b'BUSINESS MATTERS: 5 IDEAS 2022to reinvent in BUSINESSGetting Past the Summer andNow, how to reinvent your business for 2022? Here are fi ve ideas to consider with your team.LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Assemble a special ops team to make a great4 Reinvent the product. working and discard what 1 leap forward in social media. into an artisticShamelessly copy what is hot in your lives and try many Maybe a social savvy teammate plus summer intern canexperiments.Refi ne whats strive to turn your Instagram accountisnt.A focus on the customer, through your innovative study.Can you commemorate daily all those celebrationscrew, always pays off .Our members are intimate with that are going to be happening again and create real buzzour markets and that always makes a diff erence.e are now into our 2021BY BOB SHAW // INDUSTRY CONSULTANT the closures, I would have said the entirein your marketplace? deluge a small sales team5 Shift duties around.isexceptionalatproviding butmanyarestillseason,year, somehow, well get through, but it sureof2 Improve marketing automation or salesMaybeyourmarineteamcanapplythatsame responses. comprehensivetrainingand Website sales leads typicallydiligence and follow-up to the food and beverage team. W restrictionsthatbattlingwont be pretty. industry would be bankrupt.Last fall I frettedon Monday mornings. While we know that prospectiveOr someone in the office is great with computers and can clients send out many RFPs, the fi rst to reply have theprovide network support to a larger team.Or accounting crimpsales.about a Great Recession for 2021: instead, weinside track.How can you automate those fi rst responsespeople might once a month to tackle a project using their Forecasting revenue is again a crap shoot thishavestrongpent-updemandmatchedwithto inquiries to (1) engage the customer and (2) take thespecial skills to broaden their experience.year.Yet putting these boulders aside, ourrecorddisposableincomesforasliceofthenext steps of providing menus/packages/planning tips? largestchallengeishiringhourlycrewthisFirst, lets recenterpopulation.I always knew we could count onIf you cant automate, can you train your weekend crewIn the meantime, lets deal with these challenges one summer.Diff erentsituationsandcontextson the customer. theresourcefulness,creativity,andsheergritto respond and then turn it over to your tenacious salesday at a time. And remember to celebrate the little and have led to this point: ties to some crew haveof our members.I didnt foresee the federalteam? big moments with your crew as we start to come back weakenedgiventhepastyearsinactivity;We have beengovernmentwouldcreateaboomeconomy.3 Implement technology with a payback.can boosttogether. manystarplayershaveproactivelyexitedWhat a strange world where 90 percent of the the hospitality industry; some are genuinelymightily distractedeconomy is sailing along and our 10 percent hasTablets and software for customers to order afraid or have school or childcare challenges;and now can focusbeen mired in the mud for well over a year. the average check, increase service speed, and crew tips. and most desire guaranteed shifts which weMaintenance checklists on iPad will speed information, cant yet match to customer demand.In earlyon the basics. This reminds me of a real estate tycoons mottotransparency,andthoroughness.Wehavelotsof May I visited my grandchildren in Miami andafter the Gulf War Recession of 1991-92 stayobstacles as legacy systems, Wi-Fi dead spots and analog endured universally terrible customer service.alive until 95.The industry was burdened bycrew, but new systems can transform our operations and Getting, and retaining, qualifi ed crew will pre- We cant forecast what might come next.Aa mountain of debt and had to be scrappy untilsave us real money now.occupy us for the entire summer.Like lastyear ago, if I knew about the extent and length1995 when the world would normalize.We dont have to hibernate until 25, but just get to the fall to build for 2022. About the Author: WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE US?First, lets recenter on the customer.We have been mightily distracted and now can focus onattention to detailthe basics.I remember awful days opening the Ask us about Odyssey Washington DC in 1995: we had 300 TripL gger protestors,coveredbythefourTVstations, Custom Apps for Passenger Vessel Fleets insisting wed have drunken customers making noise and trashing yards.As I called our owner daily with bad news, he kept insisting that we deliver a superb product; over the long run, that Photo courtesy of Statue Cruises would ensure our survival.Our beleaguered boat became the heart of a thriving empire twoBOB SHAWRemotely Monitor & Track Your Assets decades later because of great customer service. INDUSTRY CONSULTANT Remotely Monitor Critical Systems Next take care of your crew.It has been a toughBob Shaw is a veteran industry executive,Total Vessel Maintenance Automation year for everyone so let us re-create the magic ofhaving led nearly 200 vessels responsible forSimplify Record Keeping & Invoicing working on the water.That fun is probably ourmore than 18 million passengers a year. He is a secret weapon to hire crew.Reignite that funTrack, Report & Archive Compliance Data and create those special moments to remember.frequent speaker at PVA meetings. He can beReceive Alert Notifications gplink.com| +1.252.504.5113 reached at shawrw@gmail.com.www.beurteaux.comBUSINESS MATTERS 28 FOGHORN JULY 2021 29 BUSINESS MATTERS'