 80’s, when asked how it felt to enjoy “sudden fame”.

“It’s taken me just 20 years to be an overnight success…”


Passion & commitment. Business people will attribute their success to a lot of factors. But this year, or right at the moment, anyway, in my reflective mood, I’m going with the idea that to get through the tough, challenging times - and to sustain a business long term - passion and commitment are the key. With them, you go to the trouble of building relationships, looking at things through your customer’s eyes, fostering creativity, developing staff, exploring your weaknesses and overcoming major obstacles…plus a lot more. Without them, you falter…

 

And now… a final, reflective word (for this year at least) on the PPCA issue.

Among a number of things, this matter brought home very clearly that there is very little point in even thinking about raising your prices if your customers’ don’t appreciate the value of your current service or product. The PPCA restaurant license has, unfortunately, been exposed as a license of convenience.
Up until this year the exchange in a restaurant on receiving the annual fee notice would have been:

"Are these guys legit?"
"Yep…sure are…"
"What do they do?"
"Dunno, but they are legit…I checked ‘em out years ago…"
"OK, pay it…at seventy bucks a year it’s not worth looking into any further…"

That all changed with the initial PPCA letter suggesting $70 could become $7000.

What @**# ! is this!!!

… suddenly the license of convenience had become a license which had to stand up to a value proposition.


In hindsight, the great thing that the PPCA restaurant tariff push did was force us (those parties affected) out of our comfort zones. It threw up some enormous strategic and operational challenges, and resulted in the establishment of relationships that would not have occurred, but for the issue.

We (SBA) have responded pretty well to the challenges. Most satisfyingly, we’ve created - where required - music licensing options for our customers that have resulted in them not turning their music off (many were going to). These options have also led to fresh market opportunities.

It’s been an interesting and rewarding experience. I’m convinced, though, that none of it would have been possible without the passion and commitment of the staff here at SBA and within our client’s and partners’ organisations.


Have a great Christmas…

 


 

Wayne Hall
Director

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