How To Win Small Business Loyalty

Small businesses are typically type casted as a fickle bunch. They have no loyalty and will jump from provider to provider if they can save a nickel. This, however, is not usually the case. Just like any other business, entrepreneurs rely on their suppliers to be there for them and support their operations. It takes a lot of effort and resources to change suppliers. The main reason for why big businesses churn through their small business clients so frequently is due to a lack of understanding and miscommunication. You cannot treat a small business client the same way you treat your corporate clients.

Mind The Details
One main difference is that in big companies there are many departments and a number of people responsible for running different sections of the business. In smaller businesses, however, you are usually never further than one or two people away from the owner which means that it is a lot easier for the entrepreneur to stay on top every detail that goes on in the company. Be prepared to be scrutinized on an ongoing basis by your small business clients. Pay attention to the details of their accounts and make sure you do not slip up. The owner will usually always demand higher quality than the employees so you will need to meet that standard.

Be Open And Honest
Whether it is missing a deadline, forgetting to make a shipment, or not accomplishing on a key goal, there will always be mistakes made in any business relationship. More than anybody, small business owners understand this. Every small business owner has gone through the growing pains of getting their companies off the ground and has made a host of mistakes themselves.

What entrepreneurs respect is accountability and solutions. What drives entrepreneurs crazy with big companies is getting the run-around. Nobody in a big corporation wants to take accountability, the entrepreneur gets bounced from department to department, and it takes 10 times as long as it should to resolve the problem.

Small business owners want you to handle the problem like they handled theirs - admit that you made a mistake, apologize for it, and do everything in your power to resolve it as soon as possible.

If you mind the details and are open and honest with entrepreneurs in this fashion you will win their respect and earn their loyalty.

Politicians Targeting Small Business

As small business owners are increasingly becoming more influential, it's not only big business and other entrepreneurs who are trying to tap into the lucrative market. Politicians also see the opportunities and are trying to get their message out to the small business community.

How are they selling themselves?

A post in MyDD, a blog for Democrats, outlines some strategies for politicians to use to reach small business owners. Among the suggestions observations are:

What type of people are small business owners?

They have a very strong sense of self reliance and personal accountability. Community is highly valued by Small Business People. The operate their businesses and employ people in our communities. They raise their families and worship together with us in our communities. They give back to their communities by serving in Kiwanis, Optimists, and all other manner of civic organizations, both international and local in scope. Small Business People also vote overwhelmingly Republican.

What strategy should you use to talk with small business owners?

The first thing to do is to identify which among your values is most applicable to this subject. Small Business People value personal accountability. They know full well that given an even chance, they and they alone, are responsible for their own success or failure. Small business people value community. They raise their families, worship and run their businesses in their communities. They are the backbone of the Kiwanis, the Optimists and other civic organizations. They run for City Council, belong to the Chamber of Commerce and support their churches and local charities.Small Business People value independence and freedom from over burdensome governmental regulations. Their trade group is the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The issues that are important to them include competition, government and regulatory reform and tax relief.

The post goes on to give Democrats ammunition to use against the Republicans when talking with small business owners. You can read the full post on MyDD here.