Tips on Avoiding Common Business Blunders

As a business owner, you are most likely know firsthand of all the work that goes into running a company, finding customers, keeping employees on task and handling the day-to-day operations. And, you are also acutely aware that mistakes can occur and blunders are part of the territory. 

However, there are some tips that you can try to avoid some of the common business blunders listed below so you don’t find yourself saying, “If I had only known, I would have done things differently,” or, “I didn’t realize that my decision would lead to this horrible mistake.”

Do These Mistakes Sound Familiar?

Here are some common mistakes that many of us might be guilty of doing in our own businesses:

• Jumping into a new business direction without careful analysis. You might feel excited and see the dollar signs before completely thinking through the reality of a new business venture like a new product or service.
• Rushing what takes time to build into a viable business. The wrong decisions can be made when you focus on short-term, immediate returns when what you should be doing is being patient and methodical with your decisions and actions. You might end up spending too much money that could cost you dearly down the line.
• Not getting to know customers. If you don’t know what your customers want, you will not find any return for your investment. That’s why the mistake many companies make is throwing money at advertising and marketing programs not designed around a full understanding of the target customer.
• Skipping regular planning sessions. Not focusing on strategy can lead you to make uneducated decisions because you have not studied external factors and aligned your core competencies around changes in the market. This is also a way to circle back and check on what has worked and not worked, leading many business owners to simply keep making the same mistakes.
• Giving up on the business. The biggest mistake a business owner can do is simply give up on their dream and shut down when they don’t have to end it all. While there may be times where there is no other option, that doesn’t mean that it is the only choice you have when you hit a roadblock or experience a setback. However, so many business owners assume that this is the only choice they have when, in reality, they could overcome those challenges and create the next big thing.

 A Common Thread: Lack of Experience, Knowledge, and Advice

These five common business mistakes all share similar root causes: business owners lack experience, knowledge, and advice on how to handle their businesses. It’s understandable as most business owners, especially small business owners and new business owners, feel alone. There is often not a sounding board like an executive team or a board of directors where they can approach with questions and concerns about the aforementioned issues.

While there are business associations, these often simply become networking socials where business cards are exchanged over a drink and finger foods. Rarely do significant business challenges get discussed as there may be concerns over confidentiality, competition, or just lack of real concern for each other’s problems. That’s why The Alternative Board® (TAB) was developed. 

It has become a resource for business owners that helps them gain experience, knowledge, and advice from peers in a way that is non-competitive but, rather, supportive. Here are some key differences related to the above mistakes:

• TAB members can get feedback and quantitative advice on why a new business direction may or may not make sense. New ideas might save the business owner from making a critical mistake by investing in the wrong direction.
• They can also show a business owner why it pays to wait and let the business simmer and develop before rushing it. This is one of the few times that more than one cook in the kitchen could be really valuable.
• Other TAB members may have insights about your customer base and can share what they have learned; in return, you can also offer input on something they don’t know about. Together, you both learn something new or have gained a different perspective.
• Having additional, experienced eyes looking at strategic decisions is a valuable service, which can help you to stick to a regular strategic planning session as you are required to come to each TAB meeting with strategic updates. This is not a social; it’s a think tank where real results are produced.
• Lastly, TAB members are supportive and they will go that extra mile to help you see how you can keep going even if you feel like shuttering your shop. This support is invaluable because you can be motivated to continue, knowing others have walked a similar path and did not give up.

What’s Your Mistake?

Tell us what you have experienced as a business owner? If you think these mistakes sound familiar, maybe it’s time to find out for yourself how TAB membership can help you miss these mistakes completely and leap toward success. Contact us now!

Making a Sale: It’s All in the Attitude

A lot of making a sale in business – no matter what the product or service – is not what is said, but it is based on how it is delivered and how the person responds to this delivery. That delivery can be friendly, confident, and helpful, but it might also be cold, cocky, and directorial. It’s all about the attitude and, for the small business owner, knowing what attitude to use with what type of customer will help ramp up the number of sales closes made. 

Successful Business Owners are Happy Ones

Let’s face it. No one wants to buy anything from a depressed or apathetic salesperson. Why would anyone think that what a negative person was offering would do them any good like solve a problem or make their life easier? If a prospective customer sees a happy, energized, and positive salesperson, they will more likely equate that to the product or service the salesperson is backing.

That means believing in what you are selling and what your company is doing. It also involves treating others like how you would like to be treated if the roles were reversed. That means applying the same attitude as you would expect if someone was trying to make a sale with you. How do you like to be treated? How do you react to a smiling face as compared to a glum one?

Passionate and Enthusiasm Sparks Sales

It’s one thing to believe in your product or service, but it’s a whole different ballgame when you are trying to get others to feel the same way. However, you may have had those experiences where you are describing a trip or a new-found hobby to a friend or colleague, and your passion and enthusiasm absolutely spills over to the point where the other person is taking notes and asking for more information. Your attitude has them excited and engaged. Apply this to what you are selling and you will get results.

Taking it a step farther, maybe you can turn this hobby into a sideline business or include it in your existing business. With so much enthusiasm and passion for it, maybe it is what you should be selling instead.

Knowledge and Value Closes the Deal

Beyond the emotional aspect of attitude, there is the intellectual side in which you can make great strides in closing the deal through your attitude of knowledge and value. That means you are projecting the right type of information to the prospective buyer that tells them you know what you are talking about and you know how this product or service will help them personally rather than just trying to sell them something. Remember, the used car salesman persona? Nobody responds to that attitude positively!

That doesn’t mean listing off product features; it means specifying what the product or service will do for that particular buyer. Your attitude says you did your research and you care all in one delivery. That’s a deal that is hard to refuse.

What’s Your Attitude?

Think about these attitude attributes. Where do you fall? How has your attitude or change of attitude led to a sale? Do you need help with how to adjust or adapt your attitude to suit your business and your target audience? Perhaps, it’s time to work with TAB!

   

Implementing Your Vision: A Small Business Owner's Primer

Once you’ve created a business model and set your future goals, it might seem like an easy step to launch your small business. But, sometimes, it can be a little overwhelming. That’s where TAB comes in. Your own personal independent board of directors can help you clarify your goals and incentives so that your launch will be a success.

Doubt is a Business Killer

Your vision statement needs to be very clear. Think about these questions:

• What do you want to achieve with this business?
• Are you filling a need that other businesses in your area have neglected?
• Where do you see your business in five years, ten years?

When you have doubts about achieving your goals and your mission, consulting with the board of directors is a way to put the doubts to rest so you can concentrate on the business of doing business.

Your Secret Weapon

When you don’t have a board of directors to consult, The Alternative Board serves that need. As a disinterested body that just wants you to benefit from the experience and knowledge they have as a group, TAB acts in your best interest to pave the way for implementing your vision. They’ve been there. They know how to help you make the right decisions and stay on point to really get your business moving toward your future goals.

Evaluating and Revising Your Vision

Your business vision should have specific dates for goals and achievements. Keeping track of the progress will let you know that your business is on track for success. Here are some useful ideas:

• A simple calendar can act as your assistant in watching how your business is developing.
• When you don’t meet a goal, you can analyze the data you have and find out what may have gone wrong. Once you’ve put it right, your business will be back on track. You might find that your advertising budget wasn’t big enough. Perhaps you neglected to make your goals clear to your employees. Did you remember to update your web site in a timely manner?

It’s time to take a step back and take another look at your vision. When you need advice, get it. You don’t have to go it alone because help is available and the fix might just be a simple one.

Celebrating Achievement

It’s tough getting a new business underway. One way to let yourself know how you’re doing is to look at the goals you’ve set and celebrate the achievements when they happen. Don’t wait until your company is ready to award you a gold watch to enjoy the fruit of your labor. Celebrate along the way. You deserve it!

Business Vision Experiences

Tell us what you have been able to achieve with your business. Or, if you are struggling, share your challenges. Perhaps, one of our readers can help.

Why TAB? Member Testimonials Recommend TAB’s Comprehensive Approach

You can choose to go it alone as a small business owner or you can seek out a network of individuals who are in the same place. They are running a business and could use the benefit of other business owners’ advice and ideas exchange. They say there is strength in numbers, and that is exactly what TAB offers.

TAB members benefit from a combination of resources that frame a comprehensive approach to developing business solutions. That approach includes one-on-one coaching, peer-to-peer meetings, and the advantage of third party perspectives. While each aspect of the approach has its own distinct benefits, there is one overriding principle that puts TAB ahead of the game. In his testimonial video, Tom Wechsler of Wechsler Engineering and Consulting shares the crux of TAB’s approach: TAB doesn’t tell you what to do, but instead helps you figure out what to do.

Why One-on-One?

One-on-one sessions help a business owner formulate thoughts, understand their goals, and set the direction their business will take to reach those goals. There is someone to keep you disciplined, focused, and moving forward. These sessions help you figure out “how to get there” and bring out your own thoughts on what to do.

Why Peer-to-Peer?

The advantage of peer-to-peer meetings is above all else, getting unbiased, outside feedback. That can often be difficult – if not, impossible – for a business owner to get. This unbiased feedback comes from people who sit outside of a business but you share similar issues, who have been there before, and perhaps who look at things differently. The most important takeaway is that outside feedback based on your own thoughts.

The Independent View

It’s the independent views and third party perspectives TAB members receive that make this comprehensive approach so successful. Robert L. Brown of RL Brown and Associates underscores the importance of these perspectives by observing that things aren’t lonely with TAB. You don’t have to go it alone because there are resources available when issues arise.

Bobby House of VP Commercial Lending Brookhaven Bank asks fellow business owners, “Where do you get your advice?” and points out TAB can give the valuable advice a business owner needs. TAB is like a think tank for small business owners. Having so many different businesses but experiencing similar issues is an excellent way to generate new perspectives or approaches to unsolved problems and everyday organizational challenges.

This doesn’t mean that you only have to be stuck on business problems to join and benefit from what TAB has to offer. Advice on how to capitalize on growth prospects is always helpful even when things are going well. What if you are simply stuck in the day to day issues of your business instead of attending to the creative side? Ellie Schmittenger of Eldercare Systems, Inc. explains, “TAB can revitalize things,” leaving you to get back to aspects of your business you enjoy most.

Listen, Plan, Do and Report

TAB can help medium-sized companies as well as small businesses shape their strategy and execute on tactics that will achieve specific business goals and objectives. Jay Bear of Scofield Timber Company shares his perspective by pointing out TAB has made him a better, more solid business manager. He believes this is because TAB members aren’t passive recipients. The process is a lot of work, but well worth it. Members listen, plan, do and report. With this process, solid plans are devised based on the advice given and received, and the results speak for themselves.

Get Started!

Find out how you can participate in a network that brings small and medium-sized business owners together with a local business coach and counselor to work on their problems, devise growth strategies, and enjoy the fruits of their labor together.

Third-Party Perspectives: A Good Idea if You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

If you’re a small business owner, you may be fantastic at coming up with creative solutions for the tactical side of your business. But, what happens when you encounter a problem and, even after considerable time and effort, you are unable to devise an effective solution? That’s when a third-party perspective can be an invaluable asset to your business.

What is a third-party perspective?

Smaller businesses generally don’t have a board of directors. The Alternative Board® (TAB) is able to fill that function. TAB members have valuable expertise, but they also have enough distance from your business to enable them to have a different perspective. Often, it is this different perspective that allows TAB members to see options and solutions that you or someone from within your business might not.

Whose perspective is it?

TAB members are business owners, helping one another – peers who don’t have a financial interest in your business but who want to see you succeed. TAB members often bring informality and humor to the table, but they are also professional. Their time and your time is a valuable investment, and the feedback received is well worth it.

How does this perspective work?

This third-party perspective goes beyond just bouncing ideas off of each other into the realm of what small business marketing specialist Ann Farnsworth describes as “expanding your thinking, expanding your options.”

This works by focusing on TAB’s core values of clarifying business problems and getting good analysis and solutions. Members challenge one another, helping each other to hone what they do best. At the same time, members also hold one another accountable for implementing these solutions through these third-party perspectives and are also there to celebrate with you when you succeed.

What are the benefits of a third-party perspective?

Having more resources and advisors ultimately results in increased bankability as any weaknesses in your business are discussed and remedied. Your business benefits as you receive feedback and advice from individuals who are independent from your organization and who are not intimidated. Therefore, they feel free to speak their minds, and opinions are voiced that might not otherwise have been shared.

Credibility, trust, and mutual respect develop among TAB members through this frank and open discussion. Additionally, the third-party perspective approach results in not just one solution, but it can actually also deliver a range of varied solutions for you to select from. Your business also benefits from the collective creativity and years of experience brought to the table by TAB members.

What is your perspective?

What is your experience with third-party perspectives? Do you have more questions on how this might work for you and your business? Leave us your comments below.

Getting a Fresh Perspective on Your Business: Peer-to-Peer Board Meetings

Sometimes, as a business owner, it may feel like you have no one to talk to about the business, strategy, and how to handle problems. It can be isolating and overwhelming.

That’s why one of the benefits that The Alternative Board® (TAB) offers is the ability to increase your business acumen and enhance your knowledge through various idea exchanges that constitute the peer-to-peer board meetings that come with membership. This post will provide information on what goes on at these meetings and what those business owners who participate have experienced for themselves.

A Typical Meeting of the Minds

Following a prescribed protocol, each TAB meeting is structured to achieve a certain purpose: get the most out of meeting together, take away ideas to put into practice, and meet again with new ideas and understanding. The rest of it goes something like this:

• The board meetings are overseen by a TAB-Certified Facilitator who has years of executive management experience under their belt not to mention a host of business and life coaching credentials.
• The board meetings focus on practical solutions that address each member’s opportunities and challenges. These ideas and potential resolutions are the result of candid discussions on the ways and means by which a person may need to consider changing their managerial, strategic, or organizational approach.
• The board members and the TAB-Certified Facilitator work to create, implement, adjust and stay on track to achieve their personal and business success goals. This includes reporting back on their progress and what actions they took since their last meeting.

 Essentially, each meeting follows that old adage: you get out of it what you put into it. 

 First-Hand Unique Benefits

And, for those who participate, it’s clear that they get plenty out of being a member of TAB:

• The board meetings serve as a forum for connecting with other business owners to convey issues and enable better decision making.
• The discussions are intended to stimulate each board member to think about what the others have to say and consider their advice. It is about absorbing what was shared and putting careful thought into how it might be applied to their business.
• The ability to get outside feedback is very beneficial. An owner can ask their employees for ideas but is always consciously aware that they are talking to the “boss.” In a peer-to-peer environment, there isn’t any intimidation or interference in regards to position and rank. It is simply about getting a different perspective from someone outside of the business who might see things more clearly.
• The meetings stir debate and generate renewed excitement and passion for one’s business, providing purpose, opportunities, and potential answers to business challenges.

 Personal Experiences

TAB - Atlanta East has numerous personal experiences of how effective the peer-to-peer approach has been for small business members. Some of the personal gains they have made are summarized below:

• “I openly discuss confidential problems and issues with my TAB Board--matters I don't even discuss with anyone else in my company, or even with my CPA or Attorney. The result is feedback that I get no other way.”
• “My TAB Board has been like business therapy. The process of thinking through other members' problems has helped me to clarify my own issues.”
• “The Board Meetings, with the support of our Facilitator, have given me the confidence and business perspective to move ahead in business areas.”

Don't carry the weight of your success as a small business alone. Lighten the load and learn about TAB's business tools and resources designed to enhance your business success and meet your personal business goals. If you have your own experiences that you would like to share here, please leave your comments below.

The Benefits of One-on-One Coaching Sessions

Small business owners often feel unsure of which direction to take or even what they are doing currently will help them achieve their goals and objectives. Some may not even know for sure what types of goals and objectives they want to focus on or where they actually want to take their business.

When you become a member of TAB, you can access a greater, more personalized level of understanding about your business and how to chart a course toward success. This blog post provides some information on what is covered in these sessions and how they have helped many of TAB members. 

A Typical One-on-One Coaching Session

The coaching sessions have a specific framework that directs each meeting with a business owner in order to ensure that certain topics are covered and enough time is allotted to the most important issues a business owner faces. Here is a description of a typical session:

• Discuss follow-up on a course of action that was suggested at the previous TAB Board Meeting;
• Prepare an issue for presentation to the board;
• Track progress on the business planning process;
• Complete mini-consulting projects that might include the following issues:
• Interviewing prospective employees.
• Assisting with marketing and strategic planning tactics, such as ads, brochures, business cards, and formal marketing plans.
• Holding lunch meetings with the member's employees to get feedback on employee opinions and expectations.
• Applying proprietary business diagnostic tools, including TAB Business Vantage^® and Strategic Business Leadership^®, to hone in on unique business issues and help provide a course of action that can resolve those issues.

The Advantages of Private Coaching Sessions

Members have TAB have praised the one-on-one experience for numerous benefits they have garnered from participating in these private sessions. Here are some highlights from current TAB members:

• Serving as a facilitator, the coach does not tell business owners what to do or provide the solutions but, instead, offers the tools and pathway so that business owners can learn themselves and gain true insight into their businesses and themselves.
• Business owners receive resource materials that help them understand the business issues that impact their companies so that they can make more informed decisions about their strategic direction.
• The session creates a dialogue between the business owner and the coach in which to discuss business issues on a more pointed, personal basis than would be covered in group sessions.
• The coach’s focus on asking questions helps business owners reflect on topics, strengths and weaknesses, and business concerns that they would most likely not have done on their own accord.
• Business owners report feeling recharged after they have been given a new way of examining the present challenges and future opportunities they have in front of them. This includes receiving a custom SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis that helps business owners learn even more about themselves and their business.

Tell Us about Your Experiences

How have you personally benefited from the one-on-one coaching experience? Share your thoughts here so that other readers can understand the value proposition TAB’s service offers them as small business owners.

Tom Wechsler - Why I Recommend The Alternative Board

Customer Testimonial - Tom Wechsler

TAB Goes Social with YouTube Channel for Small Business Assistance and Advice

Recognizing the need to take the TAB message to a larger audience and one that is more than likely tuned into the social media channels, TAB recently launched its very own YouTube channel. This social media channel is now considered one of the most effective ways to reach target audiences and is becoming an ideal way to educate customers and peers on services, sharing knowledge and ideas.

To date, nine videos have been posted on various topics that will be covered in upcoming blog posts. All the video topics are geared toward compelling and relevant business issues that today’s small business owner needs to focus on or where they could benefit from the types of services that TAB offers. These include Business Coaching & Mentoring, Peer to Peer Advisory Boards, CEO Coaching and Strategic Planning.

Here are some of the video highlights:

• Listen to TAB members explain why they recommend TAB to other Atlanta area business leaders.  
• Gain insight into the effectiveness of participation in Peer to Peer Advisory Boards.
• Learn about the value of joining The Alternative Board.
• Hear about the value of the one-on-one CEO coaching assistance offered by TAB owner, Buddy Hall.

Each video spans only two to three minutes but provides key insights on how a small business owner can benefit from these types of resources usually only thought accessible to large companies or multinationals. The videos also include business owners who have used – and continue to partner with – TAB because they recognize the value of accessing the resources, expertise, and knowledge of the business people associated with this concept.

Check back for further blog posts this month about each of these videos, including other content and ideas now found in the videos.

Is Business Planning More Trouble than it’s Worth?

They say that you get out of something what you put into it. For the small business owner, though, who is often short on time because they lack the staff and resources to do as much as they like, this may mean that they have to skip steps. 

One of these steps is often seen as only necessary for the big guys – the multinationals or corporate powerhouses – and that is business planning. This means that they not only skip quarterly planning, but they also simply ignore it altogether.

Defining Business Planning

Business planning is a formal process for setting goals for your business. It is a strategic process in which you state what you would like to achieve and then figure out what types of tools, skills, knowledge and resources you need to achieve these stated goals.

Often, people equate business planning to something that only happens when a business starts up and then do not give it a second thought once they are rolling. Business planning should be seen as an ongoing process to use to move the business forward to do more and make more.

Understanding the Benefits

To achieve the growth you desire in your business and achieve your goals, it is necessary to create a business plan – a roadmap, if you will – to how you will get to that desired point. If all it took was hoping for the best and working night and day seven days a week, there would be more successful businesses out there. However, just having good intentions does not cut it in a business environment that has become more demanding and more competitive.

Key Components of a Successful Business Plan

There are a number of key components that make up a successful business plan:

• Design a Compelling Competitive Advantage – Define what makes you different and unique in the marketplace. Focus on how your business can stand out to your target audience and select the tactics that will help you communicate this compelling competitive advantage.

• Describe Your Definition of Success – Success means different things to different people. You might think success means sustaining your business through all market cycles or you might believe it is all about growing your customer base. Whatever this definition of success may be, use it as the catalyst for everything you do in terms of strategy and tactics.

• Outline Solution Formula – The business plan is not simply about your success; it must also include that of your clients and prospective customers. Your business plan has to explain how you can alleviate the pain points for your customers and provide them with answers to their concerns. Planning should provide a strategy for solving customer and target market problems, which can tie into your definition of success and your compelling competitive advantage.

Ideas on Making it Work for You

Here are some ways to make business planning work for you:

• Work your way into quarterly planning sessions. Begin with a yearly review of your business and work toward more sessions that get you to stop and think about what you are doing and what you could do better.
• Generate reports that track results on a 90-day timeframe through using business planning software that walks you through the steps and ways to look at your results.
• Post your action plan targets in your office where you can see them to remind yourself that you have certain requirements and assignments that need to be fulfilled and checked on. You would do the same for what you give any of your staff, so make yourself just as accountable.
• Do not focus on how long the business plan needs to be – just hone in on what you need to accomplish. While some may take 20 pages, you may only need a one page outline to state what you need to do.

A Business Planning Partner

While these tips are intended to help you get started and on the right path, it is never easy and still may be confusing. That’s why the GPS market took off – more than one person lacked a sense of direction. And, so it goes with business planning. You do not have to go it along but can look to a GPS, or rather a BPP – business planning partner – who can help you get from Point A to Point B by working with you on establishing – and sticking to – a business plan that is unique to your business and goals. A business planning partner can point you in the right direction and also keep the planning at the top of your mind by working with you on a quarterly basis to review metrics and revamp strategies.

What’s your experience with business planning? Have you found strategies that help you start and stick to business planning? Do you have questions on how to get started? Share your thoughts here.

Excel at the Basics

When it comes to setting business expectations on what customers need or want is overcomplicated when what is really needed is to excel at the basics of business. In an attempt to offer the fanciest product or latest technology – essentially aiming to be everything to everybody – business owners forget that what customers really want is to just receive consistent and honest service.

Think about some of today’s best companies: Zappos.com, Amazon.com, In-N-Out Burger, and Apple. Sure, they have some amazing products and a great experience. But, what they do that is even better is they focus on keeping it basic when it comes to their core business and what they are good at.

Simple is the New Black

You don’t have to be big box brands to practice and succeed at their keep it simple formula. What tends to happen no matter what size of business you run is that it becomes easier to over think what customers want. Instead, focus on those things that many businesses don’t often even think about:

• It’s Simple to Smile: Customers are often taken aback when a business owner or their staff stop and genuinely smile back warmly when you interact with them. How many times have you gone to a store and not even had the person behind the register look at you let alone make eye contact and smile back. In the virtual world, it may be hard to send a smile through an online transaction but you can consider calling your customers. After all, it is possible to hear a smile on the phone.
• It’s Simple to Say Thank You: Thank you along with other polite mannerisms seem old-fashioned and rarely used. That’s why when a customer hears a thank you or gets a thank you email or note, it can make a real difference. It means that you are letting the customer know you took extra effort to show your appreciation. Just recently, a golf course sent an email thank you within 24 hours of my visit to their course. I had enjoyed the experience with my colleagues, but I had already moved on to my next work day. However, when I opened my email, there was a short and personal note from the golf course, thanking me by my first name and time of visit and offering their gratitude for my patronage. It brought them to mind again and made a mental note for me to stop by soon to play that course over any other one in my local area.
• It’s Simple to Listen: In our fast-paced world, listening is another action that doesn’t keep up but should do. When customers see a business is clearly not listening, they feel unimportant and unnecessary to that business, so they keep searching for a similar business until they hit upon one that takes the time to stop and listen…maybe even ask questions of their customers. Listening can involve verbal action or it can be asking for their opinion on a social media site.
• It’s Simple to be Honest: The lack of integrity and ethics in today’s business world is shocking and very discouraging. However, as corporate social responsibility gains traction, it is becoming “fashionable” again to be honest and trustworthy in all your dealings. It not only presents a way to leverage a brand built on good practices, but it is also simply the right thing to do.

Make that with an Extra Helping of Consistency

Beyond sticking to these seemingly simple, but truly effective, strategies as a core philosophy for your business, the true work involved is the effort it takes to remain consistent. It can be difficult to remain consistent when market cycles change for the worst or competitive pressures tend to create panic. This is when companies let go of the simple things and assume they have to “up their game” and do something more complex. In actual fact, what they need to do is stick to the basics – the principles – of good business and customers will be happy, be engaged, and be loyal.

When challenges arise and you may feel like veering toward a new game plan that is much more complex, stop and consider the help of a business coach who can help you stay on the right course and help you practice – and excel at – the basics. What is your experience? Tell us what you have found good or challenging about excelling at the basics.

The Keys to Customer Loyalty: Service and Gratitude

While it makes sense that customers want to feel treasured and be made to feel like VIPs, there are very few companies that actually deliver the goods. 

Very often, customers experience treatment that makes them believe they are just a number or a dollar sign to the companies they buy from.

The problem with this kind of treatment is that there is way too much competition in today’s global and online marketplace for any company to think that customer service can make it as an afterthought. If anything, the current economy where customers are scaling back with their discretionary spending means that playing nice actually needs to become being nice and grateful for their business at all times.

Service Expressions

There are many ways that you can express a higher level of service as Customer Service Expert Lisa Ford has noted:

• Service Their Way: Like Burger King, you should deliver service the way the customer likes it – hot, fresh, and unique. There is no way that homogenized service delivery is going to speak to every customer. This means you must use different channels to reach out to people on their terms as well as change your service offering for each demographic in your customer base.
• Service on Time: Being fast yet efficient with a dash of quality should be part of every service recipe. Customers want you to answer them quickly, they want quality service, and they want you to deliver what they asked for rather than what was convenient or on hand for you.
• Service with Style: Nobody wants to do business with a robot – at least not yet! Even if you are an online company or virtual business, all customers want a human and personable touch to their transactions and purchases. Be present in the service delivery by acknowledging customers, picking up the phone once in awhile and talking to them, or sending personal notes that point out something unique about them as your individual customer.

Gratitude Delivery

Gratitude is so much more than just saying “thanks and have a nice day.” And, it goes beyond common courtesy and prompt attention.  It is a much deeper and more emotional way of expressing how much you appreciate your customers and their decision to select you for their product or service.  

Academic research has concluded that gratitude in service delivery goes a long way to cementing customer loyalty across many purchase decisions. Here are some tips on showing gratitude:

• Be Genuine: Customers are not dumb. They know when and if a company is genuinely thankful for their business, so it doesn’t pay to try to come off as thankful if the messages are not genuine and backed up by actions.
• Be Empathetic: Illustrate to customers that you relate to their ‘pain points’ or their problems by connecting your own experiences to theirs and offering a solution that benefits them in a way to make that pain go away. After all, gratitude is an action where you illustrate just how much you want to help them and appreciate them as individuals.
• Be Consistent: With so much fickle attitudes that customers get hit with on a daily basis, a winning strategy is to ensure that each and every time there is customer interaction that they get the same level of appreciation and interaction. This is especially the case when they may interact but not buy at that particular time. It’s not about showing gratitude that they bought from you. Instead, it means being grateful that they window-shopped or even stopped by to ask a question.

Loyalty Strategy Planning

Delivering these two keys to customer loyalty does not happen overnight and takes a lot of practice. Whether you are a brick-and-mortar operation or an online small business, it is not easy to develop a winning loyalty strategy on your own. Consider working with experts who specialize in customer loyalty techniques or who can help hone your customer interaction actions and attitudes to win over your current and future customers.

The Rigors of a Business Owner

Sometimes, being at the top of a company is not what it is all cracked up to be. The title looks good: Owner, President, Founder, CEO. 

However, the responsibilities and rigors that come along with that second line on your business card can be lonely and challenging. Others in the same position feel your pain and have experienced some of the very same dilemmas.

 

Filling Very Big Shoes

It is easy for a business owner to second guess themselves or feel perplexed when it comes to decision making, especially if they are a small business and do not have a team of executives helping them sort out all the external and internal factors that have to be considered. Do these feelings sound familiar:

• It’s lonely at the top. There is often a sense of feeling alone and isolated, especially if you are a small business owner or operate a business from your home.
• I don’t know why it is so hard to stay focused. With no one above you or around to monitor your work habits, it may be hard to stick to the plan.
• I’m not sure I’m making the right decision. Not having anyone to bounce ideas off of or any other perspectives can make you feel like all decisions are made in a vacuum.
• I feel like there is something missing. The same goes with this impression. It’s hard to know and cover everything that comes up with a business. There could be unforeseen challenges and missed opportunities.
• My employees are not providing advice or feedback because I think they think I’m the boss and don’t need the help. Often, employees may feel that the leader simply knows what they are doing and should not speak up. While you might not have intended for this formal relationship to develop, employees rarely feel comfortable to just speak up.
• I think I might be procrastinating and can’t get motivated to do what I know I should. Along with losing focus, the lack of a higher power to get you moving means you may not get what you wanted done regardless of the little voices in your head telling you to hurry up.

Achieving Accountability and Proactive Decision Making

Being at the helm of a small business does not mean you have to go it alone and there are ways to get support from staff and outside experts in a way that helps you slip into those big shoes quite comfortably and enjoy your role as an accountable and proactive leader:

• Consider professional assistance in the form of a business coach or business counselor who can help you shape your business as well as your own habits, behaviors, and practices to become more disciplined and proactive.
• Call on and visit customers when you can to stay in touch with your audience and relevant issues.
• Interact with your staff and encourage them to share in decision making and idea generation.
• Join networking groups, industry associations, and local small business meet and greets to interact with colleagues and your peer group, gathering advice or simply commiserating.

Getting Answers

It is important to reach out to others – both within your business in terms of employee interaction and outside through customers, the community, experts, and business colleagues. Have you had similar feelings or concerns as a business owner? What have you done or what are you still struggling to overcome? Let us know.