Why Small Businesses Are Thriving
While Big Ones are Failing …
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Despite all the doom and gloom we’re hearing these days about corporate bankruptcies … recession … collapsing currencies … skyrocketing fuel costs and inflation … and the wholesale slashing and burning of thousands of jobs in America today … not everyone is feeling the crunch.
More kitchen-table millionaires are emerging from the carnage than at any other period in history …
For those who understand the true nature of the gut-wrenching change our world is struggling through … there has never been a better time to enter the entrepreneurial fray with both guns blazing.
A whole new, Internet-enabled way of doing business is emerging … while the old-guard, industrial-age way of doing business is cracking at the seams.
You see it happening all around you. And nowhere is it more apparent than at the customer touch points of commerce … where consumers are rebelling against the old guard in ever increasing numbers.
Sales and profits at such companies will be pummeled into oblivion. Many will simply cease to exist as their customers go running to a whole new breed of business that beats to an entirely different drummer.
One of the driving forces behind this consumer revolt is the fact that the world has become astonishingly more competitive.
Rapid advancements in communications and computing technology are making vertical integration unnecessary, thereby toppling barriers to business entry.
The trend is toward smaller, nimbler, horizontally-integrated businesses.
Where in the past, transactional fiction meant a company sought to control as many of the elements of production and distribution as it possibly could … centralizing command … standardizing products … concentrating resources … and gobbling up capital to acquire other companies in an eternal quest for “economies of scale” … these things are in many cases no longer an advantage.
Now a guy in his basement can create a virtual corporation based almost entirely on outsourcing, often with little or no outside funding.
Invariably these small, horizontally-integrated businesses find it much easier to stay focused on what really matters — finding and keeping customers. While the large, vertically-integrated dinosaurs worry about such things as shareholder value, mergers and acquisitions, and frantically struggle to rescue the bottom line.
Is it just me, or have you noticed the flagrant disregard for customers displayed by these old guard companies lately?
Fast Food Fools …
You see it when you get home from the local fast food joint and your order is all screwed up because the zit-faced kids who served you were too busy gabbing about their social lives to pay attention to what you ordered.
Even at the more expensive sit-down chains, your food is often cold, undercooked, or too salty. And when you complain to your server, instead of an apology you get a snarky look as she whisks your pink chicken back to the kitchen.
Hard Goods Hell …
You see it at the big hard goods chains where I recently went to buy some yard supplies …
As I walked around trying my hardest to look lost, I was dumbfounded by the way the store staff seemed to deliberately look busy and avoid making eye contact with me as I would draw near.
Finally I came across a couple of young “yard experts” idly chewing the fat. I said to myself “this is my chance” and I asked where I might find a good solution for grubs. One of the men looked away from his buddy just long enough to assure me that what I was looking for was somewhere in aisle 17. “Of course” I said, “How silly of me. Sorry to be such a nuisance.”
Communication Meltdown …
Has this ever happened to you? You open your mail and discover the phone company has made an error on your phone bill. So you muster the courage to phone them, knowing full well you’re likely to spend the next 15 minutes in voice mail jail and the 30 minutes after that dealing with some neuron-short-of-a-synapse moron who could argue with a signpost.
“Welcome to Ma Bell, your business is important to us.”
"For service in English press one".
“To help us to serve you better, please input your phone number, including area code.”
“Thank you. You now have eighteen options.”
“To place a long distance call billed to your calling card, place a collect call, or charge this call to another number, press one.”
“For customer service, repair, or to inquire about our new rate plan, press two.”
“For satellite TV, press three.”
“If you’re moving and would like to cancel service at your current location, press four.”
Finally you mash you finger with surprising intensity into the 0 key and hear, “please hold for operator assistance.”
Then you wait on hold for at least 10 more minutes until you get a woman who sounds like she’s talking to you from the bottom of a 19-foot tall garbage can and with an accent so thick you can’t understand a word she’s saying.
You explain your problem and she starts jabbering until you finally realize she’s trying to tell you it’s not her department and she will have to transfer you. After 3 minutes of vile Muzak you hear a click and then a tone and that means you’ve been cut off.
Tech Support Nazis …
Or how about this one … you call up one of those technical support lines like I did recently after buying a new laptop. Some neophyte propeller-head receives my call and without even listening to my problem tells me a certain “diagnostic” must be performed before he can help me.
I’m suspicious but play along. Ten minutes later he exclaims there’s nothing wrong with my computer and he will have to terminate the call. I protest. He hangs up.
I don’t know about you, but every time I go through this kind of sh*t I feel like hunting the damn bean-counters down who thought the whole thing up and murdering the bastards, I really do.
What are these idiots thinking?
Are any of these scenarios a good way to get or keep customers? Is seething hatred for the selling organization a buying emotion? Why do so many companies behave this way?
I’ll tell you …
… Because precious few of the bozos running these big dumb companies know why they’re in business.
They think they’re in business to make a profit. That’s not what business is about. The purpose of business is to find and keep customers. Do that — and profits follow.
In this bold new Internet-enabled business environment, it’s no longer possible to hide from that fact. Selling is no longer a function within the company. It is THE function of the company. And everyone from the bean-counters to the back-office hacks to the frontline customer service staff should know it.
Sadly, that isn’t about to happen anytime soon in corporate America. Employees know their days are numbered as these large vertically-integrated companies are forced to disintegrate. Many of them feel betrayed and resentful. And it shows.
Is there a marketing lesson here?
I’m convinced there is …
What I’ve attempted to describe in this article is a major feeling of frustration shared by a large and growing number of consumers today.
People are sick, sore, and tired of crappy products and services … and infuriated by the discourteous, incompetent responses they get when they express their dissatisfaction.
They’re fed up with dealing with faceless corporations who treat them like powerless peons to be exploited and crapped upon.
And they absolutely respond to businesses run by somebody with the balls to step out in front of them … communicate with them directly … and take personal responsibility for their satisfaction.
The very fact that you lead your company from the front, making yourself known and accessible has incredible selling power. Back that up with caring, efficient, and friendly customer service and you become practically unstoppable.
The shock value alone is priceless.
Until next time, Good Selling!
Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant and direct response copywriter based in Toronto, Canada and publisher of the world famous copywriting anthology, Masters of Copywriting, featuring the selling wisdom of 44 of the “Top Money” marketing minds of all time, including Clayton Makepeace, Dan Kennedy, Joe Sugarman, John Carlton, Joe Vitale, Michel Fortin, Richard Armstrong and dozens more! For a FREE excerpt visit http://www.SellingtoHumanNature.com
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24 Comments »
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– Clayton
Comment by JudyAnn Lorenz — August 6, 2008 @ 10:49 am
Great article. I have had great experiences the past couple of days with my phone company…prompt answering after a rather short ‘choose your option’ business. The one that strikes me as ironic occurs when I call for Internet Tech support and the message encourages me to contact them online. As if I would be bothering with them if I could get online! But last night and today, they were sweet!
I have had stupendous customers service recently from
Quill Office Supplies (so much so that I became an affiliate)
Hardees (the night manager overheard our conversation that we would be splitting a sandwich, so she cut it and served it separately)
I’ve recently ordered clothing from Blair and Cabelas which had items left out of the order when they arrived. One small, friendly call to them and the item was on its way immediately. Errors happen; it is what you do about them that reveals the hero in you!
Comment by Linda Byam — August 6, 2008 @ 10:55 am
Daniel, Bravo!
Egads! I could have written this myself. Service today sucks. Customer service is an oxymoron. Customers are crying in the wilderness for concerned, caring contact with real live people who give a damn! Our company has real live people who answer our phones and then, if callers agree, they’re offered voicemail if necessary. The electronic age has made it convenient - necessary, in fact - for us to interact face-to-face less and less. Like in Isaac Asimov’s planet Aurora Dawn, soon it will be socially unacceptable to humans to have personal contact. You’re laughing now. Just wait.
Comment by Eugenie — August 6, 2008 @ 10:56 am
Spot on! It’s the same here in the UK, though the penny does seem to be slowly dropping with some bigger retail players - the staff at the B&Q DIY chain and Tesco (the UK’s biggest food retailer), for example, do seem to be trained in direct eye contact with customers.
The automated multi-option, offshored call centre, however, continues to be a nightmare here as well. Again, however, some smarter companies are now bigging up the fact that their call centres are UK-based - which, of course, indicates that they and everyone else knows that automating and offshoring customer support is generally counter-productive.
I personally also distrust online retailers who won’t give me a phone number to ring - makes me highly suspicious, I’m afraid, not to say angry and frustrated when what I’ve ordered doesn’t arrive and nobody responds to emails. (Doing battle with one of these at the moment…)
So yes - my custom goes to anyone, as Daniel so succinctly puts it, "…with the balls to step out in front of them … communicate with them directly … and take personal responsibility for their satisfaction".
And as he says, they’re the ones who will not only survive the recession on both sides of the Atlantic, but prosper and grow.
Comment by jay — August 6, 2008 @ 10:57 am
Brilliantly stated Daniel. I was just going off on this rant at a family party the other night. The sad part in all of it is that many of my family members disagreed with me and said I that I have always been a bit of a cynic. Ironically my cousin, employed by one of the big "Home Improvement" chains, vehemently oppsoed this point of view. His take was that it didn’t happen in his company as customer service is preached incessantly to the employees. He was beligerently disagreeing with me as if it was a personal attack on his manhood. Are we that far gone as a society that rude employees & inadquate customer service almost seem normal to many people?
The even more ironic part is he 61 years old and forced into early retirement 2 years ago by one of the big corporate giants. By the way….he only worked there for 32 years!
I know what you say about the internet is right on the money. I haven’t figured how to use it to my advantage yet but I’m working on it. Hopefully, it’ll happen for me while most people still have their heads in the sand.
All the Best
Jay
Comment by Wally — August 6, 2008 @ 11:40 am
Could you imagine this article being published in the 50’s or 60’s? You would only find it in the "Science Fiction" section.
I don’t see the "Behemoths" getting it anytime soon. "If" and when they do, they will go the way of the Dinasaur (that they are).
Wally
Comment by Marcelino Latorre — August 6, 2008 @ 11:43 am
Excellent Daniel.. Too many businesses out there are bogus. The most important thing to me is integrity, the legitimacy factor that seems to be forgotten about in almost every new business I see pop up..I have been taught all my life that the customer/ client is always right. -Marcelino Latorre
Comment by John P Dolden — August 6, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
While having no experience of these issues in the USA, I agree most of the big corporates in the UK have no idea of customer service. A typical phone call to BT will take in excess of 45 minutes. There is hope in the UK though, there is a British PLC that is based solely in the UK that supplies household services, with a customer focussed ethic. Maybe more will follow.
Regards
John P Dolden
Comment by Chris Lake — August 6, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
Nice one Daniel, definitely touches close to home for almost all of us. My little story: for a while I worked at the Staples office supply chain and on day one was taught the "SELL" service philosophy that all associates (sounds nicer than drones, I guess) are supposed to follow: Smile, Engage, Listen, Lead (to the product). Naturally, when I shop there, the workers on the floor almost unfailingly never look at me, let alone do any of the SELL steps. Sometimes I will wander around and wait on an aisle where I see someone working just to see if they’ll act interested in helping me…. This would be almost comical except that I always ask to see the manager and let him know his people aren’t doing their jobs. More than half the time they just say, "Oh, we’re just understaffed today," or, "We have a lot of new people here." As if those are reasonable explanations. Once I said I’d let the district manager know how the store was performing and the manager went white as a sheet….
To get back to the real topic, though, I completely agree that the small, virtual company is a growing trend. The only nit I would pick is the amount of outsourcing — especially if it is low-cost outsourcing to foreign countries. It can be difficult to meet customer expectations without sufficient quality control, and managing distant outsourced labor can be a challenge. However, with the right combination of people, the virtual company is almost unbeatable.
Cheers,
Chris Lake
Comment by Glen Kohlenberg — August 6, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
My father always had a saying as we grew up in the family business. Always take care of your customer and the customer will always take care of you.
After being in business myself for the past 25 years I have always remembered pops saying and have always made it my number 1 goal. Priceless!
Comment by Stacy Karacostas — August 6, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
Boy Daniel, lately it seems we’ve all been at the receiving end of bad customer service. So much so that saying you have "great customer service" just doesn’t mean anything. But if you truly deliver on that…then you’re in! I can say from a personal perspective that there are companies I’ve stayed with for years–even though they charge a bit more–because I get great customer service.
I’m also a firm believer that the Internet, and outsourcing to teams of VA’s and designers, is the great leveler for small businesses. It’s thrilling to watch the world change like this, and a terrific opportunity for those with a little gumption.
Interestingly, I was consulting with one of my small business clients who is launching a business in an area of real estate investing that it just starting to take off. She’s been really concerned about the competitor that’s come into the area.
Thankfully, they come across as big, corporate and impersonal. I believe she can really stand out from the crowd by coming across as human, caring, helpful and personal. And she’s got the background and the personality to back that up. So that’s a big part of what we’re focusing on in her marketing copy and in her business model. And I’ve already got her looking to outsource a couple of key services the competition offers (that she didn’t think she could provide) so people don’t have an obvious reason to chose them over her.
Seems great minds think alike! Thanks for the post.
Stacy
Stacy Karacostas
Practical Marketing Expert, Speaker, Author
Comment by Alysan Delaney-Childs — August 6, 2008 @ 1:56 pm
Great job Daniel. Tweeted it out.
The sad thing is many large corporations won’t even recognize themselves in your post. When you call your cell phone provider complaining about no service and you are offered extra minutes…you slowly explain you don’t have service, why would you want more? Then dead silence….
Many large corporations don’t realize the silence is going to get louder as more customers find alternative businesses who are responsive.
Comment by Cheryl Lohner — August 6, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
Thank you Daniel. I know your influence is far-reaching, so hopefully this post will be read by many business owners (and employees) who need to hear this message. I believe that poor customer care is an epidemic. In my work with professional service firms I hit them over the head with this. When did companies stop putting themselves in their customer’s shoes? It’s even more ludicrous when they complain about not attracting enough clients. Gee, I wonder why?
You are also dead-on about putting yourself in front of the clients and being more transparent. I’m always skeptical of web sites or organizations that turn finding contact information into a treasure hunt.
Thanks again for the post. To your continued success and inspiration – Cheryl Lohner
Comment by Susan Connors — August 6, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
Rule One: The Customer is always right.
Rule Two: Refer to rule one.
Customer service = communication
Good communication = satisfied customer. Excellent marketing by word of mouth. Be it in conversation, on the internet and all of the other modern communication devices.
The trend over here is customer service = customers = business=profits=growth.
Real people who enjoy what they do, work in good environments, it shows.
I am fortunate to do business with a select group of companies/businesses who do treat me as a valued client. People treat the client as a human..not a number.
Ten years ago, people were still treated like cattle being put onto the truck for market. Being poked, prodded and bullied into a certain direction with their dollars. It was everywhere…people were numbers not clients.
People are people..whether they are on the internet or doing something else..behind a bank teller.
If we can remember how we would like to be treated, then good customer service comes. Its a different rule in marketing, where results determine the outcome through testing.
In customer service, communication is everything. From the way we speak, interact and everything to the final result. A happy client and your business grows.
Now you will meet the customer who you just cannot help..the odd one that no matter what you do, nothing is good enough. You will get this in every field of business.
Do your best and let it go.
Good clients are the ones you want to keep bringing in. With good service, there is even hope that the nightmare client may come good.
Well written Daniel and so true. I also enjoyed reading the other comments from readers.
Keep up the great work
Its 4am in the morning and this is a great read to keep going. My family keep me up all hours and being able to sit and read quality work, it helps keep me motivated, lessons learned and my internet business growing.
Sue in Aus
Comment by Cindy King — August 6, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
Wow Daniel.
I didn’t realize it was that bad your side of the world too!
I’ve been blogging about the horror stories of simply dealing with the telesales calls I get here in France - they all seem to be outsourced to foreign countries with different cultural understandings of politeness. If I dare answer the phone when it rings at meal times I have to deal with outright rudeness 7 times out of 10 and the remaining 3 are just total incompetence.
Wally - I love your reference to a this being like a 1960’s Science Fiction film! Really true! Will they go the ways of dinosaurs - I’m currently having fun reading Akin Arikan’s book on Multichannel Marketing. He says consumers have changed and that companies selling the products haven’t. I think he is right. Many will go the path of the Dinosaurs if they don’t change.
Thanks for the laugh, both of you.
Comment by Henry — August 6, 2008 @ 5:48 pm
this is all totally reassuring for somebody thats actually looking to get things off the ground still. And not being in the corporate board rooms, I wonder what these exec’s are thinking sometimes. Then again, I’ve been bothered by the employee mentality for some while also.
Comment by Croz — August 6, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
It could all be solved by people power! The only trouble is that we are being conditioned not to care. The complaint or disatisfaction process is designed to make us not bother.
Complacency rules OK!!!!
Love all the comments, but unfortunately that is all they will stay, as we get lead by the nose to the next segment of conformity. Give less and wrap it up as more, have you noticed the packaging lately, same size box, less contents. Sneaky Ay?
I think back over the years to the many times I have stood my ground and made real statements about bad service and shoddy goods, alas, at 60 even I have now found it a useless exercise, in most cases. Slowly the standards are being lowered, until what used to be bad service is now accepted by the majoriy.
This is no different to a company, the workforce is usually only as good as the worst employee. If we keep allowing the standards to drop, I suppose we only have ourselves to blame.
Abundance to All
Croz
Comment by James Burns — August 6, 2008 @ 7:09 pm
Daniel;
Great article. I am sure that most of America would agree wholeheartedly! I love your work, especially your "Brainwashed" piece a short time ago. Very inspirational!
Thanks
James
Comment by John Anderson — August 6, 2008 @ 7:55 pm
Thanks Daniel -This was a really good example of first of all ‘making a freind’ of the reader by getting in touch with a common chord - people disgruntled by the ‘FAT CAT’ companies and their woeful services.
By the end, I was like ‘Gee this Daniel guy - hes my kind of guy’. Which is pretty cool. Its like the famous Bencivenga ‘Why We Investers are Fed Up With’ Piece.
And the other part, a great marketing lesson; its TRUE. Service is mediocre and average bordering on woeful up to 50% of the time (even in freindly Australia) so the marketing lessson is true.
If we small business owners, can do BETTER that gives us a head start advantage to finding and KEEPING great customers.
Thanks Daniel really great article.
Comment by Norm — August 6, 2008 @ 10:19 pm
Great Stuff Daniel - well put together. I have recently been hiring a car through Herz and taking out the Max Cover (nil excess) insurance on the car. Driving on country road, a passing car/truck ("road train") flicked up a stone & penetrated the radiator unknown to myself. I ended up getting it towed back to base, missed my appointment & ended up flying up again a couple of days later to complete my business. The front office staff were great - didn’t charge me for the hire. But yesterday I get a Letter of Demand for $11500 dollars for my "reckless" driving and the damage I caused to the car - its a "write off" . The insurance that I paid, plus the extra to waiver the insurance excess of $3200 has been a complete waste of money. In fact Herz here in Aus don’t have any insurance. They "self insure"! So be carefull folks as this practice may be used elsewhere.
Like what you saying Daniel that there are a lot of organizations especially in management that couldn’t care less. They seem to think that shareholders are more important than customers. Could it be that management recieves bonus shares based on performance? What performance?
Cheers - Norm
Comment by Chris Curwen — August 7, 2008 @ 3:38 am
Haha! Satan has been with us for a long time…and he means business…big poor customer service business!!
Comment by Susan Connors — August 7, 2008 @ 4:40 am
Crappy service and disgruntled employees…general mixture.
I love to walk into a store and use a persons name. Actually take the time to say hi…and start a conversation.
If there is no name tag, I look for something similar to break the ice. Sometimes its like talking to a brick ..blinking and nobody home. On the other hand, most times people are nice and are ok. They think it is nice someone takes the time to get to know them.
In places of business, I find something to remember a person by to help me remember their name. After all, aren’t you the most important person in your world?
Marketing..my take is it has been with us since the cave man were around. Whether the cave people clubbed each other on the head for mate selection or ceremonies..who knows. Somehow there is a marketing skill in there life..chief, shaman etc.
Marketing is used in our lives since before we are born. The nursery furniture, moms maternity clothes, baby gear and so on. As we get older, we learn to make decision for ourselves..that toy is a cool bright color..adds on tv, friends at school..who is cool and who isn’t. Later in life in everything from school to marriage partners.
That is why I have started http://www.marketingforlife.com.au
Rough diamond, needs work..using the wonderful inspiration of people such as Daniel and all other comments by readers.
Rule of thumb one: Customer is always right!
Rule two: Refer to rule one..:)
Sue in Aus
Comment by Jeremy Reeves — August 7, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
I completely agree, 95% of businesses have absolutely no idea how to treat customers.
I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach recently and literally only 1 store that I went into knew how to treat their customers the correct way.
It’s amazing that owners take such little consideration into how they treat the lifeline of their business…
Jeremy Reeves
http://www.controlbeatingcopy.com
Comment by Brian — August 7, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
Daniel,
You have pinned the tail on the donkey with this one. Going to one of the big box stores to buy some painting supplies I had an experience similar to yours - except instead of a couple kiddos it was a squinting codger well past retirement age; good on him for keeping busy, but at least look up from your busy work and pay attention to a paying customer.
Not to ‘interupt’ him, I pleasantly waited a few moments thinking he would acknowledge me. This wasn’t the case. I finally had to ‘interupt’ him to ask his ‘expertise’.
What’s the use?
Brian
Comment by Jodi Kaplan — August 14, 2008 @ 11:34 am
I just had great customer service from the phone company (yes, I was stunned). They answered the phone quickly and helped me change some of my calling options (so I paid less)!
I also got good service recently from Apple. Someone answered in under 3 minutes and when they couldn’t fix the problem over the phone (I have Apple Care), they offered to send someone to my place to fix it — for free!!
Now, an example of bad service. My dad told me the other day that he just got a call from Home Depot following up on his inquiry about home heating systems. Sounds good right? The trouble is that he called them three years ago!