n Your small business may be doing well, but there may be some things that is keeping it from being even better. Taking your small business from good to great is something all business owners deal with at some point. Know the steps to take to get you there is the key. In some cases it can be simple and small things like a logo change or better social media presence. In other cases, it might take larger steps and more time. Let’s take a look at some thing that could be keeping your business from going from good to great.
Bad Customer Service
A hallmark of any great business is amazing customer service. The biggest strike against a company is when customers report that they have a poor customer service experience. Even when dealing with an unreasonable customer, there are ways to offer a customer service experience that can leave them feeling like they are satisfied, even if they didn’t get the result they wanted. When businesses operate with the knowledge that without the customer, there IS not business, the service they deliver changes.
Be sure your employees are trained with this understanding. Now, that said, this does not mean that a customer is allowed to treat your employees without respect. That is definitely a two way street. But if you use the proper techniques, hopefully a bad customer experience can be diffused without it getting to that point. Search for some good customer service articles online to hone those skills and pass them on to your employees to help in this area.
An Unclear Brand
You may have a brand that is unrecognizable. Does your brand explain who you are? What you do? An unclear brand could be hurting your business. If your brand is conveying that you may be in a business different that what you do; you can see how people may pass you over. If your logo doesn’t catch the eye, you may want to think about a re-design. It’s so easy these days with online services.
Creating a logo that incorporates your business’s personality and captures the identity of what your business does is essential. A logo that is eaily recognizable at a glance is what you dream of. There are so many online and even local printing services that offer tons of ideas for marketing. Of course you need signage for you place of business like a banner, metal sign, or vinyl door sign. But there is so much more. Business cards, t-shirts, hats, pens, and even coffee mugs are all great marketing tools you might want to consider.
Dead Social Media
Finally, if your social media is dead, that will definitely make potential customers think your business is dead as well. Just because you created a Facebook account when you started your business, if it’s not been updated in months, you might as well not have one. People frequently look up companies on social media to see current inventory or general updates on what’s happening with that company. An outdated page will make them think that you are a business that likely failed.
Your social media pages should be thriving. Fresh pictures and business updates should appear at least weekly. Advertisements for new inventory, sales, and any other types of updates entice customers to shop your business. If nothing else, it reminds people that your are there. Don’t shirk on your social media updates.
It’s never too late to breath life into your small business and start the process of taking it from good to great!