The Little Things Count For Small Business Success

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The Little Things Count for Small Business Success

In today’s business climate, you want to make sure that you do everything you can to stand out from your competitors. You may have heard that it costs 3 times as much to gain a new customer as to keep the customer you have. That is true, and that is also where “the little things count”.

It is almost time for my family’s annual reunion Thanksgiving week in Atlanta. I will be boarding my two shelter dogs (also known as “pound puppies”) for a week, and I had a choice in boarding kennels. I started investigating local one doggie day care business, which required a “test day” for the dogs to make sure they would get along with the regulars at her kennel. My longhaired dog already gets his grooming done there. My doggies went to the kennel last Monday for their test day and passed—they had a ball playing with so many other dogs. I made the reservation for Thanksgiving week. All well and good. But in this morning’s mail, came a Thank You Note, hand-written and sent by snail mail! I was so glad my dogs passed the “test”; and I already registered and paid for their upcoming boarding for my vacation. However, that little thoughtful note which arrived amongst the usual bills just put a smile on my face. Hand-written notes send by regular mail may seem old-fashioned, but I turned right around and sent out an electronic referral to all of my social networks telling them about that small company. Old-school correspondence meets 21st century technology.

The little things really do count. As a small business owner, what can you do to put a smile of the faces of your customers? You probably already know and practice many of the “regular” marketing and advertising activities like every other business. But can you think of other little things that will cement you and your business in the minds of your customers? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Review your customer service policies so that they are customer-focused.

Always have a caring and confident attitude when building relationships with your customers.

Your customers are the reason you are in business—give them the best service possible.

Your customers are your livelihood. Treat them as you would like to be treated.

The customer who buys $5.00 is just as important as the one who buys $500.00.

Constantly communicate with your customers. They are buying products and services from you and from your business or company. Your customers really do like to see you as a *real* person.

Network with other related businesses that can also work with your customers to make and keep them happy.

Before my dogs could be boarded, they had to be up-to-date with their vaccinations. The boarding kennel sends out a regular newsletter. In one e-newsletter, the kennel recommended a nearby vet. I went to the new vet for the first time to get the dogs their shots and found out I missed the kennel deadline by just a few days. However, the veterinarian works closely with the doggie day care, and together they worked out a modified vaccination schedule that also fit the requirements of the kennel. Problem solved.