How can a company grow in today’s economy?

When I visit local businesses as a customer and ask, “How’s business?” The answer I hear a lot is, “It’s slow. But what are you going to do? How can you grow a business in this economy?”

It is a fair question because these are difficult and frightening times. The economy is unpredictable, seemingly unstable, and mostly unfriendly when it comes to owning and operating a small or medium-sized business.

Honestly though, I am completely amazed at how unpredictable, seemingly unstable, and mostly hostile MANY business owners are with their customers, clients, and patients. It is one of the few things in this world that leaves me completely speechless.

Over the past 12 months, I have driven more than 15,000 miles on various road trips across the United States. I have spent weeks in Seattle, Washington, DC, Vermont, Philadelphia, New York City, and everywhere in between. Along the way I have stopped at thousands of different businesses.

To my amazement, what 80% of those companies had in common was that they showed me how little they cared as a customer. As far as they knew, I was a local resident who was a potential customer for life. It did not matter. They just didn’t care about me. The more the business seemed to depend on location and foot traffic, the more they seemed to treat their customers with disdain and contempt.

Think about it… have you had similar experiences in your own community… maybe even today. Unfortunately, those types of businesses are the norm these days.

In many cases, I left without buying anything… even though I had come with the intention (and the money!) to buy.

As a business growth strategist who’s dedicated to helping businesses grow, I’m obviously more hyper-vigilant and sensitive as a client. Regardless, behavior and attitudes that are blatant and obvious to me still register with your clients… at least on an unconscious level.

“To him who watches, everything is revealed.” (Italian proverb) Start taking a closer look when you visit another business as a customer. You will see what I am talking about.

But if you are really brave, you will look just as closely at your own business. Observe your staff as they interact with your customers (and each other). Notice any subtle “attitudes” or general lack of help. Note any laziness in their lack of resourcefulness and lack of proactivity. Count how many times they say “no” or “sorry we can’t/we don’t do that” during a day and a week. Try to witness everything as your clients would. You will learn tones!

Interestingly, all of these companies shared one other thing in common. When asked how their business was doing…almost all blamed the economy for how bad things were. I guess they also blame the economy for their hostility, rudeness and stinginess towards their customers. They can’t expect to grow their business when their attitude toward their customers drives those customers away.

The lesson here is…until you’re willing to make the best of what little you have now (especially in the way you treat your customers), anything and everything else you do to grow your business will only speed up your business. rhythm. in which you take your business to the ground.

In a culture where people blame everyone and everything for their problems (sometimes justified, but very often NOT), those business owners who take responsibility for themselves and do the best and most possible with what they have stand out as a sore thumb. In a good way!

So how can you grow a business in today’s economy?

Here are some things business owners can do right away to turn things around (without spending a dime):

1) Make it very easy to do business with you.

Don’t miss out on the power and simplicity of this step.

This week alone…while in NYC…I have had several encounters with business owners (as a client) where I left determined to NEVER return. They just made it too hard to do business with them!

What do I mean? Well, they only accept credit cards if you ask for a certain amount; they only deliver to the street directly adjacent to mine; they only give out a fortune cookie when you order an entree; they treat you like garbage when you try to redeem your Groupon purchase; they take 5 days to respond to your urgent mail and then they don’t even answer the specific and clear questions you asked; they charge your credit card and then take 13 days to ship your package (and never respond to your inquiries); etc.

See how ridiculously simple and easy each of these would be to fix? Yet this happens in every industry, all the time. Some of these offenses seem small and petty. But, all of them are meaningful to potential customers and clients.

Why turn down a customer who would probably order from you three times a week just because you’re a block away from your arbitrary delivery zone…especially when you’re already charging a delivery fee?

Why let customers think you’re the cheapest restaurant in town for refusing to give out a $0.03 fortune cookie because they ordered an app instead of an entrée? Why bid on Groupon and then allow their staff to treat everyone who responds with contempt…making sure they NEVER come back…and making sure they tell everyone they know about their horrible experience? Why knowingly wait forever to respond to an urgent email and then not even answer the questions (or apologize)?

This type of behavior happens EVERY day in far too many companies. It really is puzzling. Control this area and you’ll be way ahead of the curve!

2) Do the math before trying to save money in ways that drive away business.

An Asian restaurant near my apartment has the best cold sesame noodles on the planet. I pass by there 2 or 3 times a day. They have a minimum credit card of $10. The noodles cost $5. I don’t like to carry cash and prefer to pay with credit. I currently drop by whenever I have cash and get the $5 noodles to go. (I rarely make a special trip to the ATM for such a purchase.) They have seen me so many times that they start marking my order as soon as I cross the threshold. I explained that I would probably drop by 3-5 times a week (instead of 1 or 2) if I was allowed to use my credit card. They refuse because it’s “restaurant policy”. It’s crazy.

The problem is that they haven’t done the math. Now I hear many business owners protest, “But you don’t understand! Banks get a cut of every purchase and that cuts into our margins!”

I UNDERSTAND COMPLETEly. What they don’t consider is that if I spend $5 on each of 4 separate visits…and the bank charges 5% per transaction…95% of the $20 is more in your pocket than getting 100% of the $5 o $10 that I have been spending due to your restrictions. In other words, to save a little on their margins, they keep customers like me from buying more frequently. They make it more difficult to do business with them.

Worse yet, they send me away to do business with their competitors. If I had to choose between an independent coffee shop that has a $10 minimum (where I’d have to get cash out every morning) and a chain (like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts) that happily accepts my credit card for even a single donut… Guess which one I (and most of your clients) will choose every time?

I hate jumping through hoops to give them MY money. Other customers do too!

Now, they can keep making excuses about how their business is different because they’re not a chain. Bla bla bla. However, they can ask their customers what they want and then sit back and do the math. In most cases, doing the math will show that both the business owner and their customers will benefit. More transactions (however small) coming in because of the ease of doing business with them… adds up over time.

Side note: I know this is an area where business owners think they are very smart and savvy. They think it’s a clever way to force customers to buy more than they would have to to meet the cc minimum. “If I can get them to spend $11 instead of $4, then I’ve earned an extra $7!” And there may be some fools who fall for this on a regular basis. But, for the most part, these kinds of policies hurt a business. Customers see it as the equivalent of the utter pettiness of being forced to buy a pack of gum or a newspaper at the 7-Eleven just to get $1 change for the parking meter. It’s not a smart move. Everything matters.

If you’re convinced you can’t survive without a $10 minimum… you should empower your staff to accommodate someone like me who OBVIOUSLY likes something you have to offer. Until they do…I assure you that your customers are walking a fine line between loyalty to them…and eventual patronage and loyalty to your competitors. By the time I find another restaurant with delicious cold sesame noodles (and they don’t even have to be that good), that will take credit cards with no problem, the restaurant I frequent now will NEVER see me again. Think about it.

You can apply this principle to a hundred different areas in your business right away. We all have to watch our margins. Just don’t cut them in a way that drives away your business. Do the math!

3) Ask customers what you can do to make them come more often, give them a better experience, etc.

It costs nothing to ask and makes customers feel good about being asked. The feedback you’ll get could transform your business.

But be careful… you will do your company tremendous harm if you ask… but then don’t listen and act on the feedback.

If 5 out of 10 of your customers mention that they wish you had lunch specials or flavored coffee…and you don’t create some lunch specials or offer flavored coffee…go ahead and choose a tombstone for your business because it’s just a matter of time. If you are not listening in obvious areas, I assure you that you are guilty of not listening in many other areas as well. But you can be sure that your customers are listening!

Time to act!

Ok, now you know some answers to “how can a business grow?” And these strategies won’t cost you a dime. If you’re honest about your business… you know that the steps above amount to doing the bare minimum of your job as a business owner. Do it and I promise you will be way, way, way ahead of the 80% of companies in your market.

Just as we’ve all experienced incredibly horrible customer service from other business owners, we’ve also experienced wonderful customer service. Customers don’t forget great experiences. They come back and give you more business.

You have a choice every time a customer enters your establishment. Will they leave having had a great experience with you and your staff…or will they leave (with their money still in their wallet) determined never to return…or worse, regretting giving you their money? That power is something that economic changes can NEVER take away from you.

I hope you’ll take this to heart because if you become one of the few businesses in your area that shows how much you care about your customers, you’re sure to get noticed!

Now you’re ready for some “next level” marketing strategies (which are also inexpensive and often free to implement). In a future article, I will go into more detail. Until then, please visit my website (see bio section) for more articles and free training.

Now go and grow your business by making the most of what you already have!!!