Paul Terry and Associates

Being in business is challenging. You can’t be in business without running into conflict at some point… your landlord raises the rent, your largest client reduces your hours, your reliable vendor is three weeks late with inventory, your wait staff calls in sick at 5:00pm and/or your key employee gives notice. Wow! What to do?

Perhaps the answer is to quit…start a new business or…as we all say to ourselves at one time or another, “I need to get a job!” Most of us don’t go and get a job. Sometimes we try and go through the motions of an interview and think this will resolve all the conflicts…but then realize that’s really not what we want. Working for someone else does not resolve or eliminate conflict. It is still there and now we don’t have the “power” to implement a change!

The idea is not to instigate conflict or prolong it, or try to win the argument. The process of running a business is to minimize conflicts and if a conflict arises, to face it and try to resolve it. The owner has to build the business, take care of the employees, satisfy the clients or customers, and create a balanced life for themselves.

There are solutions to the conflicts. Sometimes it is a genuine transparent management style; at other times, it is direct conversations with key employees; or it could be recognizing the error before the client or vendor sees it and suggesting a solution before there even is a conflict. (When I ran a gourmet food business, I noted right after the holidays that we did not sell all the extra inventory that we had bought. I called the vendors immediately and negotiated a 6 month payout plan…before they noticed we were late with payment and got upset with us.)

To find the right solutions we can look to supportive mentors or professionals who can listen and advise, talk things through with key employees, meditate on the right action, and then forge ahead and explore new approaches. If you run your business with integrity, honesty and transparency and confront your stumbling blocks head on, you can make it through. But if you don’t resolve a conflict…guess what comes back for you another day? So, resolve conflict!

Winged Wisdom, part of Presidio Habitats, a site-based exhibition created for the Presidio of San Francisco

A common assumption is that word-of-mouth promotion for small business means encouraging customers or clients to tell other people about your business, either directly or through online review tools like Yelp. This is important but another key part of word-of-mouth promotion involves your own word-of-mouth efforts—attending events, meeting new contacts, talking with others and sharing who you are and what you do.

It’s great to attend events that directly relate to your business or industry and it’s also incredibly valuable to just get out there and make contact with people. We need to be out in the public—be it a street fair, holiday event or home-based party—and connect with others.

Even at gatherings that aren’t “officially” networking events, try to put yourself into the mix and in your own way, “work the room”. It’s okay to have an agenda in mind. You can be ready with a critical question to ask or some simple information to share about you and your own business. Travel with a business success story or a lesson learned, and always be on the lookout for good resources and leads for other business owners you know.

In conversation with PTA Associate Andrea Baker, Owner of Baker Consulting

The key to building a good reputation may simply mean being a person ready with a story to tell, good resources to share, and the ability to listen and ask questions in all conversations. Every encounter is a potential business opportunity—even if you don’t know what the benefit will be to you and your business in the moment! It is in the company of others that magic can happen.

Before you start a new business or expand into a new marketplace, it’s always essential to “test the waters”.  This means doing some simple market research. The intent is to find out as much as possible about potential customers or clients before taking the plunge and/or repeating a marketing effort!

Shoe leather approach
Market research can be as simple as asking casual questions, comparing prices, walking around your neighborhood or attending a trade show. I call this “shoe leather research” even if you don’t do it by walking around. You learn by keeping your eyes open, your ears to the ground, and paying attention to what you notice.

Situational Observations
Casual and informal research can also be called situational research. Basically, it involves getting a feel for the industry, the general marketplace, and/or the specific targeted market that you think is right. The process can include informal conversations with potential customers (“I’m thinking of opening an online pet helpline. Would you use something like that?”), direct competitors (“I wonder if you could help me as I’m thinking about opening a shop like yours 50 miles away.”), and potential suppliers (“Can you tell me how much inventory you usually sell to stores that carry your line?”) Sometimes this informal style of research generates enough information to build your confidence and help you get a new business started. Other times, this approach will help an existing business to identify and carry a new product line.

Formalized Primary Research
Shoe leather and situational research can be very helpful but more formalized research may also be needed when trying to determine if your business approach is the right fit. This can include careful observation (watching, counting, recording), interviewing someone relevant to your business area (by phone, in person or online with carefully chosen questions), or preparing a survey to administer to your potential customer base (by mail, in person or online using free software like Survey Monkey).

Secondary Research
It can also be very helpful to do secondary research—getting information from trade journals, census reports and other industry references. There are online services based on Google key words or specific industry data.  This form of research is easier in a way (you just go online and ask some questions) but it isn’t always relevant and may be too general for your market. A combination of primary research (done by you to acquire original data) and secondary research are BOTH valid and need to be part of your business planning.

Making the Time
The most important factor when selecting a market research approach is to determine if you have the time to do it and if you will actually compile and use the data. Your research should help you minimize the risks related to the venture you want to undertake, so make the effort to talk to people, gather information from the industry, watch competitors and record your impressions. Testing the waters (even at the shallow end) will make your plunge into business much more successful!

photo credit: http://walkingfit.ucr.edu/faq.html

As business owners, we cannot do it all by ourselves. Small business specialists can help tackle problems in accounting, law, insurance, graphic design, marketing, management and other critical areas.

I’ve found there are three primary reasons for a business owner to hire an outside expert:

1. For the short-term when over-extended, such as market expansion or preparing a business for sale
2. For specific or sensitive issues, such as personnel problems
3. For issues demanding special expertise, such as computer systems, taxes or engineering help.

Here’s how you can choose the right professional for you and your business:

Before your search begins
Determine what you really need, when you need it and how much you can afford to spend. This will help you decide the type of professional to look for and the criteria you’ll want to use in evaluating your options. Know the results or outcomes you would like to obtain. This will help clarify the level of expertise you’re looking for.

The Search
Ask for recommendations from colleagues in businesses of similar type, size and philosophy (instead of blindly searching the internet). If colleagues have been satisfied clients they will be happy and eager to refer the professional or consultant to you. You can also find quality help through business associations and industry-specific professional groups.

The Screening
Find an advisor who can really listen, evaluate the situation, make recommendations and then, if appropriate, help you implement solutions. When you first talk with the professional, notice if he or she can connect your problem to his or her previous experience. Pay attention to the questions the professional asks you.

The Meeting
Spend the first few minutes of your first face-to-face meeting setting an agenda, identifying possible outcomes and getting agreement on the length of the first session. This will help focus your time, set criteria for measurable results and keep you in charge. The professional should be able to define the basic issues and then estimate time, terms and fees.

The Agreement
It’s wise to get things in writing, including a work plan and timeline. Many professionals will provide a letter of agreement but don’t expect consultants, like a computer or management consultant, to provide a full analysis for free. A thorough analysis of your business situation and expert recommendations are worth paying for in advance of a solution being implemented. This important step, if done properly, can actually save the overall expenditure of certain projects and should be included in the total budget for the project.

Using professionals in your business is not a sign of weakness! It is an indication of sound management practices. As a business grows, staff can be added to replace outside experts or you can continue to use contract professionals.

A display of pies from new business Desperation Bakehouse

Do you have what it takes to start your own small business?  There are so many things to address when you are thinking about starting a business for the first time.  You will be your own most important and first employee, so an objective analysis of your strengths and weaknesses is essential.

Are you someone who:
…can launch something on your own?
…is a self-starter and takes initiative of new activities?
…can make good decisions when many options occur?
…has the necessary physical and emotional stamina to be self-employed?
…can plan and organize new data and existing information well?
…has a positive attitude and a passion for being in business?
…has good support from family and friends?

Do you have a business or business idea that you want to develop?
Do you know what business you would want to start? Are you aware how to assess if an idea is viable for you and the marketplace?

The best business for you is going to be the business where you have:
…a strong passion and a sustaining interest for what you will be doing.
…some of the skills needed to provide the service or build the product.
…some previous and related work experience.
…researched the potential of this kind of business.
…worked for someone who is doing something similar to what you would like to provide.
…some understanding of what the customer or client expects from this type of business.
…confidence that this product or service is “needed” in the marketplace and can attract clients/customers.

Not all of the above conditions need to be in place before you start exploring self-employment. But these are issues that will be key for long-term success!

Being the owner of your own small business is a fantastic undertaking.  Here is where you prove your concept, sell your product for a profit and become a social entrepreneur, changing the world one transaction at a time.  Yet, being a small business owner CAN be isolating and sometimes lonely. However, there IS one simple and successful support strategy that is free, motivational and really helpful from a practical perspective.  This is a solution that will provide information, motivation, and access to resources.  This is a solution you can develop without spending a lot of time and money on professional advisors and/or consultants.

Solving Isolation

All business owners need personal support, access to accurate information, and to be around people who can motivate and inspire. Business is an interdependent environment of vendors, competitors, and resources. Business owners need to set up support systems that are appropriate (for level and content), easy to use (accessible) and timely (available when and where they are most needed).

The first step and easiest solution is to find a support partner who will help make you accountable.  The support partner is your unconditional “business friend”. Ideally, this is someone also in business like you who can listen, give emotional support for your business issues, and can provide constructive feedback on business dilemmas and opportunities.

The relationship is bi-directional – each support partner helps the other. You may agree to meet weekly, catch-up, share problems and successes, and then use your partner as an objective reviewer for your plans of the week. The meeting should be a check-in for ongoing support and follow-up. It is also key that this be on-going and long-term (e.g. 6 months) so that your support partner gets exposed to the issues and understands the context and the players in your world. Your meetings with your support partner can be a catalyst for positive change and an opportunity to talk discreetly about business issues outside of your own business environment.

Roberto felt that getting his business marketing efforts off the ground was so difficult he ignored many of the key initial steps. He felt the isolation and frustration and had no one to really talk to that could relate to his issues of time management, cash flow and making internal decisions. Then he found Maria who was in a very similar situation, yet in a totally different business. They liked each other, respected each others’ opinions and set-up a weekly review meeting over coffee every Friday when they could talk to each other, give each other feedback, and commit to an action for each week. These meetings continued weekly for many months and were supported by the occasional e-mail and phone call.

All you need to starts is to find ONE person in business like yourself.  This will need to be someone you like and trust…and is willing to help you just as you will help them.  Try it out and see if this will help you build your business and get the support you need to keep going and flourish!

There is too much to do and not enough time to get it all done.  In fact, there are two facts that time management experts seem to agree.  You will never really catch-up and you will never get it all done.  So what can we do, if anything?

Christopher Robin was explaining this issue to Pooh Bear in one long walk in the woods.  His wisdom went like this;  ” Well, Pooh…there is so much to do.  So organized is what we do, before we do it, so when we do it, it is not all mixed up”.  Too much to do; too many interruptions from so many people who want your attention.  What to do.  Do whatever you want when you feel like it?  Only do what is most important and only that?  Make sure you only do what you like to do?  Only do what makes sense for your clients and customer service?  Do what makes money first and then pay attention to what you need for you, last?

Hard to know what to do and what tools we can use to make a difference.  Sometime it can be an on-line solution with an application or a bell that rings.  Sometime it is simply a short hand-written sheet of paper.

The real issue is what do I NEED to get done!

In running our small business…what is the key matter to get done now.  Can I build skills that make this issue better?  Is there a tool that works for me?  What is the best solution for me?  Do we write it out; do we use an on-line tool; do we post it on our screen; do we tell others so they will remind us; do we have a regular schedule so that we have the time set aside.

Yes…all or some of this list.  Whatever works for you and moves your business forward. It is good to have a balance of the big three – work; family and health.  Bring that into a daily balance and it can only get better.  One more thing.  If your time management system no longer works, try something else.  Do not let the procrastination rule you.  Keep moving!!!

TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS

Planning and managing your time effectively is the single most important factor for the launching and management of a successful small business.  You may have great ideas, a great product or service and a receptive marketplace.  However, you still have to find and take the time to do all the work.  How do you get things done?

Does any of this sound familiar:

• you feel pressured and overwhelmed with too many tasks and not enough time
• you work harder than anyone else with endless meetings, calls and interruptions
• you have ideas on how to improve but no time to implement.

Therefore, you become paralyzed, tend to sabotage, procrastinate or simply give up.  All of the above conditions are a common reality.  There is simply too much to do and simply not enough time to do it. There is no one who is available to help you and only you, of course, can really do it right anyway.  So the only other solution … you stretch, juggle and squeeze!

However, it is possible to get things done without such a “squeeze”.  You can change and learn to work smarter so you can meet deadlines, be creative and then celebrate each success with a reward.  You can start right away with one successful strategy and build from there.  Pick a routine, a time management tool, or office procedure.  Make it something simple and easy to initiate.  Then include a monitoring or reward system to acknowledge that you have made this technique your routine and it is making a difference.  We are talking about CHANGING BEHAVIOR…and we can do it one step at a time.

Here are seven simple suggestions that, if implemented, can really help:

1.   Write out a goal that is very specific and measurable. (You want to open your business for the holidays.  You must be ready with inventory and marketing collateral by the end of August or you will be too late.)

2.   Use the master “to-do” list and match each task to pre-set goals.  (Use a prioritized list of very specific action steps each with an estimated start date AND completion date).

3.   Prioritize your “to-do” list based on effective criteria that will help your business now.  (Make sales calls to new and old clients before you procrastinate to file old client files.)

4.   Eliminte unproductive meetings or any personal phone calls udring the business day.   (Have meetings early in the day and make personal calls after 5 p.m or not at all.)

5.   Establish a pre-determined place where you get things done efficiently (For example, try to answer all calls right at your desk near client files when you first arrive at work and make all appointments right there).

6.   Revise your plans constructively.  If something doesn’t work out, you have learned from a “mistake”.  (Learn from your OWN experience.  This is NOT a failure but a discovery of what didn’t work.  Take this lesson learned and chnage your next action accordingly.)

7.   Take your pre-determined reward.  (Set up a reward in advance for your efforts.  When you have achieved the “success” that you have set fro that hour, day orw week and take the reward when you are “done”).

Plan and use your time well.  If your business is to be exciting and profitable, your attention to developing time management expertise will have a significant impact on your success!

GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Focusing on the Solution for Success

By Paul Terry

When we think of the most important issue in business, we always come back to customer service. In every consultation, workshop or class, we ask two questions and get amazingly similar results:

• What small businesses do you like to do business with?

• What small businesses do you NOT like to business with?

What is the common answer: It is good (or bad) customer service. Customers, clients, vendors and professionals all want to do business with businesses and business owners they like – that treat them well, give excellent service and follow-up and have consistent and fair policies for exchange.

Now, it is ALSO important that businesses offer excellent and effective products or the services the customer really wants, that the price is fair, that the location (retail or on-line) is convenient and the information is clear and consistent. The people providing the service must be qualified and come well recommended. BUT, to get repeat business and referrals – the business owner and staff MUST pay attention to customer service!

As business owners, we do NOT want any of the following to happen:

• A client or customer calling about a “late” delivery before you get a chance to call first

• Finding out that the “wrong” information was provided without correction for the client

• That you failed to follow-up on a request for additional information as promised

• That a client was left on hold without appropriate information of what to do or where to go next

• That the client finds that the service does not work as promised and cannot reach someone to complain or get help and support

A negative buying experience (and the results from thousands of students in classes and workshops) is almost always linked to “lousy and shoddy” customer service. Good customer service is essential for all businesses to exist for the long-term! Being able to provide it with all transactions and on a consistent basis is not just possible but must be essential for small business owners.

Here is some basic behavior we need to have as small businesses. This is directed by the owner and needs to be followed consistently if there is really going to be a commitment (by owners and managers) to customer service.

1. Commitment to quality service.

Everyone in the business is committed to creating a positive experience for the customer. The goal should always be “exceed customer’s expectations”. This should happen on every encounter – from the first point of contact and throughout the period of service. It should be included in the follow-up reminder in person, by phone or on-line.

2. Know your products and your policies.

You and everyone who works for you must know what they are doing – know about your product line or your service offerings – in order to gain and keep a customer’s trust and confidence. There should be complete clarity on what you offer, what guarantees you give and what would be done if there was any error or mistake made in the process!

3. Know your customers.

The objective of every small business is to “get and keep customers.” To do this, you need to know everything you can about your customers. Talk to people and listen to what they say so you can prepare in advance for any key issues. If there ever is a problem, get to the core of customer dissatisfaction BEFORE it happens.

4. Treat people with courtesy and respect.

Every contact with a customer — by email, phone, and letter, casual contact or face-to-face meeting — leaves an impression. The impression is often stronger than the service being offered. If you can “manage the impression”, you can affect the customer’s behavior! Always focus on how to fix any issue that “went wrong” Most customers will do business with you again if you resolve a complaint in their favor. They often become your advocate!

Customers want immediate resolution, and if you can give it to them, you’ll probably win their repeat business. Research shows that 95 percent of dissatisfied customers will do business with a company again if their complaint is resolved on the spot.

5. Always provide what you promise.

Fail to do this and you’ll lose credibility — and customers. If you guarantee a quote within 24 hours, get the quote out in a day or less. If you can’t make good on your promise, apologize to the customer and offer some type of compensation or restitution. Stay in touch and “get back to them.”

6. Focus on making customers, not making sales

Remember that keeping a customer’s business is more important than closing a sale. Research shows that it costs six times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. You need to keep the client – and not always make the sale. Referrals work too!

7. Make it easy to buy.

The buying experience in your store, on your website or through your catalog should be as easy as possible. Eliminate unnecessary paperwork, help people find what they need, explain how products work, and do whatever you can to facilitate transactions. Make it an effortless and pleasant experience so that people will tell others, and will come back.

Overall

To be competitive and stay in business within these economic times, we need to treat our clients, customers and vendors with respect. They are our stakeholders and we need their loyalty, referrals and repeat business to stay and thrive in business. At your service is a practice without question.

REALISTIC BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Following Practical Experience That Works

By Paul Terry

Common Pitfalls & Successful Solutions

“Running a small business today is so risky – so much can go wrong.”  According to Dun & Bradstreet, over 90% of all small businesses that fail, do so due to common management pitfalls, inexperience in leadership, lack of money management skills and/or insufficient marketing expertise. Yet, small businesses can be successful. An obvious but important factor is that businesses need to realize that they can learn from each other.

The Qualities of Leadership

Any business organization or (investor in one) needs to know where the business is going, how it is going to get there and who is going to lead the way – the individual business owner, the executive director of the management committee or a collective. Democratic leadership includes a developed vision, an appreciation (and non-abuse) of power and an understanding the responsibilities of ownership. Good management requires several skills including a careful consideration of viable alternatives, decision-making abilities and follow-through.

An owner of a small display manufacturing business tried to delegate more decision-making responsibility to a department manager. The delegation was unsuccessful as the manager did not consider long-term effects or pay enough attention to results. The owner realized that he had tried to delegate additional responsibilities without providing appropriate training and support.

It is so important to realize that the leadership issue can be solved only when you have the right person in the right place. The wrong person (even a friend or loyal employee) may have to be removed, regardless of how awkward that may be, or the business itself may be at risk. Many small businesses are managed by people with little previous management experience or industry specific management experience. For example, the executive director of a non-profit often does not have the expertise to manage a for-profit activity. It is so important that the skills of the business manager match the complexity of the business.

Starting a business, although time consuming, is relatively straight forward. However, as the business grows and becomes more complex, different management skills are needed. The manager needs more skills in order to match business growth. Sometimes, the only solution is to hire the experience from the outside.

Peter, a successful plumbing contractor, expanded quickly and promoted himself to business manager. However, he was inefficient and had never developed management skills. His bookkeeper convinced him that it would be more profitable if he remained in the field as a plumber. He hired an experienced business manager to oversee growth and was able to turn his full attention to the aspect of the business that he was best at doing.

Doing it Alone

A common management pitfall is making decisions in isolation or without sufficient information. Support can often be found at no cost by developing peer support systems with another small business owner or group of owners/managers or by creating a voluntary board of advisors.
Sara, a self-employed psychotherapist, has used a support partner for several years. Her partner is another therapist so they are able to both give and receive encouragement and objective

• feedback on a weekly basis. If more time is needed, they schedule telephone calls or send e-mails and at times, can set-up another face-to-face meeting.
• Another successful support technique is a direct support group, set-up to give feedback and advice for all group members. One such group includes four women and two men, all of whom own small businesses, including in-home care, landscaping, dog training, publishing, counseling and used book sales. They meet every two weeks to give/get feedback, report on their progress from the previous meeting and set new goals. The regular support and mutual commitment has reduced their isolation and motivated improvements.
• One final suggestion for support with a decision-making component is using a voluntary board of advisors. These are could be colleagues, friends and business associates who meet regularly to give advice and feedback to a business owner.

Recently, a small book publisher set up her own board of advisors. They meet every 6 months and assist with specific issues. She is rewarded with encouragement and clear directions. They have a good time together and are available to help as needed.

Managing Your Time: “Too Much To Do…Never Enough Time to Do It…”

This is a common problem that affects the managers and owners of almost all small businesses. To be effective, managers need to manage their own time well. This means learning to prioritize, schedule and monitor as well as develop effective work habits. Many businesspeople appear to be very busy, and seem to never have the time to get down to the business of management. This often means failing to recognize or solve problems, implement solutions that make systems run more efficiently, or to fully monitor business activities.

John is the marketing manager for a small distribution business. He uses daily “to do” lists, weekly checklists and a monthly sales plan. As a salesperson, he spends a great deal of time prospecting but he still needs to be efficient with his marketing efforts. He prioritizes his messages by what he calls the “hassle factor”. A top priority means to do it now or it will only get worse. A time priority means that a deadline must be met or quality will suffer and a financial priority means a message should be answered because it is a sure sale. His work is directed by precise criteria with specific benefits and a corresponding time priority.

Managing People

There are many theories of management – from hierarchical to cooperative. For a socially responsible business, it is important to have a clear vision, open communication and a management style that is accessible and transparent.
Managing people, however, is a very personal issue. As the business grows, more people are usually needed. As more people are hired, new management skills need to be introduced for both the collective and the owner-directed business. Staffing the expanding business is a big issue. Paul Hawken, the former owner of Smith & Hawken has remarked:

“To get good people to work for your business you want to provide a place where good people want to be. Therefore being a good human being is good business, for both the employee and the customer.”

There are many common mistakes made in expanding the personnel of a business. This includes hiring the most available person (not necessarily the best candidate,) not matching the person to the job and not giving adequate training and support to existing employees and new hires.

Louise has a successful weaving supply store. The store is expanding and she needs more professional sales assistants. After several hiring mistakes, she is learning that careful selection and training is simply essential.

Small business employers need to understand how important it is to pick people who fit the culture of the business, accept the vision and feel comfortable with the management style. Employees must also really identify with the products and be able to make the same commitment to service and quality. Employees are, after all, the direct reflection of the business to its public.

Money Management

For most business organizations, the process is the same. Money comes in from revenues; it stays in the business as inventory or investment, and then goes out again for operating expenses and purchases. This flow of money in and out makes recordkeeping a necessity, yet it is frequently avoided. This is another common management mistake.

The best defense is an effective financial information system. An investor in a business should insist that this include a bookkeeping system that generates accurate and timely financial statements and a manager who reviews and interprets the data regularly.
A small co-op food store, recently reorganized, discovered that its historical financial information was incomplete. The system had not been maintained. A new record-keeping was immediately installed and they were able to make realistic projections that informed both management and co-op members.

Predicting the Future

Historical business data has a very practical application for the future. It is a foundation for projecting income and expense. The financial projections become future objectives. As the business progresses, management can compare the actual results to the projected objectives, adjust if necessary, and then make more informed decisions based on these comparisons.

A non-profit food business prepares a budget for each year in advance. Every month, the actual results are compared to the budget. If there is a large variance, a new projection is produced and monitored carefully. The bookkeeping system makes it possible to keep track of management objectives.

Watching Cash Flow

The cash flow statement compares the actual flow of cash into the business with the actual flow of cash out of the business. A careful business manager uses this statement regularly so that excess income can be re-invested or used to take cost-effective discounts. Many cash shortages can be predicted and avoided by borrowing money or trying to increase short-term sales. It is interesting to note that even when sales are increasing, there may still be a cash flow problem.

A small cable manufacturing business sold several contracts to one customer at a substantial discount. The supplier then re-ordered excessively. Sales soared but the narrow profit margin forces the cable business into a cash flow crisis. They had to fire their first client to stay in business – but it worked.

Marketing Issues & Techniques

Another small business pitfall is the tendency to ignore the marketplace. Research is important in order to discover new opportunities and resources. The research can be simple, such as talking and listening to customers, and still be effective. It is important to have open relationships with vendors and even competitors as they can also provide very useful information. Most small businesses need to focus on a specific “targeted” market. Narrowing your focus allows one to know ones market well, identify with customer needs and respond to market changes quickly.

Mike sells household products by targeting independent grocery stores. First, he narrowed his product line to specific, related products. Then, he imitated sales techniques other distributors had successfully utilized. Finally, he convinced store managers that his products and commitment to services was superior. This approach has built a very successful wholesale business and has been able to grow and expand each and every year.

Customer Relations

Customers can be fickle and even annoying at times, but they are the lifeblood of the business. Loyal customers support your business with their patronage, provide excellent new product ideas and can even bring you new customers. Word of mouth is an effective marketing tool!
A growing on-line and mail order business was totally committed to one specific goal – repeat business. Their most loyal customers, the ones who created the most word of mouth business, were the customers whose problems were solved by the company’s dedication to customer service. This focus on finding solutions to customer problems created a satisfied and fiercely loyal customer base.

Maintaining Quality Control

While price often seems to be the most important thing, it can be a mistake to compete on cost alone. A better approach is a commitment to quality products, high standards of service and direct, personal attention. Customer loyalty comes from providing helpful information, giving extra service, and offering recourse for repairs or replacement when a problem arises. A commitment to consistent quality control will build loyalty and reinforce word of mouth.

Occasionally, a specialty cheese store would have a customer return a cheese because it was “too strong.” Even though this would seem to be a matter of taste, and cheese is a perishable item, the cheese store would grant a refund or credit without question. They would then offer the customer samples of items that might be more to their liking, and use the occasional return as an opportunity to display their commitment to customer service. This resulted in a very loyal customer base. For this business, the adage of “the customer is always right” proved to be the best marketing advice that they ever followed!

Having Fun

If the business isn’t any fun, why do it? The attitude of owners and management will always be reflected onto the employees and eventually to the customers. If people are enjoying themselves, the good feelings are infectious. Michael Phillips, author of Marketing Without Advertising, expresses it well:

“In order for the business to grow and flourish, you must love it. To love a business is to make a total commitment to its needs, and requires a dedication of your time, attention and passion…You have to love the business in order to put up with the trials that it brings you.”
A positive environment means you get to have fun in business, you attract quality people to work for you and they, in turn, attract loyal customers. A ‘business is fun’ attitude is a successful and proven small business solution!