The 13 Fatal Mistakes That Small Business Owners Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake #2 That Small Business Owners Make: They don’t communicate with their clients on a regular basis. Imagine if you will, a bright, red telephone in your office. This telephone is the hotline to the most important person to your business – the client. Unfortunately, the phone cord has been cut. There is no way you can use this telephone to communicate with your client. Wouldn’t it make sense that you would want to get that telephone line repaired so it could connect you to the lifeblood of your company? Curiously enough many small business owners do not think that way. Frank Cooper the author of many books on client service, makes it clear that without the client there is no paycheck for us, our managers or employees. If that is true, why would anybody not want to communicate with this most important person? Some of the excuses I’ve heard include: “I don’t have the time – I’m too busy!” “I don’t want them to know who I am – they might have a complaint.” ““I didn’t think it was that important.” ( fill in your own )____________________________________ One way for you to consider using to communicate on a regular basis with your clients is: Be visible One of my clients, Terry Johnson, Owner of Johnson’s Car Wash in Wayne, MI does this very well. Throughout the day, he makes it a point to walk around and stop and talk to his clients. He knows many of them by name. He listens to them and he hears what they like and he hears what they don’t like. By walking around and talking with his clients he has a solid connection with the people that signs his paycheck. Another major benefit is that his clients feel a connection with him. “They feel special because they talk to the owner “. Is that important? – You bet it is. Remember when I mentioned earlier two of the top reasons for an employee or manager leaving your company is because: 1. They are not listened to 2. They don’t feel appreciated Your clients are the same way. They want to be listened to and they want to feel appreciated. By being visible your clients have access to you and they like that. Another way we can communicate with our clients is through Focus Groups. A focus group is where you invite your clients who are a good representative of the people you serve and the people you would like to have as future clients, to come in and share their likes and dislikes about doing business with you. It is important to do four or five groups on a particular subject to get an accurate response. It is best to hire an outside professional to conduct the focus groups. The reason is your responses from your participants will be more honest. Another words they will say things that reflect how they really feel and not say things just to please you. Another way to communicate with your clients is to Watch their body language as they interact with your managers and employees. Do they look like they are glad to be doing business with your people or do they look like they are only tolerating the process. Of course there will be clients who don’t enjoy much of anything, but the question is are the majority of your clients happy to do business with your company? If they are, what can you observe that is contributing to that successful experience. Is it the way the manager or employee is interacting with them? How about the ease for them to be served? How about the environment? Is the area well lit, with pleasant music in the background? You be the judge. Take good notes and spend some time thinking about what is working and what isn’t? What should you continue to do what should you stop doing or change? One other excellent way to communicate with your clients is to Use a Client Suggestion Box This can be a very effective tool when used properly. The main thing to remember is to have it in a convenient place to for the client to access. Make sure there are pencils or pens and suggestion cards with enough room on the card for them to write down their comments. A smart business owner consistently reads every one of the cards and responds appropriately. So to summarize this chapter: 1. be visible 2. listen to your clients 3. talk to them 4. let them know you care 5. use focus groups 6. learn their names 7. provide a client suggestion box and consistently read them and respond Content provided by Tom Borg