Well…here we are about halfway through what has so far been an incredibly challenging and difficult year for many of us in business, from the giants like GM to the local auto detail shop.

Some have survived, and sadly some have not. Some have reinvented themselves and some are still doing the same things they have always done…resistant to any changes.

So what does the rest of 2009 hold for the marketplace here in the U.S.?

It depends on who you are listening to and what your mindset is. It really does not matter if you are looking to the media; research firms, the government, or whomever for this information because it changes like a moving target. Staying tune with what is being reported may give you some insight on what the latest flavor of news is for sure. However, what really will determine what the rest of 2009 will look like for your business is your mindset.

Your thinking dictates your actions therefore taking regular assessments of your mindsets to ensure you are not sabotaging your chances for future success in this tough economy is a smart move for anyone in business today.

I am writing this series on the 4 mindsets that are sure to kill off a business in this new ‘social consumer powered’ era we have entered. Check to see if any of these are lurking around to hamper your success.

Business Suicide Mentality #1: The Status Quo Mindset

This mindset is really easy to recognize because it reeks of “just do what I have to and no more” and “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken”. This mindset is deadly because it gives the permission to stay the same, to resist change, to discourage innovation and creativity, to foster ‘lip service’ rather than genuine customer care. In addition, it breeds lame company cultures where employees don’t really care about the job… it’s nothing more than just a paycheck and they can’t wait until they are off the clock.

Businesses that operated with this particular mindset were able to get away with it and still stay in business at one time in our society. However, I strongly believe this type of business will be put out to the curb like yesterdays trash very soon. People (customers) are sick of lip service, lies, half efforts, poor customer service and being sold a bunch of blah, blah. Customers now have the power to not only be more selective but demand your business delivers on the level it should deliver. In fact…they want even more than that now. They want an experience…not just a transaction. They can get that anywhere both online and offline!

What is status quo? The dictionary defines status quo as…
Status quo
n. The existing condition or state of affairs
The existing order of things; present customs, practices, and power relations:

The sad reality is there are soooooooo many existing businesses suffering with this mentality. Why right here where I live I see it all the time!

Just last night a couple of my dear friends pried me away from my computer (I tend to get stuck in front of my monitor more than I like too admit) to take me out to dinner at a fairly new restaurant close to the Nissan Alley in East Franklin, TN.

It was a really nice place we had not ate at yet. Excitement filled the air as we were shown to our seats. Our waitress appeared in seconds with menus in hand but her demeanor was noticeably very unfriendly. Hey maybe she was just having a bad day, maybe this will get better right? Nope, actually it got worse!

As one of my friends was ordering, she proceeded to down talk him about the menu questions he asked and the way he was placing his order. I was stunned. Her cold and unfriendly manner to us was making us very uncomfortable. Instead of us having fun filled conversation we ended up discussing our disappointment and astonishment of the way we were being waited upon. As we waited for our food (over 45 minutes!) the evening slid downhill as far as our customer experience went. Finally we had enough. We called the waitress over and told her to cancel our order the wait was too long for our food, the service was crummy, just bring us our check for our drinks please.

The waitress seemed unconcerned we were very unhappy and ready to leave. To top that, even though it was very clear to the staff things were not going well at our table, and we were leaving, no attempt was made to turn this situation around, not even the manager came out to rescue our customer experience.

You think we will go back? Not a chance!

You think we will tell our circle of friends? You bet.

You think we could get on Twitter and other social media outlets and call them out by name? Happens every day!

This business has a bad case of Status Quo Mindset! There are hundreds of places we can go spend our money for a meal in this town. Maybe they don’t care. But one thing is for sure! If your business is in the habit of Status Quo Mindset, your  ’whatever’ approach to customer service will eventually catch-up with you and some customer savvy business will open up across the street and steal the hearts of a customer by modeling a “we are here because of you” business approach.

The point is, any business that does not recognize the fact 21^st century business walks to the beat of a different drum is out of touch with what is going on in the marketplace today. This is a new business era people. One that is driven by the consumer not your products, services, or what you think the customer wants. This is a marketplace where people are voicing their opinions and conversing about the things important to them and we must place these conversations on a priority level and make adjustments to the way we conduct business so that we are in sync with our customer’s desires, standards, and motivation factors.

For a long time proven business models were the roadmaps for many industries and every one in that particular industry pretty much followed that roadmap. Today’s new marketplace is birthing new 21^st century minded businesses that are actually listening and engaging with the customer and who understand status quo is dead!

This new business age calls for businesses to use a rich mixture of numerous models, concepts and ideas from the many different sectors all the while keeping the focus on what the fast paced and ever changing new customer feels, thinks and says about your business.

Scary, huh? Well…truthfully, yes, it can be because if you have not already begun to sense the shift occurring out there it’s only going to become even more clearer you are no longer in control. The music industry found this out the hard way. And guess what? There are still businesses in the music industry not excepting this reality and they are conducting their business with the Status Quo Mentality! How long do you think they are going to stay in business?

Status Quo Mentality keeps a business chained to doom if a business is not interested in change and doing their very best to please and serve their customers. They will put themselves out of business eventually.

Stay tuned for Business Suicide Mentality #2: The Arrogance Mentality.

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