Ben Polis has had had a rapid and damaging fall following the outing almost two weeks ago of offensive posts he had made on Facebook. His former (he sold his shared after quitting) business, Energy Watch lost suppliers and customers and was dumped as major sponsor for the Melbourne AFL team. There are questions as to whether it will even survive.
The Ben Polis story is a reminder that each of us who leads a business is central of the brand of the business. What we say directly effects the business and how people perceive the business.
Some newsagents have used this to great effect, building their personal brand in their local community and, though this, the brand, and success, of their business. Others have missed the opportunity and therefore missed out on some business.
Living and breathing your brand in your community, whether it be geographic or congregated in some other way, is vital in today’s marketplace. I say vital as people are more connected than ever before. This means that how we live goes beyond our home and our street, it gores to our Facebook posts, Tweets and comments published by us and about us by others on all matter of social media sites.
There was a time when a business leader had to behave at the local pub and in the local shops. Now, scrutiny is 24/7. This is a good thing as it means that we need to live authentic lives, lives which genuinely reflect what we stand for in our lives and our businesses.
This is where we can learn from there Ben Polis situation. It is a reminder that we need to be authentic 24/7. This builds trust and respect and from these comes loyalty and loyalty is key to the success of any newsagency.
Being authentic means being true to our brand and what it stands for 24/7 – in Facebook posts, Tweets, everywhere. But it goes further. You can use these social media outlets to more publicly define yourself and your brand and thereby help more people find you and your business. But to do that you need to be certain of your brand and what you stand for first.
I don’t feel sorry for Ben as he said what he said and has faced the consequences of his actions. This is as it should be.
If the newsagency you lead is not a leading business in your town, on your street or in your shopping centre then it should be. This should be a goal for you. You need to be out the front of the business leading it to this situation. By living a committed and authentic life which speaks to the principles of the business.
Get this right and it could / should differentiate your business from others. If shows you off as being more valuable to your community than, say, a major retailer who ships profits out of the town or even overseas. If shows you as understanding the local community and reinvesting whereas others just advertise they do it.
But it has to be real. This is where what you say is how you have to live. Otherwise you could be outed like Ben Polis and your business suffer as a result.
Mark,
This post reminded of a funny thing that happened to me once. It was a Sunday afternoon and i was at home and had been in the pool when i decided to duck out to the shopping centre where my shop is to get some meat for a BBQ. As i strolled through the front doors of the shopping centre dressed in shorts, singlet and no shoes i ran into one of my customers who also works for my local solicitors firm. She took one look at me and started to lecture me about my appearance and how as a leading local businessman this was not good enough. I could have taken offence but instead took her coments as a compliment (the fact she thought of me as a leading businessman). It certainly had me thinking about my standing in my community, something i hadnt ever really thought about. Just aswell she hasnt run into me on a fishing trip or a night at the casino………
Alan, it is funny you should talk about a trip to the casino in your post.
I am no different from anyone else in that
I like to go and have a night out and a bit
of fun but I NEVER go to the casino because I believe, like Mark, that the perception that our customers have of us, albeit maybe they’re wrong and I might have only ever been to the casino once in my entire life when I bumped into the customer there – but I would be forever tarnished as a gambler and perhaps even having too much money if I can afford to gamble. It is a risky business, being in
business, so I concur entirely with what Mark is saying.
If I want to go shopping I go after I have shut the shops not after I have got home
and got into the trackie daks.
It sounds a bit old fashioned and we probably are (Tom has only just stopped wearing a tie to work after 33 years in the
industry) but I think it pays in the long run.
Having said all that I nearly always have a little flutter at the casino in another state when I am there.
June, the Casino comment should read “when i too am interstate…..getting messy with fellow Newsagents (they know who they are) 1000`s of k`s from home is somethiing my customers dont need to see”….LOL!!!!
Alan our lives are akin to that of a policitian really – do our customers know
the real deal when they see us?
I like to think (idealistically) that we do make a difference to our customers’ lives.
We know their problems, their names, their families quite often so the “village”
thing is very important in my opinion.
Our centre has been under renovation for
two years and only re-opened fully last Xmas but now we are getting comments from the older customers that it is “too big” or “it has lost its family atmosphere”.
Funny things, we humans – we want everything new but when we get it we hanker for the old.
Aren’t we interesting though???
These stories remind me of a friend who is a teacher. He likes to live a long way from school so he doesn’t see the families on the weekend.
i have a newsagency in a village of 2500 people. our home is not far from the shop and we actually spent this weekend planting a screening hedge for privacy.
i have had the local police man tell me that he has had complaints to him about me riding a push bike without a helmate, people constantly making comment about our garden and what i should be planting.
I guess thats why so many other business owners live out of town.
We have a Newsagency / Post Office in a town of around 1000. Luckily (in some ways) we live 50km away on a farm the otherside of our next town.
I say luckily because I can do what I want at home with no business repercussions, in fact very few of my customers have the foggiest idea of where I actually live. On the down side, I cover on average 600km a week getting to and from the shop.
But people’s perceptions can be funny. I’m often asked by customers why I drive my old car. Why, if I have this great business, don’t I drive something fancy? I always say I can’t see the point, it does the job so why upgrade for no reason. It seems to reassure customers that I don’t think I’m any better than they are. This was an issue the previous owners had. In the early days of owning the business, I had customers surprised that I do stuff like empty the bins, wheel out the recycling and do the dusting etc in the shop. Apparently the old owners would never have done this sort of stuff.
I think that by being my usual down to earth self has won me customers in spite of the hard times in our area. That said, its nice to go home and be able to relax without the scrutiny.
Baz will tell you that he HATES clothes and shoe shopping locally, takes forever getting through a shopping centre because everyone wants to say hello and tease you about being out of the shop on a day-pass. We do not socialise much, having spent most of each day talking to people we are done with chat. Also we have left our old tall fence up around our house, so no-one can easily see our garden and the upgraded deck/patio which is our haven. People also comment on our old cars, as well as the old fence! If we had better ones, I reckon the customers would be certain we were ripping them off. Having a child while owning a business can be awkward too, in various ways, due to gossip and tall-poppy stuff – you just have to grow a thick skin, and, as Mark has said, keep your integrity in tact!
I’m not a newsagent, but I am a customer. I live in metropolitan Sydney, so am not experienced in the ways of smaller towns. However, I have to say that I don’t care what y’all wear when you go shopping! To me, that is not an indication of your integrity or authenticity: it’s just the outside, easily visible presentation of your self, and in your own time, you can choose to wear shorts and singlets to the shops or trakkie daks and I’m not going to think any less of you. If I lived in a small town where everyone seems to know everything about everyone, I would like to think that I would still not be influenced in my assessment of your values and practices and integrity by what you wore or what you planted in your garden. To my mind, it’s the way you behave week in and week out, how you treat people, how you speak to people, whether you’re honest and generous and kind that will allow me to build a sense of you as the kind of person I’d like to do business with – or not.
Hi Megan,
I wish it was like that and all people thought that way… We live in a small community, and the unfortunate part is others perceptions are your reality…. We are lucky in some respects as I generate income out of the shop and my wife works the shop. The down side is we have a few bigh toys and everyone knows it… and comments are passed…
My wife was invited to a hens night (this week), and after lots of discussion with our neigbhours whom wre also invited and own a restaurant in the community, both wives made the decision that to go was too risky…
I suppose that is the joy of a small community – however we have a close group of fiends who also own local businesses so we can be who we are around them…
Cheers
Peter
Gees i would hate to be hiding the way you all are , don’t go out put a large fence up go to casino’s in different towns got to hide the big toys . give me a big toy and i will happily flaunt it . Be proud of your achievments don’t hide them . Its when you try and hide people will talk . most of my customers know if i am not at work i have gone fishing and yeah they will get into me the next day but i then will tell them how nice they tasted .
Shaun
I think from memory you know where we are… however, with a 47foot Riv, 2 Jet Ski’s and a tinnie parked out back we cop enough flack from our customers – ignore the HSV… They also know where we are most of the time.
Whilst yes we are proud of what we have achieved, you also have a large element of who are jealous. Our catchment demographic is similar to yours Shaun so you know how fickle they are…
A not saying hide it, but be careful ow you falunt it…
Cheers
Peter
Peter i see where you are coming from , hey I am jealous lol .
Shaun, next time your down give us a buzz and we can take you off the cape (losts of big stuff out there) or up the passage for the muddies… Pete
Peter I definantly will .