I have a confession to make. Since Christmas morning I've become totally hooked on Mario Kart. For
those of you without children or a video game habit, Mario Kart is a
fun little go-kart racing game based on the Super Mario series from
Nintendo. The only problem with the game is that it's extremely
addictive.
I sat down to write this newsletter and there beside
me was the Wii Steering Wheel calling my name. It took every ounce of
willpower to. . . well, let's just say willpower is overrated.
After
twenty minutes of action-packed driving I remembered I still needed to
write today's newsletter. But that's okay, because I realized that
there are several business lessons in that fun little video game.
Here are two of those lessons I've learned playing Mario Kart:
1. Practice doesn't make me perfect but it sure makes me a lot better.
When I started playing this video game my daughters, who first played
last summer, left me in the dust. The conversation between them was
whether I would finish in 11th or 12th place. But the more I practiced
the better I got; I'm proud to say that I am now a fairly competitive
driver.
The same thing applies in a store.
As a manager I hated having difficult conversations with employees
until I learned to practice them beforehand. That also held true for
calling customers to invite them into an event or as a follow-up after
a purchase. Practicing a few times with another person makes it a lot
easier and as a result that call goes so much better.
This is especially true for the customer experience.
The most productive stores almost always keep practicing and improving
their customer experience. They break down the elements of the
experience and pay special attention to those elements that create
sales. If your store slows down after the first of the year, take time to practice for Every Day Success.
2. When I run off the path, the quicker I get back on the better I do. While
this sounds so simple, my early racing proved differently. Whether it
was the long grass of Moo Moo Meadows or the deep waters of Peach
Beach, I was taking too long to get out of where I was and get back in
the race.
Sound familiar? It
happens to all of us. We all run off the path from time to time but
what really matters is how quickly we get back into the game. I
was in a local store today that usually has very good service but this
time the staff was definitely off the path. They were lethargic,
ignoring customers and, frankly, having conversations they shouldn't be
having on the floor.
I wanted
to tell them that the competition is going to pass them if they don't
step on the accelerator, get back on the path and go! I admit
that's a sign of a guy who played too much Mario Kart over the holiday
break - but on the other hand it's probably the best advice I could
give any retailer here at the start of 2009.
So let me ask, are you on the right path with the pedal to the floor?
Or, for you Mario Kart players, are you on the right path with the #2 button pressed down?
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