4 Tips to keep moving your small business forward

Tonight we are going to cover 4 tips to keeping your small business moving forward. In the current economy, it is very easy to find that your business is not moving forward and may even be moving backwards. Instead of considering packing it all in and calling it quits, now is the time to get back to basics. New, trendy ideas right now are not what is going to gain your customers' trust, they are tired of empty promises. What is really going to resonate with your customers is good, old fashioned customer service.

As we have become more digitized, we are losing the personal touch with people, in particular our customers. How many people now choose to order products directly from the Internet instead of dealing directly with a living, breathing person. Granted, since we are all so busy, it is extremely easy to order products and some services over the Internet, but now is the time to find a way to personalize your customer's Internet experience. So many websites gather e-mail addresses, names, phone numbers, but none the ones I have seen actually thank you for providing that information. I am personally uncomfortable providing all that information when I know what I want to order. I worry about receiving mountains of junk e-mail after submitting that information. It is important as a small business to collect this information, but perhaps instead of collecting it in order to send out more marketing pieces, perhaps you would want to send out a nice, homey, friendly (and SHORT) letter to your customers, thanking them for their patronage. Do not sell them anything, just thank them for coming to you with their request. If you want to open a dialog with them, ask them for any suggestions to improve their shopping experience. I like to periodically (about once or twice a year) send just a little news letter that is entertaining. I will not sell anything directly, but will provide my website and phone number at the bottom if the recipients are interested. You want your customers curious and happy about receiving occasional messages, not dreading all your selling pieces. This friendly, fun newsletter will keep your name uppermost in your customer's mind without all the negative feelings.

Another suggestion to keep your business moving forward is to do the right thing for your customers, even if may not be the most profitable thing for you to do. Customers will remember a bad experience 3 times longer than they will remember a positive experience. If there is a problem with your customer's order and you catch it before your customer does, do the right thing and correct the error instead of waiting for the customer to come to you. It may hurt initially, but your customer will remember your diligence far longer than your brief pain. Your customer will happily tell all their friends about your integrity and honesty when you correct a problem before they even knew about it. Sitting back and hoping the customer will not notice a problem is not realistic. Sometimes customers will discover a problem and if it is minor, will not let you know. The downside is that they will probably not ever shop with you again. You may not know how many customers you lose this way, you may just notice a decrease in customer activity. If you find a problem, be proactive, let your customers know and resolve it without being asked to. This gesture will increase your loyal customer base much faster than you can imagine.

The third tip is to treat your customers like family. No, not like a dysfunctional family, but care for them. Listen to their concerns, because those concerns may provide clues for you to assist your customers further. Families talk with each other, air their concerns and offer support to each other. Do the same for your customers. Listen to their concerns, strive to assist them where you can, and honestly care about their well being. You have to honestly care because your customers will know if you are not sincere. Your customers will return to you more often if you stop to listen to what their needs are instead of trying to tell them what you believe they need. Family strives to help each other for the betterment of the whole, you should do the same for your customers. Then both you and your customers will win.

The last tip to help move your business forward is to over deliver on your promises. This all goes back to good customer service. I am not suggesting always giving more product than what the customer purchased, but to be sure you go above and beyond what your customer was expecting. Remember the days of the "bakers dozen"? If you purchased a dozen donuts, the baker might throw in an extra donut. Didn't you feel special when you found that extra donut? Do a little something extra for your customer. It does not need to be expensive, but provide a little extra service or product so that your customer will be smiling when they see what they have. Especially now, when money is tight, based on your customers' needs, find something small, that won't impact your business financially, but will give great pleasure to your customers when they get a little extra something with their purchase. If you have products to deliver, always be sure to deliver on or before the date you told your customer. They will always appreciate accurate and timely deliveries.

Following these for tips may make the difference between remaining successful or closing your doors. Remember to treat your customers with respect, do what is right, not what you think you can get away with, care for your customers like you would your family and lastly over deliver on what you promise. These four tips will pay dividends for years to come.

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Until tomorrow...