Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

When to Let Go

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As a Small Business Owner, I suspect that you have had more than one good idea about the direction of your business. The business that you run today is probably also not exactly what you first envisioned.

The reason for this is likely because along the way you made small strategic decisions to go towards one goal or direction and let some things go along the way. Sometimes those little pivots are enough to create a business that you truly love but sometimes a bigger ‘letting go’ is needed to really create success.

For someone who has personally gone through the tough decisions of when to let go – I wanted to share my personal experiences as well as share what I have learned by seeing some of my business mentors shift gear.

With personal evaluation, I have always considered two key factors that help me determine when it’s time to let go and when to go forward. The first thing is my personal satisfaction/motivation and the other is the outer result of my work.

My ‘satisfaction’ is determined by my excitement (or lack of), my flow of ideas and interest in everything related to my business industry.

I saw this personally when I was no longer spending my time researching. As an expert in the field I was centered around, I really wanted to be on the leading edge of any new findings and strategies. Beyond that, I was also committed to using and implementing all of my research to make sure I was providing the most relevant and founded information. When I found myself avoiding podcasts on the topic and choosing different books at the library it was one of my first indications that I would not be able to make the long haul in the industry.

The outer ‘result’ that I used to assess my situation was how I felt about the work I was producing and the impact I had on others. If I could see that what I was bringing to the table was truly revolutionary, that would have been a reason to hang on. But the truth was, it wasn’t. I didn’t feel like I was bringing a fresh enough perspective or creating positive change in the world on a level that I really wanted too.

Looking into the future was also a big part of how I made the final decision to let my first business go. I looked at the careers of those who were further ahead of me and I just couldn’t see myself really thriving at that level. While I was ‘out there’ looking, it also gave me an opportunity to look at what others were doing that I could see myself being in the same arena with, which happened to be in a different industry.

By seeing these business mentors from a 10,000-foot view I was able to see how they also continued to make shifts and let go, sometimes in big ways, and other times in small programs or offerings.

Every time I would see this – (because I admired the way they did business) I could appreciate their courage in trying something new, even if it wasn’t my favorite thing they had ever done. That’s why I encourage you to take a look at your own business and feel brave when you feel a change coming on that may include letting go. It may just be the best thing you have ever done.

The overall perspective here is that sometimes it is worth it to push through the tough times and sometimes it is better to just let it go. Considering these concepts will hopefully help you find the best path for you.

Tamara is the Founder and Creative Director of Sweet Clover Studios. Where she provides resources, planners, learning opportunities and inspiration for creative small business owners. You can also see her personal gallery of products as a surface pattern designer at www.SweetCloverStudios.com

What’s your gratitude policy?

sandra

Customer loyalty is something that we all strive for. Whether you’re a small business owner or a CEO of a multi-billion dollar empire, we are nothing if we can’t retain our current base of customers or clients. So how do we do this? Is it about points programs, birthday or holiday freebies and membership discounts, or is there more to it?

We’ve all heard the complaints about some of the loyalty programs out there. The notion that there are self-serving and benefit the company more than the customer isn’t anything new. You know the ones I’m talking about – where you feel like you have to spend thousands of dollars to earn something worth a few hundred (if you’re lucky!).

So how do we show our gratitude to loyal customers in a way that makes them feel good about their continued patronage of your business? The best thing to do of course is ask them! Surveys are a great way to find out exactly what your customers want when it comes to loyalty programs. We could think we have put together the best program in the world, but if it doesn’t leave our clients feeling appreciated, then we’ve missed the mark!

While surveys are a great tool, you have to provide incentive for people to complete them. Again, just like the loyalty programs, the prize for completing the survey has to be something that your customers actually want! Look at what your most popular product or service is and see what kind of reward you can create that will allow you to get enough responses to your survey that you are confident it actually represents your client base.

Just like any relationship, the relationship we have with our customers and clients has to be cultivated on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to stop with loyalty programs.   We can actually start picking up the phone and reaching out to our customers. This isn’t a sales conversation; this is really an informal survey. It’s a conversation that asks how things are going for them in relation to the product or service you provide. Ask if there’s any way that you could improve their satisfaction with the business they do with you. Actually tell them that you are grateful for their continued business!

I’ve heard it said that any relationship without reciprocity will die and I believe that applies to all relationships, personal and professional. Customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted. The competition out there is fierce and there are limits to how low we can take our prices and how fast we can deliver our services. If we want to retain our loyal customer base, we have to ensure that they know that we value their business. They need to know that we’re not taking the fact that they spend their time and money with us for granted.

I’ve heard it said that gratitude is the greatest multiplier of good. When a customer not only gets quality products and services, but also feels appreciated and respected by the company they do business with, it can only benefit you and your business. When potential customers here how much you care about and respect the people you do business with, they’ll be lining up to work with you!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve! Connect: www.embraceyourdestiny.ca www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook www.twitter.com/sandradawes

How good is your Customer Service?

Martina New

 

We all know “The customer is King”. What are YOU doing to make your customers feel like Kings and Queens, and wanting to come back to you again and again? After all, customers are our businesses’ life-blood.

During a recent workshop by Jayne Huhtanen, of FocalPoint Coaching of Toronto, attendees learned how to propel their customer service to a whole new level. But first things first:

 

Why is good customer service so important?

An unhappy customer is a company’s worst enemy! They can undermine and damage your reputation, whether justified or not. With today’s Internet based news feeds and social media it doesn’t take much to dish the dirt on any business via Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. We know we can’t please everybody all the time, yet it is important to keep our customers happy (or at least satisfied enough not to campaign against our business).

Jayne sees customer service as four key areas: Service, Satisfaction, Staying, and Success.  Firstly, you want to provide not just good but amazing customer service, with which you hope to reach or exceed customer satisfaction.  In turn, that will lead to customers staying with you as a repeat client and contributing to your success. For most companies, 80% of business comes from 20% of clientele, so repeat clients are essential.

Providing excellent customer service and satisfaction requires knowing each customer`s wants and needs, and what their expectations are in terms of your product or service. One way to find out is by simply asking directly, getting brief feedback forms, or conducting customer satisfaction surveys.

One such method is the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which uses just one basic question: How likely is it that you [the customer] would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?  The resulting scores fall into one of three categories:

  • Promoters (rating you 9-10  in customer service, with 10 being exceptional): loyal enthusiasts, who will keep buying, and referring others;
  • Passives (rating you 7-8): satisfied but unenthusiastic customers, vulnerable to competitors; and,
  • Detractors (rating you 0-6): unhappy customers, who can damage your brand and hinder growth.

To turn your customers into promoters, there are five levels of customer service:

  1. Meet expectations: The bare minimum of service, not getting major complaints but also no loyalty; failure to meet expectations even once is seen as reason to leave; customers gladly switch to a competitor who wows them with a lower price and/or better service.
  2. Exceed expectations: Building customer loyalty; may lead to increased profitability; customers willing to pay more for this better service; helps avoid the Law of Diminishing Intentions, i.e. customers going elsewhere.
  3. Delight customers: Touching customers on an emotional/personal level; this increases client retention; showing them you truly care; makes it hard for competitors to pull them away.
  4. Amaze customers: Propels your business to a whole new level; you treat your customers better than gold; your amazed customers are keen to actively refer you.
  5. Not meeting expectations:  Not meeting customer expectations unintentionally or maybe intentionally because you’re trying to get rid of a ‘bad customer’ who is never satisfied regardless of the level of service; this customer and you are just not a good fit.

Here are just a few of the things you can do for good to excellent customer service: Always follow-up, offer help and solutions immediately, provide incentives or compensation, have personal interaction (by telephone or in person), be accountable, send hand-written thank you cards to repeat or major clients or small appreciation gift, hold client appreciation event, and offer finder’s fee for referrals.

We each have our own style, of course, and what makes working with us special. Importantly, always be friendly, sincere, and over-deliver, then as long as your product or service is top-notch, you should have no problem delighting and retaining your customers!

Sources:

Martina Rowley is the founder and operator of Beach Business Hub – THE co-working space east of the Don Valley. She combined her passion and experience in the environmental sector with her community engagement side to create a local work environment where space and resources are shared. She fosters and facilitates collaboration, networking, and learning for and with small business owners and new start-ups. Contact her at:http://www.beachbusinesshub.ca, on Facebook and on Twitter

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