With the recent financial crisis showing signs of clearing up, many small businesses are now looking to fortify their fortunes and make up for the losses they suffered over the past two years. While some find success an uphill climb, others seem to be able to breeze through the process simply because they know what makes the difference and what counts at the end of the day.
So if you’re a small business, here’s what you need to do to chalk out your strategy for long-term success:
“¢ Make customer service your USP: You may be on the same playing field as the big boys in the business and the rules of the game may remain the same. But you alone decide your team strategy and how you want to play the game. To stand out from the crowd of other small businesses and stand your ground in the face of competition from the larger corporations, you need to woo your customers with something that they don’t get too often from other companies – excellent customer service.
In my experience, any business that treats its customers well, keeps its promises, and does not take customers for a ride is worth staying with, even if it’s just a startup and yet to prove itself.
“¢ Don’t bite off more than you can chew: Most small businesses that fail commit this mistake – they aspire for too much in a bid to compete with the larger fish in the pond and are then surprised when they fall far short of their goal. Your aspirations must correspond to your capabilities – if you take on more work than you can handle, you not only lose out on time, effort and money, your reputation also takes a severe beating. So work within your limitations, push your efforts to the extreme, and you’re sure to taste success.
“¢ Practice what you preach: A small business comprises of a limited number of employees and is more like a family working together than a corporation with hierarchical rules and policies. So unless you set an example for your employees, they’re not going to be motivated to work hard to push your company higher on the scale of success. Also, when you expect them to do all the hard work while you slack off and take things easy, you’re not only setting a bad example but also setting yourself up for failure.
Remember, it is your company; so you have to lead the pack in working hard towards achieving your goals. When you treat your employees well, they are loyal to your company and work hard for its success.
About The Guest Author: This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller. With a background in print journalism, Anna enjoys bringing her loyal readers innovative articles and resources at OnlineDegrees.net. She welcomes your comments at: anna.miller009@gmail.com.
Wow that was a lot of information! Good stuff .Make it interesting and important, if you have too much fluff people will not come back to your site. Keep it clean and relevant.
Great article!
I have owned a business in China for the last 6 years and have seen all 3 of these at play in my business.
#1 – Customer service and Quality Control has given my business a competitive edge over other factories supplying the same textile items here in China. Our customers will pay more for quality and service.
#2 – I’ve learned the hard way to grow my business gradually and incrementally. We only do products and orders that are within our expertise and abilities.
#3 – Leading by example is essential!
Nice article Anna. It’s extremely essential for small business entrepreneurs to do all of the above. Here are some more ways through which a small business can run like a big enterprise: http://mybusinessassistant.com/5_ways_for_single_person_enterprise.html
Agreed, Agreed, Agreed! Unfortunately, #2 is something I think all small business owners tend to do. Making sure our target market is clear and our growth strategy focuses on differentiation is key to keeping our mouths pleasantly full, but still able to swallow.
Just back from an industry conference focused on the future. Interestingly while there was a lot of discussion around keeping promises (and practicing what you preach), there was absolutely no discussion about the importance of customer service and how to deliver ‘stand-out’ customer service. All businesses need to focus more on the customer; it can be the difference between growing or shrinking.
I think a lot of small business owners struggle when they try to use benchmarks for success set by much larger competitors. When a small business puts too much focus on something like price, they are going to lose almost every time. Customer service is one aspect you will always have an advantage though. Focus on it!