As a small business owner you know that there are several things that you have to deal with every day. In many ways running a small business is more than a full time job. You are the one that has to deal with all the variable minutia that is usually delegated to others. Regardless of how amazing you are with your organizational skills there is one simple fact that you need to keep in mind, if you have a low rate of customer satisfaction, your business will inevitably fail.
Owning Your Business is More than the Day to Day Tasks
It is easy to become overwhelmed with all the things that you have to do everyday for your business: ordering, payroll, stock and inventory, but even so, it important to prove to your customers that they count. It is an old saying, but when it comes down to it, your small business brand relies on customer satisfaction. In many ways, technology has made it easier for the small business owner to compete with the big brands, but with that said, it is important to also understand that there is a much smaller amount of error for small businesses when it comes to customer satisfaction and service. With the advent of the local and small business movement many consumers are moving towards smaller and regional businesses, rather than the bigger corporate entities. The advantages of buying local and smaller are that it can have the potential to stimulate the local economy and in many ways can provide a more transparent venue for customers.
How Can the Little Guy Compete with the Bigger Corporations
The main advantage of the small business over the larger corporation is that they are able to provide a more personal approach to customers. This is a very important point when considering your current customer service. It is important to make you are offering your customers the pinnacle of interactive service. Thin of it this way, as a small business you can develop actual relationships with new and repeat customers. Are you using all the tools available to you to maintain these relationships. Imagine how friends stay in contact, through, email, social media and direct contact. Take these as cues for your future customer interactions.
Using Free Venues to Keep in Contact with Your Customers
These days there are several ways to keep in contact with your customers and build customer satisfaction relationships 24/7. In the old days the only points of contact that the consumer would have to a business as during regular hours, either through, direct contact or through telephone calls. In the information age the customer has more access to businesses than ever. If you business does not have a web presence than you could be losing a great deal of potential customers. Through social media you are able to set your business apart from your competitors. Luckily many of these services are free or very low cost and can have very big benefits to your customer base. Most people these days don’t have the patience to wait to hear back from businesses. Bhy creating a online presence and branding strategy you can stay in constant contact with your customer base.
Having a small business is in many ways the American dream, but just as doing your inventory, cutting checks, and setting prices is a big part of your business, so is researching new communication methods and trends and seeing if there is a way to them to your business. The life of a small business owner is to constantly observe and adjust to new consumer climates.