Connecting The Puzzle of Downtown

Okay, so maybe you're tired of hearing us harp on connectivity and consistency. But these are important principles, and well, the more times you hear it, the more you will start to believe it. And we are adding a new one for your inspection: caring. 

This week we'd like to focus on applying these principles to an important part of any town, not just Klamath Falls: The Downtown.

Downtown Klamath Falls

So what’s the big deal with downtown? Where, there is the downtown appeal. It’s amazing that a town as small as Klamath has such a great downtown area, with many varieties of shops to choose from. Downtown also possesses the nostalgia characteristics – from a time gone by with horse-drawn carts, where patrons in suit and tie or hooped skirt wandered the streets for hours gathering their much needed wares. It was a time when families could dine together as a special treat, and children anticipated purchasing penny candies from the local market. While downtown has a lot of nostalgic appeal, it has evolved into something much more in the present market. Patrons, in jeans and t-shirt, can find everything from unique boutiques, to wine tasting, cupcakes, and shopping galore.

Modern Day Klamath Falls

Klamath Falls is blessed with many different shops downtown to keep out interest alive. From the cupcakes at CRAVE bakery, to the fine dining at Rooster's Steak and Chop House, and the great selection of quality used goods at both Periwinkle and Blue Dot Kids, there is something for everyone. 

And the best part is, the money stays local. The business owners of the downtown business struggle like any other small business owner. They are the common man, doing what they love, and trying to stay afloat in this treacherous economy, where every day could be one closer to closing their doors.

So how do we maintain the appeal of our downtown, keep it as vibrate and alive as it once was, back in the 1930’s, when people from San Francisco used their Model T Fords to make the treacherous journey to come HERE for their holiday shopping?

One of the keys is to work together, and connect as a community. Many of the downtown business, such as Blue Dot Kids, a unique consignment store for mother and child, connects with other business owners in order to make their community a success. Within weeks of opening, they were already member of the Downtown Association, and talking to other consignment store owners for advice about sales, events, and local clientele.

 It's not enough for a business owner to just open their door and expect business; likewise, connecting with other business owners, while necessary and useful, still will not even bring people in the doors. Business owners also have to care about not only their community, but their customers as well. Mike Connelly, local downtown business owner of Green Blade Bakery, says it best:

To my mind, it is not enough for an owner to "care about the success of their business." They have to actually, genuinely, care about the individual people who come into their place -- satisfying their needs, making their lives better. What managers and owners don't always get is that genuinely caring about the people is the only sure way to sustain the success of their business, especially in a small town like this one.

Too many business people think success is just an arithmetic problem, making sure the income is bigger than the expense each day. But really it's about building and sustaining relationships. When things get tight, they thoughtlessly jack prices and/or cut quality or service, which of course always does damage to whatever relationships they've managed to build with their customers.

Across the country, in recent years, what innovative business leaders have figured out is that when things get tight, you should be doing exactly the opposite: Giving MORE value for the money, and investing MORE in attentive, responsive service.

That's a lot easier when you actually care about human beings, in your heart. Too many business owners and managers just plain don't.

By being consistent within your organization, and connecting with other businesses, and finally, by caring about your customers, you can help not only your business but those around you as well. Downtown is a complex puzzle of different types of businesses, some sell similar wares and compete, others work together no matter what to help each other. They all have the "downtown culture" in common. And Downtown is a great part of Klamath culture, and we need to preserve it as much as we can by learning to connect & care.