At the time that two Hollywood heavyweights had the crazy idea of transforming a Welsh football club with an injection of cash and celebrity, plus a previously unimaginable marketing platform, the club itself was not in a good place.
Wrexham AFC was stagnant. Despite its proud history – the club was founded in 1864 – Wrexham AFC was languishing in the relegation zone of the fifth tier of English football. It was being leapfrogged by competitor clubs and was experiencing financial uncertainty.
It’s a situation not unfamiliar to numerous businesses, says Andrew Griffiths, international bestselling author of 14 business books sold in 65 countries.
“This is a challenge for all businesses, the need to stay relevant to avoid becoming redundant,” Griffiths says.
“From my experience, a stagnant business generally reflects a stagnant business owner. Their lack of energy, ideas, creativity and passion soon start to manifest in the business.”
“Things stop working, communication breaks down, everything about the business looks fatigued and worn out, from the staff to the website. Customers start going elsewhere and the business becomes marginal in every way.”
The real tragedy, Griffiths says, is that the business owner knows it. So what can be done?
What can stagnant businesses learn from Wrexham?
The big question business owners must ask themselves is whether they have the energy to revitalise the business, Griffiths says.
“We saw with Wrexham AFC what really changed was the energy the new owners brought to the business,” he says. “They fired it up with their passion, creativity and sense of fun. Look at the extraordinary results they achieved.”
In fact, that sense of fun is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success of most businesses.
“One of the great lessons I’ve enjoyed from watching the Wrexham AFC story is the importance of having fun in your business,” Griffiths says.
“It can feel like such a twee thing to say, but over many years I’ve seen businesses that have fun doing what they do, tend to create a confident, successful vibe that is really appealing to both existing and potential customers.”
The bottom line? If you’re not passionate and excited about your business, don’t expect anyone else to be.
“If you’ve lost your mojo for your business, find it or get out of the business before it dies a slow death,” he says.
When a business owner finds their passion for success, there are no limits to what they can achieve, as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney proved with Wrexham AFC.
Relevance brings success
Every business on the planet is in a war for relevance, Griffiths says. We fight daily battles around this and customers have broad and massive choice.
“But relevance is not just about choice,” he says. “It’s about how your business stays connected and engaged with your customers.”
“Are you adapting and evolving with them? In fact, are you one step ahead of them? The big issue is that once you lose your relevance with your customers, it’s very hard to get it back.”
Business owners must regularly put themselves in the shoes of their customers to figure out how the market, from the customers’ point of view, is changing.
They should be having regular and honest conversations with customers about what the customers value about the business, what they’re disappointed by, what they wish the business would do better, and what competitors do better.
To make discoveries – new ways of doing business, new products, new services, new communication tools, etc – the business must first explore.
“No one wants to do business with an old business, as much we might think they do,” Griffiths says. “If we don’t focus on the new, we’re old.”
If you can charge what you’re worth, you’re winning
One area in which Griffiths works with business owners is on encouraging them to charge what they are worth.
More specifically, he advises businesses on how to break out of the mindset of undercharging and just getting by, and instead actually charging what they are worth.
Fittingly, Griffiths’ latest book is titled Someone has to be the most expensive, why not make it you?.
“This might seem like a financial change in the business, but it is much more than that,” he says.
“It’s a deep mindset change where the business owners start to value and appreciate themselves more. This impacts on every aspect of the business, from the customers they attract and the ones they repel, right through to the staff they attract.
“But you can’t just triple your rates without increasing the value you offer to your customers.”
Consider how much Wrexham AFC might have been able to charge for tickets to games, match jerseys, club membership prior to the Hollywood takeover compared to now. Consider how much the club itself has risen in value.
“It’s about energy, creativity, consistency, trustworthiness, passion and sense of fun,” Griffiths says.
“This is a big topic but, once again, the moral to the story is that the shine we want to add to our business to keep it firing generally comes from within the business owners.”
Success is contagious
Wrexham AFC’s success has famously brought new life to the entire borough of Wrexham County, particularly in terms of tourism and hospitality.
Along those same lines, business owners should be motivated by the fact that the success of any business creates positive results for those all around it, from suppliers and partners to customers and the local community.
“There’s a great saying that sums this up – a rising tide lifts all boats,” Griffiths says.
“As Wrexham’s profile, success and energy have grown, the entire place has benefited in extraordinary ways. This shows the power of re-energising a strong business that just needed direction and focus.”
“The flow-on effect is extraordinary and it creates a powerful momentum which benefits everyone and can completely transform everything from a small community to a country.”
