In case you missed my last blog post, Marketing, the Small Business Success Index, and You, I wrote about the C- score that marketing and innovation earned in the Small Business Success Index survey that was conducted by Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The index was released on February 16 and is designed to track the competitive health of the small business sector over time. Scores in 6 categories are graded; customer service, something that is near and dear (or should be) to marketing folks, scored an A-.
The major strength of small business is in customer service, with the great majority of businesses reporting success in all six areas that comprise this component of the SBSI.
In all honesty, this did not surprise me at all. High-quality customer service is a differentiator that small business owners embrace. In this age of faceless technology, we all crave a personal transaction. Automated phone menus, customer service departments on the other side of the world staffed by people who are not empowered to make decisions, and multi-national corporations that don’t even post a customer service phone number on their website create nothing but negative feelings and poor experiences. And we all know how eager people are to share a bad customer service experience.
Case in point: I decided to save a little money, bypass Sephora, and buy mascara at CVS. I saw an ad for L’Oreal’s Extra Volume Collagen Mascara in InStyle Magazine. Just the thing my skimpy little lashes need, I thought. The mascara was flaky and clumpy, and it looked terrible. Since I couldn’t find the CVS receipt, I decided to contact L’Oreal’s customer service department via email to see if I could get a voucher or coupon. L’Oreal is a massive company; they own 21 other skincare, cosmetics, fragrance, and hair care brands. Long story short, you can’t email them, but you can waste your time in a chat session with an Online Beauty Advisor. Turns out you are not chatting with a person, you are chatting with a computer. The computer could not understand what I was telling it, so I gave up. I have zero patience with adults, less with technology, and I hate wasting time. Now I shop for mascara—and all other cosmetics—exclusively at Sephora.
Around nine out of ten small businesses are highly successful at answering customer questions, ensuring customer satisfaction, showing empathy, providing consistent service, resolving problems and winning repeat business.
And that quote perfectly illustrates what makes us small businesses so special:
Successful at answering customer questions: Because many of us are the business, we know all of our clients personally, and we certainly know our products and/or services intimately.
Ensuring customer satisfaction: We work hard to make our clients are happy, whether it’s quick turnaround on a project, special pricing based on their loyalty, or a gift card to a favorite shop or café just to say thanks, you are valuable to me.
Showing empathy: We’re not robots, computers, or customer service reps who don’t give a damn. We care, and we show it.
Providing consistent service: When you go out to eat, you never know what kind of server you might get stuck with: a veteran or a newbie. Our clients know what to expect from us.
Resolving problems: If there’s a problem in the middle of a project, our clients can reach us directly by phone, text, or email. We can immediately start working on resolving the issue.
Winning repeat service: It’s a lot of work to look for new vendors or partners. If we do a good job the first time, our clients will come back and recommend us.
Tags: Customer Service, Marketing
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