Dealing With Business Downturns?

Learn how to plan and act to prevent a drop in demand or minimize its impact.

Colder months usually generate less demand for retailers and contractors. The same occurs during end of year festivities and school holidays. Many professionals have also realized that there are very hot and very cold years and others with milder differences that affect market behavior. How to minimize the impacts of these demand fluctuations? First of all, diversify. The white line market changes more throughout the year, according to the weather. While the commercial refrigeration line is more stable. Commercial establishments hardly ever postpone equipment repair and many have a regular preventive maintenance program. Small manufacturers, which generally buy products in retailers, assemble their commercial refrigerators before summer. Design and installation of equipment and systems also occur throughout the year. Next it’s necessary to learn and plan. Understand the relationship between the climate of your region and the change in demand for services and parts. Contact distributors and manufacturers to find out how they see the market. With this, prepare yourself to have a “good winter”, with less stock and with reinforced cash flow. Remember that there is always a dilemma between changing the compressor or buying new equipment. Encourage replacement, with cleverly planned promotions. Manufacturers also want to encourage business in these periods. It’s an opportunity for retailers to establish partnerships to disseminate high-quality products, with promoters in the store or with lectures. Even with all these measures, there may be less traffic. What to do then? Some tips may be helpful:

• Invest in team training. The entire refrigeration chain will be better able to dedicate themselves to educate and train: take advantage!
• Plan employees’ vacations for this period;
• Take stock of what went right and what went wrong in the previous year to avoid repeating errors and improve strengths.

Finally, one more recommendation: search for what other people and businesses do that is positive. Following best practices is always effective!