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2 Small Business Mistakes Leading to Doom

Reda Abouleish — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:12:07 +0000

Understanding your customers is a big part of small business success, but there are some traps companies fall into. They tend to believe myths about their customers that need to be proven false. Once these untruths are revealed, it is easy to follow a positive path where customers and businesses gain a mutually beneficial relationship. Here are the top two negative assumptions companies make about clients, which should be avoided to gain longstanding success.

Customers Want Cheap Products

Big companies assume customers want one thing and that is cheap products. This is not true. Customers want reliable, effective and solid products for a good price. This does not mean he/she wants to spend money on the cheapest electronic, which lasts only a month before falling apart. Consumers want quality. Do not put out the cheapest product that does not attain results. Instead, put out the best solid product achieving results for the best competitive price.

Customers Complain due to Business Ignorance

Customers understand you are running a business. Otherwise, they would not be communicating with you. Do not reply to an unsatisfied customer with a comment related to not comprehending how a business is run. I personally cannot stand when businesses address a negative situation with, “What do you think we are running here a non-profit?” Nothing good will come out of such an inquiry. Concentrate on what the client is complaining about and answer the dilemma without the sarcasm. Give your customers credit. They may not run their own business, but they already know the distinction between running a business and a non-profit organization.

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How to Start a Business during a Recession

Richard B. — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:12:15 +0000

Watch Out for Business Don’ts

When companies are conducting lay-offs, unemployment on the rise, it is tough to start a business and generate revenue. However, if you are ready to lay down the groundwork and start your small business today, then proceed forth with caution. Crosscheck your business practices with this brief list of business don’ts.

Spread the Hype

Just because you created a business proven to be on demand, do not assume people will flock to you. You must take control and spread marketing and communications about your small business existence immediately. If you offer local services, then start with your neighborhood. Talk to the other businesses and residents living near you. Meet with local media and see what you are able to do in the terms of marketing with them. Try the different local avenues first prior to expanding your target market.

Come to Terms with Your Cash Flow

It takes money to run a business. Many operating costs go into being a successful company. Thus, take into consideration expenses, such as your lease, office equipment, accounting, and staff salaries. And that does not include your product, manufacturing and actual service costs. Therefore, do not be naïve in this aspect. Do not underestimate how much financial money it takes to run a business. If financing is difficult to come by, then check out small business loans. They will be able to bail you out and allow you to run your company smoothly without a hitch.

Return to the Basics and Watch Your Business Flourish

Richard B. — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:22:45 +0000

No matter what business field you are in the key to success is through providing excellent customer service through your small business. However, it is surprising how many businesses drop the ball when it comes to excelling at it. Many corporations tend to forget the basics. During these rough economic times, you cannot afford to lose any customers, new or old. Therefore, you must keep these simple customer service rules into play while communicating with consumers ensuring your client base returns, repeatedly.

Communication is essential towards building customer relations. It keeps your clients informed the entire way through. Do not wait for a customer to connect with you before sending out communication. The communication may be about sales specials, newsletters regarding events occurring, status of products bought by the consumer and customer feedback surveys. As long as you are communicating with customers then he/she never forgets your presence. With today’s technology, this is the easiest of customer relation tasks to achieve. For there are cell phone apps, emails, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media marketing tactics available.

Along the same lines as communication, do not lie to a patron. Do not tell a buyer that the item ordered has been shipped when it is clearly still sitting in the warehouse. A client trusts a business that tells the truth and admits to making a mistake rather than a company trying to hide and cover up blunders.

Furthermore, listen to your customers. If your customer needs assistance resolving a specific issue, resolve it. If your customer orders something different from what is received, fix it. Pay attention to a customer’s words and cater to him/her accordingly.