Take advantage of changing habits to grow your small business

Here are some tips on how to take advantage of changing customer habits.

Become an expert

Ask yourself this – who would you rather deal with? A business that knows the product and service inside out and is passionate about it, or a firm that just wants to take your money?

Expertise can help build positive relationships with customers, as you can help them find the product they want and even give them extra information for free. As a small business, it’s easier for you to demonstrate your expertise than it would be for larger firms. So take advantage!

Don’t just sell to people, help them too!

Helping people with your expertise can really set you aside from your competition – even those with a larger marketing budget! You can attract new customers and keep current ones with this approach. So, if you can offer something of value to potential customers before they do business with you, the chances are, they will choose you over your competition when the time to purchase something comes.

Build a relationship

Although this has come up in the previous sections, it really needs mentioning on its own. A major advantage that a small business has over its larger rival is the ability to make a personal connection with its customers. For example, if you use a local butcher every day you will most likely speak to the owner, but if you buy your food from the supermarket, would you chat with the owner? Probably not.

Even if you don’t own a physical shop, you can still talk to your customers by phone and email. However you decide to do it, creating this connection is crucial for small business success.

Read and comment on the original 123 Reg article.